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 This
spectacular waterfall descends forty feet over large granite boulders
and under three massive log bridges into a pool that represents
the many beautiful sub-alpine pools fed by snowmelt and springs
in the Rocky Mountains and other mountain regions throughout the
world. The patio offers dramatic views of the Alpine Rock Garden
and its signature waterfall and is home to more than twenty beautiful
weddings each season.
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 Although
called the bog garden, this garden actually represents a Colorado
fen; a wetland that accumulates partially decayed plant matter or
peat. Fens are the only type of peatland in Colorado; they have
constant movement of water unlike bogs, which have no inflow or
outflow and which support acid loving plants such as sphagnum moss.
This wetland garden is made up of plants that tolerate
year round saturation and are adapted to these anaerobic (low oxygen)
conditions. 'Grasslike' plants such as sedges and rushes dominate
this ecosytem. Many of the common Colorado sedges grow in the garden,
like Carex nebraskensis, C. uticulata and C. microptera
and the common rushes Juncus tenuis and J. arcticus.
The cottony heads of the rare Eriophorum altaicum, the pink
flowers of Mimulus lewisii and the blue starlike flowers
of Sisyrichium angustifolium add color to this green meadow.
A "wetland" is the transitional land between terrestrial
(uplands) and aquatic (open water) systems where the water table
is usually at or near the surface. Or put more simply; a land area
that tends to be wet or is regularly flooded and has a water table
that is at or above the surface for at least part of the year.
Wetlands play very important
ecological roles in the landscape. They provide wildlife habitat,
improve water quality, control floodwater and recharge groundwater.
 In
the United States alone we are losing between 70,000 to 90,000 acres
of wetlands annually. Some of the causes are; drainage for agricultural
purposes, development, dredging and stream channelization, logging
and mining and releasing toxic chemicals, just to name a few. The
diminishing wetlands have a critical impact to the life of animals
and plants. More attention is usually given to the animals in a
wetland, but the role of the plants is a vital one. Not only are
plants a fundamental link in the food webs of a wetland, but also
provide critical shelter for young organisms, for structural stabilization
and for water retention in the system.
Did you know?
There are an estimated 1 million acres of wetlands remaining in
the state of Colorado and 170 rare species depend on the wetlands.
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This garden is a taxonomic collection of the
genus Saxifrage. Some of the most spectacular alpine plants in the
world, these plants are found throughout the temperate Northern
Hemisphere and into South America. There are 480 known species many
of which are alpines that form spectacular evergreen domes or mats
which thrive in rock gardens. The Saxifrage Society is a British
society devoted to the genus and has a very informative web page
with information and publications available.
Saxifraga oppositifolia |
Our collections boast some 100 taxa, some species
and many cultivated varieties. Among the most spectacular are Saxifraga
grisebachii, S. sempervivum and S. valdensis, with their
silver encrusted leaves and tight rosettes. Closer to the waterfall
mossy types fills the crevices between the boulders including Saxifraga
caespitosa and many cultivated varieties such as the showy red
Saxifraga 'Garnet'.
Saxifragia bertolonii |
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This spectacular, north facing wall of quartizite
boulders is home to a large part of our collection of Rocky Mountain
alpine plants. In the deep vertical crevices in the walls cliff
dwellers such as Telesonix jamesii and Heuchera halli
cling to the rocky soil and flowers of Lewisia tweedyi thrive.
The amazing woolly head of the Rocky Mountain thistle, Cirsium
scopulorum caused a stir in mid summer emerging from between
the rocks. Many shrubby penstemon flourish on the well drained soils
with Penstemon rupicola growing alongside P. davidsonii
ssp menziesii and P. fruticosus ssp serratus. The dark
crevices provide a home for Linnaea borealis, the delicate
twinflower, and Rocky Mountain clematis, Clematis columbiana
var tenuiloba.
Penstemon hallii
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At the base of the wall, mat and cushion plants
of the alpine tundra spread alongside the pathway, interrupted by
the large upright heads of the alpine sunflower, Hymonoxy grandiflora,
better know as 'Old Man of the Mountains'. Here many of the alpine
phlox such as P.condenstata and P.hendersonii grow
with Oxyria dygina, Alpine sorrel and Phacelia sericea
or Purple fringe.
Cirsium scopulorum |
Lewisia tweedyi
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