All the recent rain means it should be a very colorful summer at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, and there are lots of reasons to head down there in the coming months.
“We’re gonna have a good summer,” said Larry Vickerman, director of the Chatfield gardens. “With all the rain, things will be supergreen. I just wish it would let up.”
The temporary , is returning in 2015 with a slightly larger area and some different species of butterflies that should be more active.
Last year, Butterfly Pavilion lepidopterist Sarah Garrett said some butterflies didn’t respond well, while others were noticeably more active.
The Butterfly Pavilion, based in Westminster, is running the Chatfield pavilion again this year and will have a staff member present daily to answer questions. The price is also reduced this year at $2 for children or members and $4 for general admission. The pavilion reopens
Friday and will stay open through late September.
“One thing is certain: Butterflies really like some environments more than others,” Garrett said. “Some we put in last year didn’t want to fly, they just chilled out the whole day. People like to see them flying around.”
Also returning is the summer concert series that has been popular since it got started again about 10 years ago.
This year’s three shows are Culture Club on July 20; the Under the Sun tour featuring Sugar Ray, Eve 6, Better Than Ezra and Uncle Cracker on July 28; and Yes and Toto on Aug. 30. To find more information, visit .
“It’s become a huge part of the summer for us,” Vickerman said of the concert series.
One new item coming soon is a lavender field that was planted this spring. Vickerman said there should be some bloomage in June, but it will take a couple years until it reaches its full potential.
On the farming side, the Community Supporting Agriculture program, which brings vegetables from the garden to shareholders at Chatfield and the York Street gardens, is entering its sixth year.
Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield farm program manager Josie Hart said the program has 270 shareholders and partners with a fruit farm and the Eastern Plains Natural Foods co-op for fresh eggs.
“We call it the backbone — it’s really successful,” Hart said of the program.
Community Supporting Agriculture also helps support the Veterans Rehabilitation program and the Urban Food Initiatives, which has a grant from Kaiser Permanente to expand farmstands in urban areas. Both programs are in their second year.
The Veterans Rehabilitation program is a 12-week apprenticeship for post-9/11 veterans who are reacclimating and have an interest in farming or gardening. Select veterans are paid for the apprenticeship while others come on a volunteer basis and work on planting, tending to and harvesting crops at the botanic gardens.
Hart said the gardens partner with Veterans to Farmers, and there are 10 veterans in the paid apprenticeship portion of the first 12-week program. A second program starts later this summer.
In education, the gardens opened an outdoor kitchen and started classes that are most active around harvest time. Children also have an opportunity to use the kitchen during some of the many summer camp programs.
Associate director of education Sarah Olson said a new weeklong camp this summer is the Time Traveler, a camp that gives children a good look at the history of what used to happen on farms. Kids will also tend to goats and collect eggs.
Olson said the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield is a great place for a child to spend a week.
“We have classes here all the time, and they’re unique and fantastic,” Olson said. “But having class out at Chatfield, outside, next to everything, is a whole new level of experience.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
Denver botanic gardens at chatfield
Where: 8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road, unincorporated Jefferson County
More information: 720-865-4336 or botanicgardens.org/our-gardens/chatfield
