Earth Day at the Gardens


This is the first year I have gone to the Denver Botanic Gardens for Earth Day. It is a free day, but you have to get tickets ahead of time, which I have. I have a ticket for me, and for my friend, Anq. Jeremiah works today, otherwise he'd be with us too. Zelda doesn't require a ticket as she's young enough.


Zelda and I pick up Anq from the Light Rail Station and drive the rest of the way to the Botanic Gardens. He had the option of sitting up front with me, but chooses to sit in the back with my daughter. This is one of the many reasons I admire Anq. I park the car inside of the parking garage of the Botanic Gardens, and we head inside. We show our tickets, walk through the doors, and are met with what can only be described as "spring".


Flower petals float on the breeze, sweet smells of nectar filling the air. The three of us venture over to the Rose Garden, taking pictures on the way down. Before we ever get to the Rose Garden we are greeted by cherry trees blooming in full force. We stop here to take a few pictures. Zelda isn't walking yet, she's only eight months old, and she's perfectly content in her stroller. Since I don't have Jeremiah with me to keep an eye on her while my eyes are locked on the camera, I keep my foot on the stroller, or a hip touching the handle. Something so that I am in constant contact. Anq is perhaps aware of my motherly paranoia and will take breaks from taking photographs on his camera to come kneel in front of Zelda and talk to her, something I greatly appreciate.


Here is a photograph of Anq taking a photograph of cherry blossoms. PS he has his own photography website too, and I would love it if you supported a friend and checked it out here.

Person photographing white blossoming tree in spring garden with camera.

We continue walking, making our way over to the Monet Pool where the tulips are. It is a beautiful day. Zelda is happy as can be in her stroller, and Anq and I talk about photography and his idea to start a media club of sorts. He doesn't want it to be just a book club, he wants to discuss all sorts of media. I ask him if it would meet in person or online, and he says online. I tell him he can count me in if he gets this club going.


We arrive at the Monet Pool and find that almost everyone has been hanging out here it seems. It's definitely busier here than anywhere that we have walked through to get here. The Botanic Gardens staff and volunteers have done a beautiful job. The tulips come in a variety of colors. Zelda sits up in her stroller and points at them. She likes them too. I take a photograph with slower shutter speed to show the movement of the tulips swaying in the breeze, and some other standard ones. It's fun to experiment with different photographic methods sometimes.

A vibrant pink tulip in sharp focus stands tall among a colorful field of red, orange, and yellow tulips in bloom.
Soft pink tulips with a dreamy double exposure effect, creating an ethereal floral art photograph.

Anq, Zelda, and I make our way to the Greenhouse Complex. It's mostly indoors, and there are several orange trees with fruit that has not turned their signature color yet. I'm not going to lie, I thought they were limes until I started reading the signs.

Two ripe green limes hanging from a lime tree branch surrounded by dark green leaves.

There are other plants here, too, not just oranges. A lot of tropical, leafy plants. They tend to change out the plants in this area by the season. I've been here before when it was all orchids. That was lovely. These are lovely too. I'm always a fan of huge, green leaves.

Close-up of a large tropical philodendron leaf with deep lobes, surrounded by lush green ferns in soft light.
Close-up of vibrant green fern fronds with pointed leaflets against a dark background.

Zelda is starting to get a little restless, which is fine, because we are nearing the end of our visit anyway. We have walked through the entire Gardens. We start to head out when I see this mother and daughter twirling under cherry blossoms, the petals flying in the air all around us. I smile, and hope that's Zelda and I one day.


We get in the car, and within ten minutes of driving, Zelda falls asleep. I had offered to take Anq home, and he directs me there. We hug goodbye, and I head home. I was seriously such a nice day. Happy Earth Day, everyone.

Adult and child walk hand-in-hand beneath blooming pink cherry blossom trees in a lush garden setting.