Day 66, Ice Cream, it's What's for Lunch

In the middle of Denver is a 24 acre botanic garden. It was founded in 1951. The huge conservatory was the first on the US to be built of concrete and Plexiglas panes that designed to channel condensation to the sides of the walls so it would not drip on visitors. 😊

My favorite part of the gardens was the aquatic garden. It is a centerpiece is the gardens and is said to have over 500 water lilies.
I was especially impressed by the variety of plants in the pond. We learned that black dye is added to the water to help control the growth of algae. It has the added benefit of hiding the pots and is great for getting the plants to reflect in the water.

After walking around the gardens for a while, we found a shady spot and watched an aquatic gardener. To keep the pond looking beautiful, they wade into the pool twice a week to fertilize and clean up the plants.

Another favorite spot was the Japanese Gardens. The designer used Colorado plants and replanted them in a Japanese garden style. Every spring, new growth is snapped off and the plants are trimmed (think bonsai) to maintain the size and shape.
We were intrigued by the colors of this lace bark tree.
In our continuing sampling of ice cream, we found our way to Bonnie Brae. They've been a Denver favorite since 1986 and much like our favorite Santa Cruz ice cream spot, Marianne's, they serve great old fashioned ice cream in many of the standard but also some surprising flavors. Both Denis and I both had a Grand Marnier chocolate chip ice cream - we were happy we didn't have to share. We had a hard time figuring out which flavor we wanted so since it was lunchtime, we went for two scoops, Denis getting Cinnamon, yummy, and I getting Thai Iced Tea, which did taste like Thai Iced Tea but I decided I prefer it as a drink rather than ice cream.  


The day was a catch up day, doing laundry, going shopping but also watching football, Go Bills!, and making dinner with friends in a real kitchen.

Location: Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206, USA

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