In the air... on the ground... in the water...

Whoosh... This cormorant flew way too low over my head and made my jump! On the other hand - it was quite an encounter, and I decided to stay a little longer and watch the birds maneuvering through the sky...

 

Water blooms...

The Monet Pond in the Denver Botanic Garden has never looked more beautiful than it does this summer. Water lilies and lotuses are in full bloom, and they look absolutely stunning. So... let's take a slow walk around the pond and simply admire the blooms, shall we?

 

Misty flowers...

Last Sunday I entered the Denver Botanic Garden and headed straight for the Monet Pond, ignoring all the flowers along the way. I wanted to check on lotus... I was hoping it would be in bloom. And I wasn't disappointed. Not at all! Because the lotus was wide open, basking in the bright morning sunshine...

 

Wild flowers... wild birds...

I really enjoy visiting the Denver Botanic Gardens and watching the flowers change from week to week. It's always such a peaceful and relaxing way to spend a morning, and it's close to home, too :) What many people don't realize is that the Denver Botanic Gardens actually has two locations. As much as I love the York Street gardens, once or twice a year I make a trip to the Chatfield Farms location. It's a little farther away and the experience is completely different (it has nothing to do with a distance though). While the York Street gardens feature one of North America's largest collections of plants from cold temperate climates around the world, Chatfield Farms is known for showcasing plants native to Colorado.

 

One gem. Many facets.

You know, I've done it many times before - dedicating an entire post to just one flower... For some reason (and I honestly have no idea why), it usually ended up being about yellow flowers. You can check them out here - One flower show..., or here - Sunny day... Sunflower day..., or here - One flower show. Code yellow.. So, if I'm going to do it again, maybe it's time to choose a flower that comes in a whole palette of colors. What do you think? And..well... I know I've already showcased water lilies quite a bit over the past few weeks, but they have been absolutely spectacular in the Denver Botanic Garden this year. They're simply impossible to walk past without stopping. So let's begin early in the morning, when the flowers are just beginning to open...