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.

 

And native plants mean... wildflowers! They may not be as exotic as the flowers at York Street, but they're every bit as beautiful. Chatfield Farms is also well known for its Lavender Festival in mid-July. It always looks spectacular (click here to see what it's like - Lavender Festival at Botanic Garden at Chatfield Farms), but it also tends to be brutally hot, so I think I'll skip it this year.

These are the same flowers you can find growing in the Colorado mountains - wild, resilient, and perfectly adapted to the dry climate. Beautiful nevertheless.

But flowers aren't the only attraction here. Wild birds are just as much a part of the experience. After all, nobody keeps hummingbirds in cages :) Here they are completely wild... and wonderfully unpredictable...

We'll see more of them in just a moment, but first let's admire a few more wildflowers.

I've always liked Mexican Hat flowers. They're incredibly drought-tolerant and can be found throughout Colorado.

I don't think I've ever seen so many of them in one place, though. And I'm certainly not complaining :)

Scattered among Mexican Hats were prickly poppies and cheerful sunflowers, adding even more color to an already vibrant meadow.

After passing a patch of Black-eyed Susans, I continued along the trail, hoping to find a few hummingbirds.

When I finally did...I couldn't believe my eyes - female Rufous Hummingbird was feeding a chick that had fledged only a couple of days earlier. What a wonderful sight to witness.

Well, a small bunny was there too, quietly nibbling on some greenery :)

Then a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird perched on a branch just above my head and stayed there for quite a while. Sometimes they seem perfectly content to rest for a few minutes before suddenly disappearing at incredible speed.

When I turned around, I spotted another recently fledged Rufous Hummingbird. This place was full of them!

I wandered farther along the trail, enjoying the flowers until I found even more birds.

This time I spent nearly ten minutes watching several female Rufous Hummingbirds feeding on bright Firecracker Penstemons. Wasn't that fun?

Then it was back to looking for butterflies... and more flowers...

...which, of course, led to even more hummingbirds! They darted from flower to flower without ever seeming to stop, changing direction in an instant. Did you know hummingbirds can even fly backwards?

Eventually I started making my way toward the exit. Well... "making my way" might not be the best description.

I kept stopping every few steps to admire another flower or watch another bird carrying food back to its young.

One last stop proved to be especially rewarding. Another tiny hummingbird had just fledged the day before. I learned it from the photographers watching the small bird staying close to the nest, cautiously exploring the world while waiting for its mother to bring another meal.

Hummingbirds usually lay one to three eggs. They hatch after about two weeks, and roughly three weeks later the young birds are ready to leave the nest and begin flying...and, apparently, attracting photographers :) Isn't it adorable?

Two hours passed before I even realized it... Although I had started early, the temperature had already climbed above 90°F, and it was definitely time to head home. I was almost back at the entrance when I spotted one last Broad-tailed Hummingbird perched quietly on a tree beside the trail.

This tiny male looked so small and fragile.

I spent another five minutes simply watching him. Eventually he turned toward me and gave me a look that seemed to say - "You've been here long enough".  

I took the hint. It was time to leave.

Photos taken on July 11, 2026.