Surprising creations in Denver

Being stranded during an extreme layover in downtown Denver on a hot day can lead to a treasure of discovery. One such afternoon I ventured by bus into older neighborhoods on the perimeter of downtown, determined to get some garden relief from the heat and concrete.

My bus route circled past parks and vintage homes lovingly maintained by the Denver Historical Society. Historic Denver, Inc. has done a lot of protecting since their first triumph of preservation in the 1970s. A group of citizens created the organization just in time to save one of the city's most celebrated historic homes - that of "unsinkable" Molly Brown. My bus stop loomed near before I could see more.

By then the temperature was nearing 95 and it wasn’t even noon. In two short blocks I passed an ambitious sidewalk vegetable patch, an ornate brick and stained glass house and near the Botanic Garden entrance, a full rack of Ride Denver rental bikes. In this city of wide, flat streets, I would’ve been tempted to pedal if the heat weren’t so penetrating.

Any discomfort faded once I stepped inside. The Bill Hosokawa Bonsai Pavilion and Tea Garden opened just last year and the entire Japanese Garden has been expanded. What originally drew me was the Kizuna, East Meets West exhibit. Kizuna means “the bonds between people” and the Botanic Garden had materialized that into a sprinkling of site-specific bamboo installations by internationally known artists Tetsunori Kawan and Stephen Talasnik.

The largest of the sculptures arched over the lawn in waves of split bamboo. Another undulated near a waterfall feature, its rolling stacks mimicking the splashing water. Winding through the gardens, I found another fountain that fed into the dark waters of a rock lined lake. Floating on its surface were a series of woven creations. It was all ephemeral and a stunning contrast to the natural greens of the garden.

Denver’s Botanical Garden hosts many arts and music events each year. If you visit this May through January, there’s another set of sculpture installations planned, Catalyst – Colorado Sculpture.

Photo by the author, Elaine J Masters