Sunday, March 9, 2014

A tale of two gardens

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. We went to stunningly beautiful Death Valley last month.  We finished up with a night in glitzy Las Vegas.

Lots of people love Las Vegas. I can now definitively report that I am not among them. Although the energy and the lights are fun, there's a little too much plastic there for my taste, and it's all surrounded by lung-defying clouds of cigarette smoke. Another strike against Las Vegas is its lack of gardens. I did a search for public gardens and came up with zero.

So we went the Bellagio. It's a well-known casino and hotel with a phenomenal Dale Chihuly glass ceiling in its lobby. The Bellagio is also known for its conservatory and botanical gardens, so this being the city of bigger and better, I was looking forward to a horticultural treat.
Beautiful, glowing flowers! This was promising.
On we walked, into the Conservatory. I read that the Bellagio has 120 people working on its horticultural staff, and the Conservatory display is changed five times a year.

This theme was the Chinese New Year - the Year of the Horse. Acorus graminius, anyone?

Color was everywhere, in an over-the-top mash-up of foliage and flowers.

Bromiliads figured prominently, as did chrysanthemums.

The plants appeared to be in nursery pots, rather than planted into beds. The whole effect was rather like a huge, inverted Rose Festival parade float.

I did love this Mandarin orange tree full of fruit.



But I gotta say, my Clivia looks better than theirs did.
After a quick look in the Chihuly gallery and shop, we asked a staffer how to get to the botanical gardens. It turned out that the Conservatory was it - there were no more gardens. Somewhat disappointed, we high-tailed it out of that hothouse of a garden.

We still had several hours left before we needed to catch our flight home, so we looked for something outdoors to do. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas was quite close so we found our way to the campus. We figured they'd at least have somewhere we could hang out and enjoy our last few hours of warm desert air.

Eureka! We found the Donald H. Baepler Xeric Garden. Completed in 1988, it was the the first large-scale demonstration garden of its kind in the Las Vegas Valley. 

The contrast of this restrained garden with the excess of the Bellagio Conservatory was exactly what we had hoped for. It had flowers, yes, but flowers in desert style.










The fascinating husks left by last year's fruit added great winter interest to these unidentified shrubs.
The garden winds around and between several of the campus buildings. It features plants from Australia, South America, Mexico, the Mediterranean and plants native to the four desert regions of North America.



This pretty, airy tree is Texas-Ebony, Pithecellobium flexicaule.

The plant ID signs were nicely done and contained the kind of information I'd want if I were a local looking to add xeric plants to my landscape. Unfortunately, fewer than half the plants were labeled, but I was able to ID a number I liked.

The age of the garden meant there were many wonderful mature specimens of plants and trees.









I loved the subtle interplay of shapes and muted color in the plantings.

It was a satisfying garden in so many ways and a great way to end our time in Las Vegas.

17 comments:

  1. Several years ago Nigel and I went to Vegas. We visited the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden, which I think was just outside of town in Henderson. It was very similar to the Baepler Xeric Garden that you visited. It is too bad that Vegas doesn't have more great gardens. If you go outside of the city into the surrounding area you'll find some really beautiful desert countryside.

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    1. We saw there were a few gardens in the outlying areas but our time was limited to get there that morning. We did drive through Red Rocks on our way into Vegas. Spectacular!

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  2. Interesting contrast between the two gardens. I've never been to Las Vegas and am not horribly tempted. Can't wait to see your Death Valley Posts!

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    1. Peter, if you're not tempted to see Las Vegas, do save your money. I just felt it was a cultural experience I wanted to have since we came in to their airport. Done!

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  3. That's quite the stark contrast between the two, congrats on finding the real garden before you flew out.

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    1. Stark contrast: that epitomizes Las Vegas, I think.

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  4. I used to go Las Vegas with my husband when he went there for work and I actually looked forward to going for the single reason that I got to go hiking at Red Rock Canyon just outside the city. It is one of the most beautiful places I've hiked, a lovely escape from the casinos if you ever find yourself caught there again. I also used to be fascinated with the large-scale mature trees and palms they would bring in to give the brand new casinos a sense of permanence. I wish I had know about the Xeric Garden. If I ever find myself there again I'll have to go check it out.

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    1. We drove through Red Rock Canyon on our way into Vegas from Death Valley. It was wet, darkly beautiful and we were thrilled we'd stumbled upon it!

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  5. Your persistence paid off yet again. Our grandson has family in Las
    Vegas and he is always telling us that "The Strip" is in no way representative of the beauty to be found there. You just proved him right.

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    1. The desert is always beautiful to me. The Strip is not representative of much that moves me, either, but if you can get away from it, I think it's very rewarding.

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  6. I wish I had known you were going, though you showed me a new garden to see! Probably right near my design I often visit at UNLV when there. Great pics you took there, so next time there, I'm going. The maintenance does look in need, but it is still a nice bit of desert planting variety!

    The strip & plastic - I've been 2x of 25x or so visiting LV over 11 years of working there!

    The Gardens at the Springs Preserve may have impressed you. Close to the airport; a few links from my visits there (I hope its OK) -
    http://desertedge.blogspot.com/2011/09/work-detour.html
    http://desertedge.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-curve-splits-it.html
    http://desertedge.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-side-of-nevada.html

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    1. The Gardens at the Springs Preserve looks great, David. Thanks for the links. I'll make a point seeing of them if I find ever myself in Las Vegas again!

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  7. Love the xeric garden. And in an addendum to their study, the Harvard researchers added that Louis XIV and Imelda would have loved the garden at the Bellagio.

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    1. Those intrepid Harvard researchers will get the facts!

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  8. I had such an interesting response to this post. As I was taking in the photos of the Bellagio, I think I must have been somewhat tense. I believe it was that bright, glaring density that did it. But as soon as I got to the part about Mr. Baepler's garden, my shoulders relaxed, and my scrolling slowed. The weird part was that it was so noticeable, and it was triggered through viewing your photos. I can only imagine how you and Ben felt ... Aaahhhh! I have to admit, though, that I really liked those tall, vertical, blue glass(?) sculptures in that sea of pink, but other than that, leaving Vegas was a relief!

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    1. You are right on the mark, Anna. It was such a relief to find the xeric garden. And yes, the blue Chihuly glass spears were cool. One could probably be yours if you wanted to drop a mere several thousand bucks...

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  9. You actually have me excited to visit Vegas again, not for the strip but for that xeric garden. Lovely!

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