Denver's own daisy ready to wow

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Darin Mcgregor / The Rocky

Bryan Elizalde, 3, peers out from underneath his Denver Daisy hat that he constructed Tuesday during the Earth Day celebration at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Photo by Darin McGregor

While joking around with the camera crew filming him for a public service announcement, Mayor John Hickenlooper covers his eyes Tuesday at the Denver Botanic Gardens with two (Rudbeckia) Denver Daisies, a new cultivated variety created for the city's 150th anniversary.

Preston Gannaway / The Rocky

Lester Kemp, 12, is taken aback at the sight of a person dressed as a mobile toilet. People browsed environmental exhibits Tuesday at an Earth Day Fair held in Civic Center.

Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Denver has a daisy.

Mayor John Hickenlooper unveiled a hybrid daisy Tuesday that bears the city's name, announcing that a million seeds will be given away.

"If we all plant these daisies this spring, by the time we get that Democratic convention, the city will be awash in color," Hickenlooper told an audience at the Denver Botanical Gardens.

Formally called Rudbeckia Denver Daisy, the flower was developed for the city's 150th anniversary, to be celebrated Nov. 22.

The flower is a deep gold with a burgundy center. It is somewhat larger than most daisies, said Sarada Krishnan, the botanical garden's horticulture director.

It is descended from a flower that is native to the prairie and is well-suited to the Colorado climate, Krishnan said.

Colorado State University and the plant industry helped create the daisy.

Plant a Denver Daisy

300,000 packets of the Denver Daisy will be distributed free. Seed packets are available at all metro- area KeyBank branches, most metro-area garden centers, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Historical Society and other Denver locations. Packets also are being distributed to K-5 students in Denver Public Schools. Every copy of the May 5280 magazine will contain a seed packet.

• April 23, 2008

  4:12 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  nonayerbsns writes:

  Well, you just know he is going to catch flack (and perhaps, rightfully so) for this inane picture. (and it should be 'newly cultivated...')

• April 23, 2008

  6:24 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Gene writes:

  Well, maybe it should be "new cultivar." But I haven't seen the botanical, or latin name. The format is; Genus-species-cultivar (cultivar or variety for the 3rd part of name)

• April 23, 2008

  7:07 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  holekeeper writes:

  lickenpooper the panzy playing with his dasies.

• April 23, 2008

  8:43 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  SASQUATCH writes:

  Very intelligent pic, very mayoral. The man projects leadership and wisdom. This also reminds me of the pics of John Kerry who crawled into some kind of industrial bio-suit during his campaign and looked like a big caterpillar in all the well distributed pics. Very dopey...and very effective; his caterpillar pic conveyed the right message.

• April 23, 2008

  9:10 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  anya writes:

  I think that this was a good thing for our mayor to promote. Rather than the destructive and depressing partisan mess that politics have become, it is nice to see a politician doing something positive and cheerful. I love the push for tree planting in the city, and I definitely will plant some Denver Daisies.

  Thanks, Mayor Hickenlooper!

• April 23, 2008

  11:42 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Jennie writes:

  Some of you people take things way too seriously. It's nice to see Mayor Hickenlooper letting loose and announcing something that's positive for the city of Denver and for the environment as well.