Colorado Garden Tour in May and June 2021 with Panayoti Kelaidis | Gardens Bringing Light

Enjoy a 2021 May and June Colorado home garden tour with Panayoti Kelaidis. A lifelong Colorado gardener, Panayoti specializes in native, alpine and xeric plants. Rock gardening and dryland plants are his passion.
On May 13th, 2021 he first shows us some of his daphnes that are blooming in his home garden. He calls this "The Daphne Wave" when the daphnes come into bloom, adding a splash of color to the garden and filling the air with their lush, sweet fragrance. Panayoti grows around 70 daphnes in his garden, some large, but many of them small, and has shared cuttings of them with many gardeners over the years.
Then, on June on the 6th 2021, Panayoti features his rock garden which is in bloom, a variety of iris, flowering trees, his dryland garden and more. Denver, Colorado had a very rainy Spring 2021 and it can be seen in Panayoti's garden. Some of the featured plants include daphne, iris, columbine, cliff rose, cactus, thalictrum, saxifrage, peony, tulip, hawthorne tree, Chinese fringe tree, blue stars, poppy and more. He also talks about the North American Rock Garden Society and some of the concepts of plantsman gardening
Panayoti has been with the Denver Botanic Gardens for over 40 years as a Senior Curator and Director of Outreach Panayoti began his career as curator of the Rock Alpine Garden which is a signature garden at DBG: the showcase of thousands of plants from around the world, many introduced to horticulture by Panayoti through Plant Select of which he was one of the original architects. He has explored much of North America including Mexico, the Andes in Chile and Argentina, Eurasia from Spain to Mongolia. He has travelled six times to South Africa-concentrating on the Drakensberg mountains and the Karoo. He has lectured in over 120 cities in 10 countries. He has received numerous honors including the Scott Medal of Swarthmore Arboretum and the Liberty Hyde Bailey award of the American Horticultural Society, both generally considered the top honors for horticulturists in the United States.
Filmed and edited by Adam Taub. Story Doc is a platform for diverse story and documentary content. Subscribe!

[@Hlegzudas]

To bad you don’t live here. I would have looooved to have some Daphnes! Thanks for sharing.

[@victoriasaenz2446]

I never get tired to wathing this beautifull garden as Colorado resident I am very inspired now to grow a wise native colorado Alpine plants. Congrats to the amaizing gardener.Thank you for posting this video.

[@storydoc2115]

Thanks so much for watching Victoria and for taking the time to comment. The diversity of plants in Panayotis garden is impressive and I love seeing and hearing from him about the native plants and the plants that can thrive in our Colorado conditions with limited water. Can't wait to see his garden again this year.

[@sandrasullivan2636]

Great job

[@storydoc2115]

Thanks sandra!

[@groundedangelsgarden]

Wonderful! Thanks for the insightful and inspiring tour!

[@storydoc2115]

Thanks so much for watching and the kind comments on Panayoti's garden tour!

[@normarideout62]

So you pick wild plants?

[@bellarosa009]

Is Daphne hardy in Zone 5b? I'm in NW Illinois. They are so beautiful.

[@storydoc2115]

Hi bella rosa, I need to ask Panayoti this question! Daphnes are very beautiful, I can't wait to see them bloom again in Panayotis garden this year.

[@bellarosa009]

@@storydoc2115 Please do ask him. Much appreciated. I've heard of them, but never have grown them here in my clay, zone 5b soil.