Red Butte Garden Again

Every time we visit Dave and Leslie near Salt Lake City we feel impelled to drop by the Red Butte Garden to see what has been added since our last visit. Utah's Botanical Garden and Arboretum is ever expanding. Sections that were under bulldozers the last time have now been incorporated into over 100 acres of garden. The first time we were there, oh so many years ago, I was entranced by a sign near the entrance warning of rattlesnakes. Alas, it is no longer in view. It appears that the advance of "civilization" has pushed back the original inhabitants. I remember when Kay and I had been married for only a couple of years we were on vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Walking along a woodland trail we came across a young rattlesnake. It warned us not to approach too closely by shaking its rattle at us. We had been intending to camp out under the stars that evening. I made the mistake of repeating the old wives' tale of how snakes like to crawl into camper's sleeping bags at night to keep warm. No way. I was forced to drive well out of the park that night to find lodgings far from any cold and lonely reptile. I subsequently made sure that none of our children would inherit Kay's feelings about snakes. When our first, Ann, was barely two, I let her pet a snake that was more than twice her length. She thought it was fun. Her mother was not present at the time.

Variegated Lysimachia, Primulaceae

We were at the garden last June, when it was in bloom. The day was quite warm which was the norm. That cancelled exploring the trails through the mountainside. When we return some day in cooler weather we will try out the upper section of the garden. Visiting in the spring or fall we always end up in southern Utah, red rock country, and/or northern Arizona. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the country is there.

Gaura Lindheimeri, Onagraceae  

The lush plantings contrasted with the sere natural habitat cut through with walking paths, the larger part of the garden. These include the original shore of Lake Bonneville. Some 14,000 years ago this lake covered much

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