Areas of turf grass are broken up with groupings of shapely evergreens. Beds of annuals and perennials exhibit a dizzying array of colors and forms that thrive in the hot, dry climate of Utah. Insects play this vital role in a garden but are unnoticed. So I put them on such a large scale that you can't help but notice them. Making use of the available topography is another lesson taught in this outdoor university.
Red Butte shows how dips and rises in the land can be incorporated into a garden design.
The result is a garden that can't be completely seen from one vantage point but compels visitors to climb over knolls and traverse winding pathways to find out what's up ahead and around the bend. Ezekiel R. Dumke, Jr., has long sown the seeds of Red Butte. An emeritus board member, he's considered the Garden's co-founder. Red Butte is one of only 28 gardens nationwide connected to the Center for Plant Conservation, a group working to catalog, save, propagate, and reintroduce rare and endangered plants. The Red Butte research staff has already successfully propagated 17 plants from the region.