DENVER — Fall in Colorado is a vibrant forest of yellow. Most of us struggle through traffic to the top of a mountain pass to bask in that golden glory. But at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Larry Jackel can shrink nature's canvas down to eye level.
"The sun gets in the opening here and it's just starting to change," Jackel said, pointing out a maple tree. "Reds, yellows, and oranges in there. So every day it'll get a little better."
Those brilliant hues he marvels at are popping off the miniature leaves on one of the Gardens' 90-plus bonsai trees.
"It's in a container, a 'bon,'" Jackel said. "The tree is the 'sai,' and the color is fall."
Like a forest of children, it's impossible for him to pick a favorite bonsai.
"The easiest way to describe it is I'm happiest with the one I'm working with at the time," he said.
But visitors tend to gravitate toward the iconic shimmering leaves of the two quaking aspens on display. The colors are as incredible as anything you'll find in the mountains.
"Save you some gas and some time, come on and see us here," Jackel joked.
His goal with bonsai is to bring people back to their favorite fall memories.
"I like being able to take people somewhere else in their memory place that reminds of them of something they really liked, but in a tree right here," he said.
Most of the gardens' collection will be removed for the winter and come back out in May. A few of the trees can be found in greenhouses during the colder months.
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