Chihuly glass at the Denver Botanic Gardens 2014. Photo Credit: Urban Safari Photography.

The Denver Botanic Gardens has announced that it was the most visited public garden in North America in 2014 with 1,411,116 visitors. This was due in part to the popular display of Chihuly glass.

“One of the best outcomes from 2014 was the vast increase of visitors from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world,” said Botanic Gardens CEO Brian Vogt. “The most important statistic is the fact that we have 2,700 volunteers who, arm in arm with the staff and Board, are utterly fearless, passionate and dedicated.”

Next year the Botanic Gardens will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic Tropical Conservatory. The charter for the gardens was established in 1951 by the non-profit Botanical Gardens Foundation of Denver. Landscape architect Saco R. DeBoer was hired to design the grounds. The first plants were placed at the York Street location in 1959 and the Tropical Conservatory was dedicated in 1966 featuring tropical and subtropical plants.

Chihuly Glass at the Denver Botanic Gardens in 2014.
Photo credit: Urban Safari Photography

In addition to the attendance record, the Gardens is honored to be included in the North American Garden Tourism Conference’s ‘Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Traveling For’ 2015 Awards. The Garden Tourism Awards are presented to gardens that have distinguished themselves in the development and promotion of the garden experience as a tourism attraction. Now presented annually, the inaugural Garden Tourism Awards were bestowed at the 2011 North American Garden Tourism Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Photographs courtesy Urban Safari Photography.