July 07, 2026

A pocket-sized garden with flowery exuberance was my next stop on the Denver Open Days Tour in June, sponsored by the Garden Conservancy. Arms uplifted in joy, a metal goddess welcomes you to the garden.

The owner, author Marilyn Raffis a longtime gardener and rock garden aficionado, who downsized to this small property around age 70. She loves color and fragrance and plants for plenty of both. A narrow gravel path leads through wildflowers and grasses toward the house.

Mexican tulip poppy

White prickly poppy

Horned poppy

A bermed rock garden adds ruggedness and an elevation change along the path.

Yucca, a red rose, and giant fleece flower surround a scalloped-edge birdbath.

Rose and giant fleece flower

A hypertufa planter with one of Marilyn’s broken-plate garden accessories, which evokes a good-luck horseshoe

Lavender phlomis

Another of Marilyn’s beloved roses

‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ eryngium

And a last look at the garden goddess

Up next: A rock garden with colorful cacti in bloom. For a look back at Keith Funk’s flowering rock garden among the pinesclick here.

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“Gardens of Texas is not your typical door stop/coffee table book filled with beautiful images of gardens you can never hope to achieve. The photography is definitely inspiring, but Pam’s thoughtful, detailed storytelling and “Try This At Home” features…makes one feel empowered to create similar garden magic….This is what I’ll curl up with on late August afternoons when the mercury in Austin soars and I’m stuck indoors.”

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