Sometimes envisioning native plants in the home garden or landscape takes some imagination. That’s the case with Sphaeralcea coccinea, also called Desert Mallow, Cowboy’s Delight, and Scarlet Globemallow. This hardy little plant grows along gravel roads, in highway rights of way, and some of the driest habitats Wyoming has to offer, and folks, that is…
Category: Gardening
UW Hydroponic Greenhouse
University of Wyoming Grad student, Nate Storey, has designed and developed a hydroponic tower system for this greenhouse where fish, herbs, and vegetables are grown. The water circulates from fish tanks through media filled ‘towers’ made of PVC or poly pipe. The water has not been changed for years. “The biology just works,” says Storey….
Wyoming Fall Colors Include Rhus
The fall colors of Wyoming are subtle, not like the brilliantly brushed hardwood forests of the eastern US. The shades of autumn in the Rockies are more muted with the dark olive evergreens, purple-grey slates, and reddish sandstones providing the back drop for pockets of glowing aspen and roadside ribbons of burning rabbitbrush. The fall…
Sedums, A Tough Beauty
As I have stated before, native plants are my passion as a gardener and landscaper, but I don’t promote the use of natives because I think it will save the world, or because hybridized and introduced species are evil. I plant, experiment with, talk about, and promote the use of native plants because I am…
Natural Variation: The Stuff of Plant Breeding
It’s the natural variation already present in native plants which allows plant breeders to offer cultivars, selections, and varieties to the home gardener. When I consider purchasing plants billed as ‘native’ I narrow my choices to selections of species naturally occurring in my area. Generally, a selection is propagated by selecting plants grown from ‘wild’…
Wyethia for Landscaping
Native Plants for Landscaping Mule’s Ears or Wyethia amplexicaulis. Ok, tell me again why I have never tried to grow this? What’s not to like? Its large 10-12 inch leaves are very unique when it comes to Wyoming native plants. They would lend an almost tropical feel to a garden. The large (3-4 inches), bright…
Hard to Find Plant
Looking for a hard to find plant? Looking for growing information on a specific plant? Yeah, you could do a search using Google, Yahoo, or Bing, but the results will depend on the effort put into the search engine optimization of the source’s website, assuming they even have a website. Instead, check out the University…
Wyoming Lupine, Native Plant
A large group of wild flowers represented over much of North America, Lupinus is showy and bold. Probably the most ‘famous’ Lupine is Texas Bluebonnet. Here, the Wyoming version is shown. This photo is a few years old and I can’t quite narrow the species down by the photo, but according to Dorn it is…
Gardening Books
Our local library has two book sales every year. I always look forward to rummaging through the discarded and donated books and magazines for gardening and landscaping books, and I am happy to support the local library. When it comes to gardening books, sometimes old sources have valuable information and forgotten plant lists that merit…
Wildflowers
With over 20,000 flowering plants native to North America, the term ‘wildflower’ does not necessarily mean a flowering plant which will thrive in your particular area. Also, the term ‘wildflower’ can include any flower naturally occurring anywhere in the world. For those reasons, I usually use the term Wyoming native to specifically refer to plants…
Liatris punctata Rewards the Patient
The USDA Plants Profile describes Liatris punctata as a slow growing perennial with a conspicuous purple flower. Conspicuous – I agree! There’s little wonder the common name Blazing Star was applied to Liatris punctata, although I’m not so sure how Dotted Gayfeather came about. Given the harsh locations in which I have seen this plant,…
Start Indoors Eight Weeks Before Last Frost
The tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinth are coming up. The end of March marks a time in Wyoming when many commonly used garden flowers should be started indoors. It’s about eight weeks until we can be assured of frost free night time temps. A quick look through the propagation lists reveal Ageratum, Aster, Calendula, Coleus,…
Wyoming Life 