Over the last five years I’ve seen ornamental grasses go from being unique to common around my town. Most of the newer homes and businesses in my area of central Wyoming have some ornamental grasses. Even though I encourage friends to use grasses, and I was a fan from the start, I have shied away…
Tag: gardening
Climate Challenges and Vegetable Gardening
I moved to Wyoming from the Midwest over 20 years ago. I thought I understood what ‘arid’ meant, but it took two failed vegetable gardens to really get through to me. Sunset’s Western Gardens does a pretty good job of describing our climate: “…this zone sees January temperatures from 0-12 degrees F with extremes between…
Wasn’t Poison Sumac After All
“It turns out the “poison sumac” (Rhus vernix) of my childhood, which I so diligently avoided, wasn’t poison sumac after all, although R. vernix does grow in Indiana.” This is from my reply to a comment from Steve at Portraits of Wildflowers. Steve reports Rhus trilobata grows in Texas, but Rhus lanceolata is more reliable…
Unique Color with Native Plant Scarlet Globemallow
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…
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’…
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…
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 