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…
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We’ve Cheated Old Man Winter
Well, that’s the way I feel when I am walking on November 28th and there are bugs flying in the air around me and the native plants in my garden have turned green and resprouted. What a great feeling to have a day in the mid 50’s and no wind. It really is the best…
Groundwater Test Results in Pavillion, Wyoming
The EPA has released initial findings from ground water testing in the Pavillion, WY area. Pavillion residents have complained of contaminated drinking water wells for many years, suspecting fracture drilling, or fracking, is causing contamination. The EPA results can be found here. Their interpretation of these results should be forth coming in the next few…
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…
National Public Lands Day
This Saturday, Sept 24, is National Public Lands Day. You can find volunteer activities to support the management of public lands here. Wyoming is about 48% public land, meaning over 46 million acres of Wyoming is ‘owned’ by the citizens of the US and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service,…
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’…
Water Quality in the Arid West
Rural Property in the Arid West: Water Quality Rural property owners in the arid west often face water quality issues. The rock strata holding our ground water often results in saline and alkaline water. If you are a rural property owner with a private well, you should regularly test your water. If you are considering…
Wyoming Life 