Landscaping Tips: Resources available statewide for water-wise landscaping

By Robert Waggener, editor, UW CES

Where does a city resident, rural landowner, rancher or farmer turn for help to develop an attractive, water-wise landscape?

Among the good sources are University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and conservation district offices around the state, the research and extension (R&E) centers near Powell and Sheridan, extension publications and greenhouses and nurseries employing people knowledgeable about plants that can survive Wyoming’s harsh climate.

Another great place for ideas is to visit one of the numerous native gardens or test plots across Wyoming. County CES offices can provide locations to many of the sites (http://ces.uwyo.edu/Counties.asp).

The CES office in Natrona County has an extraordinary planting.

“It’s attractive and very educational,” says Donna Cuin, a CES horticulture program associate for Natrona County. Wyoming often goes through periods of drought, either yearly or seasonal, and the garden helps visitors plan their landscapes with the state’s climate in mind.

“We added a dry shade garden on the north end of our building due to the number of Wyoming landscapes in established areas of towns and cities,” Cuin says. “Many of these established landscapes are not suited for a majority of recommended xeric plants (those suitable for ‘dry’ plantings) because the mature trees and the close proximity of homes create too much shade for the sun-loving plants on most lists.”

Cuin said the garden was planted three years ago and is in the early stages of development, but it already has “Wyoming flair” because the plants have taken hold and large moss rocks were added.

“I think people can gather ideas for their own landscapes by looking at other landscapes for ideas. As with any art form, shape, lines of sight and color combinations can give inspiration for another project,” Cuin noted. “If Wyoming gardeners keep their minds and eyes open, they have a wealth of opportunities to see and try new things in their gardens, both from nature and in other gardens they see.”

Cuin and the UW Natrona County Master Gardeners can be contacted at (307) 235-9400.

“The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens in Lions Park is a wonderful place to visit,” says state Extension Horticulture Specialist Karen Panter, with the UW College of Agriculture’s Department of Plant Sciences. It offers a variety of plant species and landscape designs (www.botanic.org).

Tom Heald, an area extension educator for Converse, Natrona and Niobrara counties, recommends a visit to the High Plains Grasslands Research Station (HPGRS) five miles northwest of Cheyenne. The station, which is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, has a variety of trees and shrubs.

The plants received care for many years, but since the 1970s they haven’t been given any supplemental water, Heald said. The ones that survived have proved they can withstand harsh conditions. Persons wishing to tour the station should first make an appointment by calling (307) 772-2433.

More information about the HPGRS is at www.rrru.ars.usda.gov. Click on the Locations link under Browse By Subject on the left side of the page.

To access the station, take exit 357 off Interstate 80 west of Cheyenne (this is Roundtop Road adjacent to the new Wal-Mart distribution center). Travel north on Roundtop Road approximately four miles.         

Another good place to view native plants in a “dry” setting is the UW Sheridan R&E Center east of Sheridan, said the center’s director, Justin Moss. The center has developed a xeriscape garden that continues to evolve. Contact information is at http://www.uwyo.edu/Agexpstn/.

There is a formal landscape garden and turf trials at the Joe and Arlene Watt Agriculture Center at Sheridan College (SC). More than 300 trees, shrubs, and vines suitable for the area were planted in 2006 as part of a joint project between SC and the Sheridan R&E Center.

There are approximately 20 species of shrubs and trees in a demonstration nursery at the Powell R&E Center.

“We established the native planting in 2002. It gives homeowners and landowners an idea of some of the native species they can use in windbreaks and ornamental plantings,” said Powell R&E Center Farm Manager Mike Killen.

“We gave the plants supplemental water the first three years to get them established, but they’ve received little extra supplemental water since. We want to see how they do under limited care,” he said.

Powell R&E Center holds tree pruning clinics at the site. For information, call the center at (307) 754-2223.

Local conservation district offices can also provide help in plant selection. Contact information is at www.conservewy.com/wacd/district_map.html.

A variety of publications are available on the UW CES Web site at http://ces.uwyo.edu/PUBS/Horticulture/Horticulture_Publications_Main.htm.

Contact: Robert Waggener, Editor
Phone: (307) 766-3571
E-mail: robertw@uwyo.edu

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