From community gardens to major landscaping, gardening possible in Wyoming

SHERIDAN — People have been planting, growing and harvesting in the West for a very long time, from the Northern Cheyenne to tenants in the smallest apartment.

“The joy you get from seeing something sprout is just awesome,” Jordan Carroll, program and outreach coordinator for Rooted in Wyoming, said.

Each season, Carroll dries sunflower seeds from his own blooms to give to others.

“People come back to me and say their kids were so excited when that seed sprouted. Once, someone came back and told me that planting with his mom, who had early signs of dementia, was one of the first times they were able to be happy together,” he said. “Those are stories I never expected to get over some seeds.”

Gardening can feel like a hurdle to a beginner: Wyoming’s high elevation, extreme temperatures and legendary winds can cause even experienced growers heartache. Others may feel they don’t have space for a garden. 

But Carroll said that the list of plants that do grow in Wyoming is longer than the list of plants that don’t, and anyone can grow a vertical or water-based garden.

“There are multiple ways that people can grow their own food in Wyoming, whether it's season-extending greenhouses, hydroponic systems ranging from counter top size to filling an entire basement,” he said.

“Houseplants and gardening really blew up in the pandemic, and people realized they really can grow their own food at home,” he added.

Gardening is a community effort

Wyoming Garden Club member Lynette Jeffres said that local greenhouses and gardening organizations are crucial for learning what thrives in different locations. 

Sheridan-based Rooted in Wyoming's vision is that all communities can grow their own food, and that vision drives its mission to connect communities through local food, Carroll said. 

Rooted connects kids to their cafeteria food by inviting classrooms to the Fifth Street Greenhouse, where a hydroponic growing system provides over a hundred pounds of lettuce to Sheridan County School District 2 weekly during the school year. Rooted also works with adults who run vegetable producing businesses, often donating back to local food banks at the Salvation Army, Food Group and Community Cupboard.

Another local group, the Sheridan Food Forest, hosted instructors and students from Chief Dull Knife College from Lame Deer, Mont., on Thursday, with the goal of increasing the size of the Cheyenne native plant garden at the Food Forest, according to Carol LeResche. The Food Forest offers multiple educational opportunities for the public, and is a volunteer-driven group where anyone can learn to grow.

Another resource for home gardeners is the Wyoming Garden Club, with affiliates in Riverton, Encampment, Casper, Cheyenne and Chugwater, according to Jeffres. 

Other gardening clubs across the state that aren’t affiliated with the Federation of Gardening Clubs are also a wealth of information for local growers.

The Wyoming Garden Club, Jeffres said, has participated in the “Grow Extra” program for the First Lady’s Hunger Initiative, offers educational opportunities and awards a statewide scholarship every year to a Wyoming student.

“It’s a great group, and the best part about Garden Club is the friends that you make,” Jeffres said.

Zones, winds and what does best in Wyoming

Jeffres’ best advice for a home gardener is to plant hardy plants that are sold locally.

“If you buy a lot of plants in the big box stores, you are not necessarily buying things that are going to be hardy here,” she said.

The bulk of Wyoming is classified under the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones as Zone 4B, which means that the average minimum temperature is -15 to -20 degrees. Sheridan falls within zone 4B and 5A, due to a relatively low elevation of 3,757 feet, and a slightly warmer temperature average. A place like Encampment in Carbon County sits at an elevation of 7,317 and is classified as 4A due to slightly colder temperatures.

Nearly everyone, she said, has to account for the wind.

Keith Kershaw, owner and general manager of Landon’s Greenhouse, said Sheridan is a bit sheltered by the Bighorns.

“We’re not out in the wide open wind like Casper. We’re not at the elevation of Laramie,” he said. “So the biggest thing I see that we have to watch out for are the northwest winter winds. They are so dry and very dessicating.”

Kershaw said Landon’s sells ornamental and shade trees, and his staff will work with a customer to find what type of tree is best for a particular landscaping project. And new construction in Sheridan has meant demand for landscaping.

“We’re seeing a lot of demand for landscaping, and in that, for windbreaks or blocks on the edge of a property while a new home goes up, or as apartments go up,” Kershaw said.

Shade trees are considered to be over 30 feet, and ornamentals are considered under 30 feet. Ornamentals are flowering and fruiting trees like crabapple and cherry trees, and shade trees include aspens, lindens and honeylocust trees.

“Our big focus is adhering to our zones and our soils,” Kershaw said. “What I mean by that is that, in Zone 4 which we are in, everything has to be hardy to survive very cold temperatures.”

Seasoned growers learn tricks: Baby plants along in pots, or place potted plants on cement for extra warmth, Jeffres said. Drip lines, soaker hoses and other consistent water sources are crucial. Horseradish is native to Wyoming, and asparagus can thrive in ditch lines. Root vegetables like carrots and onions also do well across the state.

When it comes to trees and shrubs, Jeffres said honeysuckle, lilacs and cherry trees do well. Spruces and pines, of course, thrive - but when planting trees, Jeffres said to always leave plenty of room for saplings to grow into full trees.

“We plant trees too close, and we do this with perennials too, because they look lonely,” she said. “But then they get big, so plan for that space.”

It’s never too early to plan for the next season, she said. 

Keep some debris, like scattered leaves, inside a garden to create a habitat for over-wintering pollinators. Plant daffodil bulbs in the fall, which are deer resistant plants that will come up early in Wyoming's growing season. Transplant in the late summer and fall. 

And know that gardening is a long game.

“When you plant perennials and trees and things like that, there is a saying, an old rule my grandmother used to say. The first year they sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap,” Jeffres said. “Plants really have to re-establish themselves and that third year, they will really take off.”

This story was published on June 23, 2025.