Gardening Into the West
By Tammy Thornton
“These are the gardens of the Desert, these The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful…” —William Cullen Bryant, The Prairies ormally, it would take wild horses to drag me away from the beach in the summer. But in this case, it’s more like wild bison, moose, and grizzlies! Yes, this shore gardener has gone west—more precisely, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming. Back home, we are in gardening zone 7; but my hosts for our beautiful cabin tell me they are in a zone 3—what a short growing season! In other years, they have had snow as late as July 8th. Considering that, it’s amazing to see lovely flowers everywhere.
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My family and I stayed at the most picturesque setting. We had a cabin with an incredible view of the Grand Teton Mountain Range right outside our window. Our hosts, Iola and Hal, maintain a tidy vegetable garden, with neat rows of spinach, kale, peas, beets, and more. They also have an inspiring herb garden of whimsical containers brimming over with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Before you start singing, it is even better than the Simon and Garfunkel song, because they also grow mint, oregano, and lavender. Iola is especially proud of her pineapple sage.
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As we stroll through the garden, I see her ornamental beauties such as peonies, daisies, pansies, and irises. In the middle of the front yard is a circle of white anemone interspersed with red columbine (Aquila). We here on the East Coast really have no excuse; she puts us to shame growing so many things in such a short gardening season. The Tetons are meant for more than cabin life though; they beckon you to explore, so time to hit the trails. Once again, I was amazed at how much can grow in this often snowy, woodland, mountainous, terrain. Wild flowers are everywhere. We saw fields of yellow flowers called Arrowhead Balsamroot, and along the trail were striking red flowers called Indian Paint Brush. As we climbed higher, to my delight I found both columbine and Columbia clematis growing in the wild. My adventurous family hiked a strenuous 15 miles through Cascade Canyon in the Tetons, and were rewarded with a snow covered lake and the sight of mountain goats wrestling and playing in the snow. My husband spied a flower only found at higher elevations called Glacier Lily. According to nps. gov, their bulbs are among the vital spring foods for grizzly bears. Little critters resembling prairie dogs chased each other on the trail. But in the same way that I have an ongoing battle with squirrels in my own yard, Iola tells me these cute little imps, Uinta ground squirrels, eat almost everything in the garden. She does a lovely job of warding them off by planting many of her flowers and herbs in pots and whimsical containers. Definitely an idea I’m taking home to passively combat my own nemesis— the eastern gray squirrel. Blowing in the air around us are little white puffs of “cotton” from the seedlings of the cottonwood trees. It gives a dreamy, ethereal feeling to the whole place, as these seedlings attached to white fluff whirl around you. On to Yellowstone where instead of a traffic jam of shoobies, you might be stuck in traffic caused by a bear sighting or bison crossing the road. They do have a boardwalk, but if you jump off, you won’t burn your feet on hot sand,
but on boiling water from the the beautiful hot springs. I was amazed to see steaming holes in the ground—fumeroles—surrounded by yellow flowers. It’s surprising how plants can survive even under extreme conditions. We hiked the Hellroaring Trail— sounds like a good time, right? We crossed a suspension bridge over a raging river, where ominous ravens were squawking for us to turn back. But the path led us to fields of beautiful wild flowers with endless swathes of purple, pink, and yellow waving in the wind. Everywhere we went, we could see purple lupines, pink cranesbill geraniums, and the yellow flowers of shrubby cinquefoil. Back up the trail, it’s fun to see that even roses can grow in this wild land. They look like the wild roses (rosa rugosa) I have seen growing in the dunes around 52nd street in Ocean City. Which reminds me that the beach is calling me back. It’s wonderful to go away, and the mountains were majestic. But in the summer you need sand between your toes, and your own pillow beneath your head at night. I’m ready to trade in my bear spray for sunscreen spray. Besides, my own garden needs attention. After seeing such great gardens, both tame and wild, I’m anxious to get back to my own backyard to tame its wildness.
Tammy Thornton is a mom of four, a substitute teacher, and a Sunday school teacher. She is passionate about gardening and cooking, and loves the beach.
JULY 12-18, 2018