Rocky Mountain Garden Survival Guide

(From "Knowing Your Place") No matter what your style of gardening--whether your secret desire if for an English cottage garden in arid Santa Fe, to grow avocados in Helena, or to go wild with native plants in suburban Boise--the first step in achieving gardening success is to understand place. Find out where your garden fits in the larger geographic sense and discover the physical attributes of your specific location.

With elevations ranging from 3,439 feet above sea level at Calgary, Alberta, to Colorado's Munt Elbert at 14,433 feet, the gardening environment varies enormously across the region. ... Still commonalities unite this diverse region. Much of it is arid or semiarid, with average annual precipitation varying from less than seven inches to more than sixteen. Topography is often sloping or dangerously steep, and exposure is sometimes severe. Potential solar radiation is generally high as is average wind speed. Bone-chilling cold winters alternate with searing hot summers. Soils are generally thin and lacking in nutrients.

Knowing the region tells you what general gardening conditions to expect. Learning to read the details of place allows you to figure out what plants will thrive where.

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