The Sand Cherry

It's a gorgeous day in Laramie (which makes us all wonder what the heck we're doing inside in front of the computer?!), and one of our flowering shrubs on the green roof is starting to bloom to celebrate.

The sand cherry (Prunus pumila v. bessyi) is a drought-tolerant shrub that typically grows 3-5 feet in height - though our relatively shallow growing medium might limit that.

One of the sand cherries on the green roof.

Sand cherries have lovely white flowers in spring and semi-edible fruits in summer (as in they're very tart and might need processing to be palatable - and it's possible that if the seeds are eaten you might experience some unpleasant side effects). 

Flower of the sand cherry

Sand cherry berries - this is not from any of our green roof plants, but if ours produce
cherries, this is what they'll look like!

But it's a tough, attractive shrub that is great for pollinators, so here's hoping it'll keep up the good growth!

Another one of our sand cherries on the green roof.

PS - there was a happy little bumble bee (Bombus huntii) foraging on a Sharpleaf Twinpod today too!

Written by Brenna Marsicek, UW Biodiversity Institute

Bloom-Fest 2015

The Berry Prairie is rockin.  Eighteen - yes eighteen, as in ten plus four plus four, as in a couple less then twenty - plants have bloomed already this year.  That's practically more than what bloomed all of last year!  Chalk it up to a mild winter, the recent rain and snow falls, the redesign, or maybe it's me and Dorothy sitting out there reading encouraging stories like The Little Engine That Could to these beloved plants.  Whatever the cause, the green roof is alive with whites, yellows, pinks, purples and blues.

Come check out the Bloom Fest in person, or take a tour through the pictures below.  Leave a comment with your vote for your favorite plant!

Start here at the entrance:

Looking ahead, you can see some of the color showing up already.

And if you look just behind you, you'll find a fun little clematis in bloom:

Rock Clematis (Clematis columbiana)

Take a few steps forward, and you've already run into a batch of blooms:

A collection of blooms, including Devil's Gate Twinpod (white; Physaria eburniflora), Sharpleaf Twinpod (yellow; Physaria acutifolia), and the Mountain Ball Cactus (pink; Pediocactus simpsonii).

The Twinpods we've covered before in a previous blog, but the cactus is a new one.  Take a look at the close-up of the flower - gorgeous!

Mountain Ball Cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii)

A little further up the path and to the left, you'll find that the one hold-out of the Fewseed Draba is still in bloom.

Fewseed Draba (Draba oligosperma)

Moving into the foothills, next on the tour is the Dwarf Pussytoes, this compact plant with a sweet white flower.

Dwarf Pussytoes (Antennaria parviflora)

A little further up the path, closing in on the alpine section, we have Prairie Smoke (a personal favorite).

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

Here's a closer picture of the plant and flower:

Finally, in the alpine section, we have Dwarf Phlox and the tiny little Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine (not to be mistaken for the larger, showier, much more common Colorado Blue Columbine).

Dwarf Phlox (Phlox condensata)

Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine (Aquilegia saximontana)

And with that, you've arrived at the end of the path with the pleasure of turning around and heading back the other direction!

Written by Brenna Marsicek, UW Biodiversity Institute

Some Tough Cookies

Before this surprising snow buried the Berry Prairie beneath a foot or more of snow, several species had been fooled into thinking spring was here. Now, with the snow melting away, a few look a bit haggard, some look like they barely noticed, and others look positively thriving.

Here's a sampling:

Sharpleaf Twinpod (Physaria acutifolia) - a bit flat, but otherwise looking fine.

Sharpleaf Twinpod (Physaria acutifolia)

Stalkpod Locoweed (Oxytropis podocarpa).  This photo was taken before the big snow, because he looks somewhat less handsome now.  Locoweeds are a new addition to the Prairie last year - they're a scrappy group of plants in the pea family, which do well in Wyoming's harsh conditions.

Stalkpod Locoweed (Oxytropis podocarpa)

Cutleaf fleabane (Erigeron compositus) must have really liked the snow! Today the plants, freshly emerged from the snow, are covered with buds that look like they’ll open tomorrow. No one should be surprised--this species thrives in gravelly, windy places most of us would find daunting.

Cutleaf fleabane (Erigeron compositus)

The snow brought much-needed moisture to the Berry Prairie (and the rest of the Laramie Valley), so expect lots more flowering soon!

Written by Dorothy Tuthill, UW Biodiversity Institute

The Season of "Sprinter"

Laramie is in its classic shoulder-season: Sprinter. The time of year where spring and winter collide, and you might grill out in your flip flops one day and shovel 8 inches of snow the next. Literally. Like the weather we've experienced this week.

But Sprinter is a super necessary season for our native plants that rely on the slowly melting, heavy snow that soaks into the soil. This is good for plant growth, fire prevention, water resources for local communities, etc etc. 

So no complaining about snow! After all, the Berry Prairie plants that you can't even see aren't complaining. If they could, they'd be grinning leaf to leaf!

Written by Brenna  Marsicek, UW Biodiversity Institute