Clinic's Xeriscape Matures Into a Scenic Sagebrush Garden by Tom Barnes In the mid 1970's, orthopedic surgeons Dr. David Keiffer and Dr. Robert Curnow moved from the eastern part of the country to Laramie, Wyoming to establish their practices. They found the Rocky Mountains and the sagebrush plains of Wyoming were to their liking. In 1979 they built Gem City Bone and Joint Clinic (named for Laramie's nickname, "Gem City of the Plains") on the eastern edge of this city of 40,000 people. At an elevation of 7,200 feet-- located in a high valley between two mountain ranges-- the clinic's landscape is certainly blessed with distinct seasonal changes. Kieffer and Curnow had decided before the clinic was built that they wanted a xeriscape-- but, more importantly, they wanted it to be dominated by sagebrush within a diverse plant community. They contacted the College of Agriculture-- Range Management Division-- at Laramie's University of Wyoming, only to discover Dr. Alan Beetle as a recognized expert in sage brush taxonomy and growth habit. They immediately hired him to help create a sagebrush garden. Tom Barnes, a local Landscape Architect specializing in land restoration, was contracted to do the soil preparation, seeding of a variety of grass/shrub native species, and then to mulch the soil to help insure the growing process. A minimal watering program was used for approximately eight weeks to get the seedlings through the two-leaf stage; the sage brush plants were transplanted during this period, and the watering programs supplemented both the seeding and new sage plants. Approximately one hundred plants were placed around the building in a random pattern. Root growth hormone was used on the 1996 transplants, but it is unknown if used in the 1979 phase of the project. The source for transplants was a test plot near Laramie that the University of Wyoming had established in the 1950's. The plot is no longer used for any research as it is currently utilized as a plant source for Artemsia tridentata (Big Sagebrush) and Artemisia cana (Silver Sage). The clinic's soil consists of thin, clay loam to loamy sand mixed with fractured limestone bedrock. Only the existing soil was utilized, again to keep the site as natural as possible. The average precipitation in the Laramie area is about 11.0 inches (4.3 cm.) with about sixty percent coming in the form of snow. The majority of the 1979 transplants were Big Sage with a few Silver Sage mixed in. No supplemental water was provided other than in the few weeks when they were first transplanted. The understory plants developed into a stable community while the sage matured to plants of six foot in height. The sagebrush landscape, over the years, has become a source of great interest and pride with doctors, patients, employees and the public-at-large. In 1994, Johnson Engineering Associates of Laramie designed a major remodel which included n outpatient surgical unit, expanded physical therapy and larger waiting/office area as well as adding more parking. Tom Barnes of Environmental Consulting and Contracting, Inc. was again hired to continue the landscape program begun in 1979. This time a complete plan was developed and implemented. The open space setting of the clinic allowed vehicles during off-hours to exit the parking area and damage the native vegetation. Rather than install parking blocks, native limestone boulders were placed on the perimeter of the asphalt lot. A mixture of native wildflower seeds were planted in several locations to give the landscape color throughout the growing season. The shrubs, transplanted in 1996, should reach three to four feet in height within five years, and the sage will continue to reseed and regenerate itself in the planted areas. Some of the original plants have begun to mature and die back but are being replaced with new seedlings either natural or if deemed necessary transplants will used. The foresight and determination of the doctors to develop this setting will continue to yield the clinic a beautiful and natural landscape-- requiring minimal water requirements and low maintenance, while providing a stable plant community. LASN Indian Blanket flower, Purple Prairie clover, Bluegrama and Thickspike wheatgrass are only a few of the hardy flowers and grasses selected for the site. The sagebrush transplant program called for 140 Big or Silver sage plants to be dug at the source site. Sagebrush is difficult to transplant with the following factors to be carefully considered: a) time of digging must be after frost is out of the ground but before the plant begins to fully photosynthesize, b) plant size should be kept between 6-24 inches, c)as much of the tap root should be saved as possible, all roots must be kept moist and shaded during the entire transplant process, d) provide a hole for the plant that is deep enough for the entire root system and no voids exist in the root zone, e) a root growth hormone is used and f) water for at least four weeks or for as long as conditions require. The same procedure was used on the yucca plants and other shrubs except that time of transplant was not as critical. An extensive xeriscape plant palette was installed at the Gem City Bone and Joint Clinic. All photos provided courtesy of Environmental Consulting and Contracting Inc. Plant Palette: Flowers Indian blanket flower Gaillardia aristata Golden banner Bachelor 's button Silky lupine Lupinus serioeus Rocky Mountain beeplant Cleome serrulata Gooseberry globemallow Sphaerakea gaosse briaefolia Purple prairie clover Petalostemon purpareum Scarlet flax Linum grandiflorum Baby's breath Gyposphila paniculata Beartooth columbine Aquilegia saximontana Blue flax Linum lewisi Annual phlox Phlox loodii Sky blue penstemon Penstemon glaucus Catchfly Silene musipula Goldfields Baeria spp. Fleabane daisy Erigeron spp. White evening primrose Primula nivalis New England aster Aster novae-angliae Prairie coneflower Ratibida columnairs White yarrow Achillea lanulosa Fringed sage Artemesia frigida Bluebell phacelia Phacella minor Showy golden eye Vigulera multiflora Plalmer penstemon Penstemon palmeri Plains coreopis Coreopsis tinctora Indian paintbrush Castilleja linariaefolia Grasses Blue grama Bouteloua gracilis Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Indian rice grass oryzopsis humenoider Thickspike wheatgrass Agropyron casytachuym Kentucky bluegrass Poa pratensis Western wheatgrass Agropyron smithii All seed was supplied by Ansaroka Seed of Manderson,Wyoming.