Sounds like a big job, not the landscaping bit, but getting the buy-in from the man. But you can do it! You'll have fun learning too and you will feel sooo accomplished!

You sound just like me, I'm hopelessly lost when it comes to gardening/landscaping. If I can keep my little herbs alive through the season then I call that a success. I think I can picture what you have in mind and if you take it slow and build up to it you'll get there (and maybe even get Travis on board!)

Sounds like you'll need some hearty plants and trees with some flowers in pots that you can bring in. I would start going to a local garden or landscaping center and ask them what they suggest. They wouldn't be selling anything your zone can't handle. I also like going on windowbox.com - they have a section where you can see what types of veggies and herbs you can grow in your zone (and depending on what type of gardener you are) if you're interested in that sort of thing. this forum will probably have some great advice.

What a great plan! It's like having a blank canvas on which to paint and play. You'll figure it out and have so much fun planning and planting. A friend of mine took a 'master gardening' class at our local college and had so much fun learning, visiting other gardens and gathering ideas. Surely you can do much the same with books. Have fun!

I can offer absolutely no help when it comes to gardening. I'm curious about your lilac bush. Has it grown much? I grew up with lilacs in the Spring and I miss them so much each year. I don't think I've seen any since moving to Colorado. Of course, I'll be glad if I don't kill the lawn this summer because I'll be studying for the bar.

Wow - you weren't kidding - that is a lot of landscaping rock! I think your yard has tons of potential though. Can't wait to see what you decide to do!

sounds like you have a general idea of what you want - books are probably your best bet. You may see an idea in one and know that it is what you want! I had no plan either - my house, much like yours, had NO landscaping of any kind - just grass (not so good grass and no sprinkler system!) Little by little as funds allow we are adding and changing. A rock wall, front walkway and a few trees have been added. No where near to done or to what I want, but small steps....

I've had a lot of success with native plants. Guaranteed to survive your climate and soil. And they are way cheap. As I walk, I'll collect seeds, then put them in envelopes and store them in the refrigerator. Later in the spring I take them out and direct sow them. Other plants I just dig up and transplant. Things that are weeds here are very beautiful: chickory, cardinal flower, butterfly weed, brown-eyed susan, Queen Anne's lace. I get them from fields and roadsides, grabbed two althea (rose of sharon) this past weekend that were volunteers and would have been weeded out of a bed.

I think having a plan is the key to success here. But I've always lived in old houses with pretty well established landscaping and never had to start from scratch. It must be overwhelming! Get to the library!

My latest gardening attempts are focused on a sustainable landscape. I've been reading up on native plants that are drought-resistant, etc. Missouri has a great website on it (grownative.com), Wyoming might have one, too.

First of all - welcome back! I'm so relieved that everything is fine with you. (I emailed yai-Ann to make sure you were OK before I emailed you... she put my mind at ease!)

As for the landscaping, I wish I could offer some sage advice (get it? sage?), but I've never kept my own garden. My planting experience only extends to weeding my parents' vegetable garden... every spring, summer and fall for years and years. You wouldn't believe how many times my dad yelled at me for pulling out plants instead of weeds... sigh.

Good luck with the yard - I am always envious when I see photos of where you live!

I'm in Salt Lake and I worked for several years in garden centers. Absolutely go to a local one. Talk to them and take your time looking around. Don't buy a whole bunch of stuff, just look around. Think about it. Plan a rough plan, like not the exact plants you want, but just the shapes and/or colours you want. Then go buy. Don't skimp on the soil preparation!!!!!!!!!! Skimp on the plants if you must, but NOT on the soil prep. $10 tree, $10 hole, all that...

Be careful. Some plants are more choosy than others and some are not as hardy as others, but they may all be sold in a garden center because very good or very careful gardeners will succeed with them where less experienced or committed gardeners may not.

Obviously, I have lots of opinions on this. E-mail me if you have any questions. SLC isn't as cold, but we share the dry air. (Gardening books are NOT written for our climates, so take their designs with a grain of salt.)

Try running an add in a local free ad paper or contacting a local small ladies gardening club...not the fancy one but the little 'ole ladies type that meets in the local 'church or rec hall' and attend a meeting or request advice. I bet you get cuttings and what grow easily. What you don't really care alot about you can just plant in a pot. Or plant it all in a pot and winter what grows over winter..divide and spread out next year for larger plannings of your favorites. County agents are another good free source of information and usually have flyers of information.

There are some great suggestions here. Here are 2 books I found particularly helpful to start with--
The Weekend Garden Guide by Susan A. Roth (despite its title, it has some great design info as well as plant choices)
Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs by Michael A. Dirr (he is an absolute GOD! When you get obsessed, you will get the humunous book that has no color pictures, but for right now, this is both inspirational and gives you all the nuts and bolts you need)
My own advice? Plant trees and shrubs first and as small seedlings--after a few years they will be as big as larger plants will be (they grow so much faster--it's really true!) and they seem to adapt to tough conditions better.
I only wish I could recommend my favorite mail-order sites, but they have both gone out of business :-(

Katherine had a great idea and my contribution is to check with the agricultural extension service... they are usually located in the major towns and associated with some state college. Here, they train people to be "master gardeners" and those people know everything about getting along with the local climate, making compost, getting rid of bugs, you name it. I have gardened at high elevation in the Sierras, and would be happy to try and get more info to you through emailing back and forth, but don't know as much about your high desert environment (except that native plants are always good and that you will need to protect any trees the first few years till they are well-rooted). The best book of all is the Sunset Western Garden Book, JMHO.

Hi again from up north- you're so lucky to have that nearly "blank slate" property- so many options, even in Wyo! Looks like you've had some good suggestions posted, but Please Please find Lauren Springer's fantastic book The Undaunted Gardener- you will never regret it.Other books just don't understand what its like to live/garden in this region. It was gifted to me when I moved to Wyo, and I use it here in MT as well. SO many plant ideas, and truly practical suggestions for dealing with soil, wind, erratic weather, critters, etc. She has another book as well, but I'd go to that one secondly. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens has tons of useful info as well. GardenWeb.com has a Rocky Mt Gardening Forum, with so many nice people, some of whom are located in Wyo. You can post questions and actually get responses. Highly recommend it. Gardening is such good therapy for whatever is on your mind- this is perfect timing for pouring through books, mags, and online resources, while waiting for spring! Its a joy to get out there and dig- have fun, best, Martha

Wow! Is that your property? What a lovely piece of land....and the socks are really cool too.

Oh, I miss Wyoming so. I will confess that I have gotten spoiled by the growing seasons in MN, but it's not home to me.

In Laramie, we had tremendous luck with lilacs and some high altitude shrub roses (my mom has a rose bush in the back yard that was literally a stick stuck in the ground when we first got it). Gooseberry bushes also thrive, and can be useful for those who enjoy gooseberry jelly or pie (rather tart, much like rhubarb). Unfortunately, I wasn't the gardener then that I am now, so what I know comes from MN knowledge rather than WY.

Be sure to pay attention to the zones on anything you might buy, and I would even recommend choosing plants that have zones even one lower than what your zone should be. You'll also need to keep an eye on sun/shade tolerances. The west is wide open, so make sure you know where the shade is and when so you don't accidentally shade sunlovers and the other way around.

Good luck! As we are planning to return to the rockies before too long, I'll be watching what you do with interest for my own future gardening endeavors.

I moved to Iowa when I was a newlywed just out of college and learned a few lessons about gardening in colder climates. I had good luck there with shrub roses on the South and West sides of the house. I also learned that dwarf holly bushes won't survive if they're totally covered by snow for too long. We couldn't afford bigger plants so we bought the smaller ones and only one survived, because it was close enough to the path that the mail lady knocked some snow off of it. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your results!

One thing to think over is how much work you want to put into your yard. Plants that are either native to your climate, or one that's very similar, will thrive without much trouble (once they've got good soil). Base your selections on things that won't take a lot of work/upkeep, and then choose a couple of things that might be harder to keep happy, but you really love. In my yard, I try to choose things that will look great without a lot of work (like deadheading, chemical use, or plants not well-adapted to my climate).

An excellent resource for gardening in your area would be your county extention office. There are also gardening catalogs with offerings designed specifically for the high country. (High Country Gardens comes to mind--excellent resource for plants that are pretty and hard to kill.) Do some research on what's native to your state, and go check out the forums at www.GardenWeb.com and www.DavesGarden.com. Both should be places where you can post questions for gardeners in similar areas/climates/zones as you. Most of what I learned about gardening I learned from the Garden Web forums. Then there are the Mrs. Greenthumbs books by Cassandra Danz, which are excellent primers on making a good garden. (And they're entertaining to read, which is a huge plus for me.) If you're looking for serious windbreak, try looking into something that's hybrid--such as willows or poplars. You can plant them right along the fence, and they'll grow several feet each year and make a good screen very quickly. A wind break offers protection for a length of either seven or ten times its height. (My memory fails me.)

So, go check out the Garden Web and Dave's Garden. Find out about natives (often new varieites of natives will thrive with very little care), oh, and most importantly, find what kind of soil you have. First things first, be sure to find out what kind of soil you have. Amend the heck out of it with compost, and your plants will thrive.

I hope this is coherent . . . it has been typed amidst children and other stuff going on. I so can't wait to get outside and get going in my yard. The wind here is still too knife-like to even pull weeds for long. Good luck, and have fun!

Oops. Here's linkage:

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

http://www.GardenWeb.com/forums (Including regional forums, beginning gardener forums, etc.)

http://davesgarden.com/forums (Also has regional forums, as well as the Garden Watchdog, a review list of online gardening companies.)

Gardening and landscaping takes patience and experimentation. Many of the commenters have already left wonderful suggestions for books and websites to peruse so I won't add to that.

What I will say, however, is that gardening can be a peaceful, meditative exercise. Concentrate on one part of your garden at a time. That way you won't feel so overwhelmed. Don't be afraid to try something different, it doesn't have to be permanent if you don't like it.

Most people focus on color and texture; personally I like plants with beautiful scents. Lavender, rosemary and roses always turn my head. Plus certain smells attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Landscape art can add a bit of personality to your garden too. Water fountains, a few garden gargoyles, a funky bench.

Just a few ideas, hope they help. About your hiatus - everyone needs one. Glad to see you're back.

my mom is really into gardening, gardening to her is knitting to me. so maybe just go ahead and check out some books and see what you like, and what is reasonable for your climate. just make it fun for yourself! i know my mom is really into xeroscaping which is using plants and flowers indigeous to your area...maybe that works. i bet the lilac tree is amazing though!!! i love the smell of lilacs!!!

Yes! to Lauren Springer and Mrs. Greenthumbs--please get those!

I would check with the University extension service in Wyoming before doing too much more. Your climate is harsh, the growing season is short, there's never enough water for the ranchers, and really not for a lot of other plants. http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWces/Landscape9.asp and a personal favorite- www.highcountrygardens.com.
I think you've started in the right direction with wind breaks. I'm writing this as I watch the snow accumulate here in Colorado. Oh- you might want to check out some of the Canadian websites too!