No Exaggeration: Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Is Tropical Oasis In Middle Of Winter

Although it sounds like hyperbole, the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens really is a tropical oasis. There are lychee trees and mango, pineapple and banana, papaya, sugar cane, coffee, and cacao trees. They come from all over the world.

RJ
Renée Jean

March 08, 20259 min read

The handicap-accessible walkway beckons visitors to come in out of winter and explore Wyoming's only year-round tropical paradise.
The handicap-accessible walkway beckons visitors to come in out of winter and explore Wyoming's only year-round tropical paradise. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)

CHEYENNE — The air inside is warm and still. Yertle the turtle — a red-bellied Florida cooter — is sunning himself on a rock, neck craning toward the sun high overhead, while his brother Squirtle is hiding somewhere in the shade. 

Hard to say which is the smarter turtle.

The koi fish below Yertle do a slow-motion ballet in the stream, celebrating music only they can hear. Water plops now and again in the distance as the fish dance in the bubbling, babbling stream of this tropical paradise, an emerald jewel in a most unlikely place.

This treasure of lush tropical greenery isn’t hiding somewhere in the Caribbean or the Amazon. It’s right here in Wyoming, at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.

Normally, it would take a much larger city to support a botanic garden like this.

That didn't discourage Shane Smith, who not only helped found the garden, but paid for its first seeds out of his own pocket. That was 48 years ago at the then Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse, the botanic gardens’ precursor.

Started to provide an activity for senior citizens, as well as grow their own food, the greenhouse was a 5,000-square-foot experiment at the time. No one knew if it would survive.

“I kind of jokingly say, you’d have to be an idiot to put a botanic garden in Cheyenne, and I was that idiot,” Smith has told Cowboy State Daily. “But I sure had a good time.”

Stop And Stare

Smith’s idea proved quite popular right from the start. People would spot the greenhouse passing by, and stop not only to stare, but to offer their help.

Pretty soon, all sorts of people were volunteering. Disabled adults came to help weed the space. Teachers found a new educational space to send students. Judges even sentenced people to community service at the greenhouse. 

Smith just kept adding new things to this grand experiment, bringing more new people into his vision. Wyoming’s first community garden. A wheel-chair accessible orchard — which Smith says was the nation’s first. And then came the tropical plants.

By 1985, Smith was growing green things not many would seriously think of trying in the Rocky Mountain West on a long-term basis. Banana trees, for one. Fig and coffee trees for another. 

The tropical theme Smith started attracted attention. Today it remains a central theme of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens’ Shane Smith Grand Conservatory, open year-round for free. It doesn’t cost a thing to visit. 

“We don’t try to mimic any particular tropical landscape or geographic region,” Horticulture & Operations Supervisor Isaiah Smith told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s just tropical. Anything tropical, whatever will grow, whatever’s interesting.”

Because there’s a lot of shade in the conservatory, that tends toward understory and low-canopy types of plants. But there is one particularly big boy, towering three stories over everything, the tips of its spiky leaves nearly brushing the ceiling. 

“That’s a Mexican feather duster palm, Washingtonian robusta,” Isaiah said. “It’s actually the same species of palm that’s used in like Beverly Hills, Miami, Malibu — like those street trees you see in all the movies and the television. All the giant palm trees around the giant mansions.”

The distinctive straw skirt is formed as leaves come out, fall to the side, and then dry up. 

In nature, that straw skirt would actually reach all the way to the ground, sheltering a host of small creatures. 

Like tarantulas, and rats and things like that.

“That’s a big reason they trim the skirts like they do in California and Florida,” Isaiah said. “They do it to manage the little critters and stuff that would live in them.”

  • The Mexican feather duster in nature grows its little straw skirt all the way to the ground, where it will shelter cute critters like baby rats and tarantulas. That's why it gets a trim in places like California and Florida.
    The Mexican feather duster in nature grows its little straw skirt all the way to the ground, where it will shelter cute critters like baby rats and tarantulas. That's why it gets a trim in places like California and Florida. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • From above, a tiny waterfall feeds a pond where koi dance a slow ballet. Somewhere, Yertle the turtle basks in the sun, while his brother, Squritle hides in the shade. You just never can tell what turtles might do, even when they're the same species.
    From above, a tiny waterfall feeds a pond where koi dance a slow ballet. Somewhere, Yertle the turtle basks in the sun, while his brother, Squritle hides in the shade. You just never can tell what turtles might do, even when they're the same species. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • The grapevine elephant to the left, and a waterfall to the right, with all manner of tropical plants in between at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
    The grapevine elephant to the left, and a waterfall to the right, with all manner of tropical plants in between at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • One of the other thing the Cheyenne Botanic Garden does is grow bedding plants for Cheyenne.
    One of the other thing the Cheyenne Botanic Garden does is grow bedding plants for Cheyenne. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • The annual glass show brings a lot of beautiful art to Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
    The annual glass show brings a lot of beautiful art to Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • A shamrock of real clover.
    A shamrock of real clover. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • It takes a special effort to keep a tropical paradise alive in Wyoming. Fog jets steam up the place whenever the humidity gets too low, helping ensure the proper growing environment for things like banana, mango, and cacao trees.
    It takes a special effort to keep a tropical paradise alive in Wyoming. Fog jets steam up the place whenever the humidity gets too low, helping ensure the proper growing environment for things like banana, mango, and cacao trees. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • A petrified stump hides among the ferns and other tropical plants at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
    A petrified stump hides among the ferns and other tropical plants at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • Benches are scattered throughout the Shane Smith Grand Conservatory at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, giving visitors comfortable places to relax at Wyoming's only year-round tropical paradise.
    Benches are scattered throughout the Shane Smith Grand Conservatory at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, giving visitors comfortable places to relax at Wyoming's only year-round tropical paradise. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • Yertle the turtle on his rock, neck craning toward the sun high overhead.
    Yertle the turtle on his rock, neck craning toward the sun high overhead. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)

Tropical Fruit Trees For Fun

The tropical fruit trees at the garden probably get the most attention, however, Children’s Village Horticulturist Jessica Friis told Cowboy State Daily. 

There are lychee trees and mango, pineapple and banana, papaya, sugar cane, coffee, and cacao trees. They come from all over the world.

The bananas are a particular attraction right now, having just been cut last week. The large bunch of tiny bananas has been hanging in front of one of the plant walls. A mini parade of popular social media posts on Facebook has tracked their rapid progress from green to yellow.

The bananas are not a commercial variety, being just 3 inches in length. But they’re definitely much sweeter than bananas from the grocery store. The tree makes about one bunch of these delicious bananas each year.

“We let staff and volunteers take them home,” Friis said. “These ones are really sweet, and my kids love them. They’re small, so they’re kind of a good size for kids.”

The Cheyenne Botanic Garden staff have also used the bananas to make just about every type of banana bread there is, Isaiah added. And discovered that they’re all basically delicious, regardless of claims that this or that method is “the best.”

Inspiring Careers, And The Future

Friis is just one of the Wyoming minds attracted to the magic of Cheyenne’s Botanic Garden at a young age. She even credits it with inspiring her career.

“It’s a fun place to come in the winter, where you can kind of get a little bit of tropical plants and avoid the winter blues,” she said. “And that’s really why I went into this field. I was growing up in Cheyenne, where the winters are so long, and I was like, ‘Boy, it’d be nice to work in a greenhouse in January and February and still get to be around green plants.’ So that’s why I did this.”

This winter, Friis and Smith are not just dreaming of spring just around the corner. They’re also dreaming of the future, as the Cheyenne Botanic Garden is about to embark on a new master plan.

That’s going to start with a new and better pathway at the gardens, Smith said. 

“Right now, the way our sidewalks work outside, you kind of get to the end and have to turn around and come back,” Smith said. “So the master plan actually includes changing a lot of the sidewalks so that it’s easier to kind of loop around the gardens and see everything without having to stop and turn around.”

As part of that the existing irrigation and sprinkler system will also change. 

“We have trees that existed here before the park, we have turf grass, we have perennials and we have annuals, and they’re all watered off of one sprinkler, but they have different needs,” Smith said. 

These days, however, there are smart watering systems that can provide more accurate and precise water, according to individual plant needs. The new sprinklers will help make the gardens more water wise, along with changing some of the plants.

“We really want to push water-wise planting and irrigation schedules,” Smith said. “It feels wrong for us to just be blanket watering everything the same way.”

There will still be specialty gardens with plants that are more water intensive, like the rose and herb gardens, Friis added. But instead of thirsty grass in transition areas, there will be examples of water-wise selections.

“We’ve been trying to encourage more people to do that in their own yards,” Smith said. “But it’s hard for people to wrap their minds around what’s that going to look like? So maybe people can come here to see, ‘Oh, I like that plant, and that one. Maybe I’ll plant those at home.’”

  • A grapevine elephant resides in the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's Shane Smith Conservatory, which is open year-round and free. It doesn't cost a thing.
    A grapevine elephant resides in the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's Shane Smith Conservatory, which is open year-round and free. It doesn't cost a thing. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • It took less than a week for these 3-inch, child-size bananas to go from green to gold. The bananas are extra sweet and are used as a reward for staff and volunteers, who help keep the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's tropical conservatory green and growing all year long.
    It took less than a week for these 3-inch, child-size bananas to go from green to gold. The bananas are extra sweet and are used as a reward for staff and volunteers, who help keep the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's tropical conservatory green and growing all year long. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • Even citrus can be grown indoors at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
    Even citrus can be grown indoors at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • The Mexican feather duster.
    The Mexican feather duster. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • A glass art show decorates the Shane Smith Grand Conservatory once a year.
    A glass art show decorates the Shane Smith Grand Conservatory once a year. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • The green algae in this photo only grows on rocks that are wet, but lack running water, allowing it to create beautiful abstract patterns.
    The green algae in this photo only grows on rocks that are wet, but lack running water, allowing it to create beautiful abstract patterns. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • Koi do a slow ballet to music only they can hear in a beautiful little stream fed by a small waterfall at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
    Koi do a slow ballet to music only they can hear in a beautiful little stream fed by a small waterfall at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • Water pools in the center of tropical plants growing at the Shane Smith Grand Conservatory, part of the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's year-round tropical paradise.
    Water pools in the center of tropical plants growing at the Shane Smith Grand Conservatory, part of the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's year-round tropical paradise. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
  • Isaiah Smith talks about Cheyenne Botanic Gardens' master plan.
    Isaiah Smith talks about Cheyenne Botanic Gardens' master plan. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)

Carrying On The Tradition Of Cowboy Horticulturists

Another focus of the master plan over the next 20 years will be developing spaces that have better community outreach, as well as more revenue-generating potential.

“We are a city entity,” Smith said. “We need to be able to justify ourselves. And we only get so much money from the city to support this.”

One way to do that is improve spaces like the old Peanut Pond, for example, also known as the Discovery Pond. That’s been a popular spot for weddings and other celebrations. But, right now, that area is part of a public right of way, so can have random strangers trailing into the event.

The new vision is to have a security fence with gates, so the area can be closed off for a private event, making the experience much better. The view shed would also change slightly, so that the backdrop of the garden is no longer a parking lot. 

That, however, is for a future date, Smith added, and won’t unfold until that part of the plan is funded. 

Right now, the garden that has funding is the EAT garden. When it’s completed, it will be a space where vegetables get the ultimate stress test — growing in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Cheyenne was once ground zero for such tests when it had a field research station decades ago. Cowboy horticulturists traveled the world in search of the best plant varieties for Wyoming and the West. These were often tested at Cheyenne, which was considered the “acid” test for plants that would grow in the West, because growing conditions are so challenging.

Any plant that survived Cheyenne would likely grow from Montana in the north to Amarillo in the south.

That handiwork can still be spotted in seed catalogs to this day, andSmith is excited to continue that tradition in a new garden space.

“People come here looking for answers to questions,” he said. “We live in a very difficult climate, so being able to trial and showcase new varieties of vegetables that people can be successful with will be great.”

The EAT gardens, which is already 90 to 95% funded, will feature raised beds with in-ground trials to help gardeners navigate new varieties. 

It will also include space for an outdoor classroom, including an outdoor kitchen. 

“That way we can take that next step of ‘Okay, cool, I grew an onion and I was successful. What do I do with it how?’ It would be awesome for people to be able to pull that straight out of the garden, throw it on the grill and see, ‘Here’s how you cook that up.’”

That’s just one of the many ways the pioneering legacy started by Shane Smith almost 50 years ago continues to be carried out to this day, with all kinds of new and wonderful things ahead for Wyoming’s only year-round tropical paradise.

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Watch on YouTube

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.

Authors

RJ

Renée Jean

Business and Tourism Reporter