Gardening

Since the first appearance of oranges at the Franciscan missions in the early 19th century, citrus agriculture has been an inextricable part of California's heritage. From the 1870s to the 1960s, oranges and lemons were dominant features of the Southern California landscape. The Washington navel orange, introduced by homesteader Eliza Tibbets at Riverside in the 1870s, precipitated the rise of a citrus belt stretching from Pasadena (in the San Gabriel Valley) to Redlands (in San Bernardino County). Valencia oranges dominated Orange County south of Los Angeles, while lemons thrived in coastal settlements such as Santa Paula. With the arrival of transcontinental railroads in the citrus heartland by the 1880s, Californians had access to markets across the United States. This was followed by the subsequent establishment of an impressive central organization in the form of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, and oranges became the state's most lucrative crop. Observers did not exaggerate when they dubbed the southern portion of the Golden State an orange empire.

Decades after the Homestead Act, many settlers had tried and failed to establish roots in the high plains of Wyoming. Altitude, wind, dry conditions, and lack of winter snow cover desiccated plants, making it especially hard for trees to survive. In 1929, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) constructed a field station to research plants that could tolerate Cheyenne's harsh climate. From 1930 to 1974, many varieties of small fruits, vegetables, shrubs, and trees were tested. Plants from similar climates around the world, some as far away as China and Siberia, were also tested at the station. When the focus shifted in 1974 to grasslands research, much of the horticultural plant stock was removed or lost. Thanks to the efforts of concerned citizens, a 62-acre block of historic trees was renamed the High Plains Arboretum and opened to the public in 2008. The arboretum is now owned by the City of Cheyenne, with preservation efforts contributed by the Urban Forestry Division and the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.