Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States

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The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens in Cheyenne, Wyoming, cover about nine acres and include an associated High Plains Arboretum nearby. Founded in 1977 originally as the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse, it was created as a nonprofit with solar-heated greenhouses to grow food and provide meaningful activities for senior citizens and later diverse community volunteers.

The gardens moved to their current location in Lions Park in 1987 and feature a large conservatory with tropical plants, including banana, coffee, and fig trees, as well as unique attractions like a Navy submarine periscope and wheelchair-accessible orchard. The Paul Smith Children’s Village, opened in 2009, offers interactive educational landscapes designed to teach sustainability.

The gardens are notable for community involvement, therapeutic horticulture programs, and sustainable infrastructure with diverse specialty gardens, a vegetable garden contributing produce to those in need, and environmental education opportunities. The overall theme embraces tropical and high plains plants, making it a tropical oasis in a high-altitude desert environment. Admission is free, further emphasizing accessibility and community enrichment.