Bryan Fischer
Bryan has had a passion for plants for as long as he can remember. Fueled by juicy-imaged garden books and weekends on a fifth-generation family ranch in the Colorado Rockies, he landed his first job as soon as he could drive, working in a dry-bean breeding program. His experience now includes both academic and applied work in horticulture with Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he currently serves as curator of plant collections. Bryan holds a B.S. in horticulture from Colorado State University, and his work for Fine Gardening draws upon his education, his intensive home gardening, observations of plants in nature, and two decades of experience gardening in the Rocky Mountain region.
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Mountain West Regional ReportsGuidelines for Building a Rock Garden
Last fall, this column featured Showy Native Plants for Rocky Soils. Not included in that plant palette were rock gardens. While similar in that the plants for such spaces require…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsPlants That Take Sun and Shade for the Mountain West
1. Creeping Oregon Grape Name: Mahonia repens syn. Berberis repens Zones: 5–8 Size: 1 to 2 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide Conditions: Full sun to full…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsTomatoes for Mountain West Gardeners
Despite working predominantly in ornamental—especially naturalistic—horticulture, I hold an “interdisciplinary minor in organic agriculture” from Colorado State University. Early in my career I worked primarily in food crops, and before…
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Mountain West Regional Reports3 Warm-Season Ornamental Grasses That Excel in the Mountain West
My career in ornamental horticulture has led to the development of a working theory: Ornamental grasses are an acquired taste for most gardeners. This theory grew from personal experience (my…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsHow to Pick the Best Mulch for Your Mountain West Garden Beds
Since entering horticulture professionally over a decade ago, I’ve noticed a correlation on the Colorado Front Range between wood mulch (also called arborist chips) and water-wise gardens. A beautifully designed…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsWith Winter Pruning on the Mind, Avoid Cutting on These Woody Plants
Winter is, broadly speaking, the ideal time to prune most trees and shrubs. Deeply dormant, these woody plants experience less stress when pruned in the winter months, and with cool…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsShould You Water Your Plants in Winter?
Those of us who have spent a few years (or more) in the American West know that winter here doesn’t look like winter in much of the country. As far…
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Mountain West Regional Reports3 Hardy Broadleaf Evergreen Shrubs for the Mountain West
You may have noticed that the Rocky Mountain region—especially if you moved here from either coast or the South—is notably lacking in broadleaf evergreens. That is because these evergreens are…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsShowy Native Plants for Rocky Soils
The Rocky Mountain Region is stretched over 10,000 feet in elevation change and nearly over the full longitude of the Continental United States. Within this massive spread fit more than…
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Mountain West Regional ReportsGrowing Garlic in the Rocky Mountains
Good things in life take time. Most of us recognize the truth in this statement, especially when it comes to our gardens. Not only are the best designs often those…
Fine Gardening Magazine
