25. Dryland Montane Garden
Montane landscapes are generally those found at an elevation just below the sub-alpine zone. Montane landscapes with a southern or western exposure are indicative of dryland montanes. Dryland montane landscapes can often have significant slopes and generally very shallow and gravelly inorganic soils. In addition to fast-draining thin soil and strong sunlight due to exposure, plants in dryland montanes must also endure high winds and tremendous temperature variations due to a relative lack of snow cover. Dryland montanes make up a significant portion of the Rocky Mountain Region and contain a tremendous variety of plants that have found various ways to adapt to this harsh condition.

To adapt to the dry conditions, plants such as sulphur flower, Eriogonum umbellatum, soapweed, Yucca glauca and cowboys delight, Sphaelacea coccinea have developed thick waxy coatings on their leaves to slow down water loss and lessen the effects of drying winds. Other adaptations include gray fuzzy leaves that shade plants from sunlight keeping them cooler and deflecting winds. This adaptation is found in locoweed, Oxytropis lambertii, and astragalus, Astragalus kentrophyta ssp. implexis.

Because plants lose the majority of moisture from their leaves, many plants such as scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata, and apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa, manage with very small leaves. Many more adaptations are commonly found in plants from dryland montanes including leaves that hug the ground to avoid wind, early bloom period, long dormancy, and fleshy stems that hold water for long periods of time. Of course, many of these plants display a variety of adaptations to succeed.

The Dryland Montane section of the Alpine Rock Garden encompasses the area west of the waterfall. This garden consists of native plants from western North America including each of those named above. Cacti for example the 'Hedgehog' types surprise visitors with their winter hardiness. The impressive granite boulder formations are also home to almost fifty species of Penstemon, a beautiful and widely varied genus unique to North America. The popularity of Penstemon has lead to the formation of the American Penstemon Society. A variety of interesting woody plants can also be found in this garden including mountain lilac, Ceanothus fendleri, a profuse early blooming shrub, mountain mahogany, Cercocarpus montanus and New Mexico locust, Robinia neomexicana.