Bill Barnes, manager of the Morton County Grazing Association, gazes at part of the Cimarron National Grassland near Elkhart in July from the Point of Rocks. It's not all desert here in arid southwest Kansas - couple Vince and Skip Mancini have created a own home and grounds complete with roses and a vegetable garden.

Sublette ? Off a barren stretch of a Haskell County road, just past the dusty feedlot filled with thousands of head of cattle, a sightseer drives smack into something that might grace the cover of Architectural Digest.

This is “Prairie Swift,” which Vince and Skip Mancini call home.

What once was a 13-acre alfalfa plot, 15 miles northwest of Sublette, has evolved over the years to an original home and grounds where the Mancinis happily are growing on the High Plains.

This southwest Kansas spread is where Skip Mancini creates her weekly High Plains Public Radio show, aptly named, “Growing on the High Plains.”

This is also where Brooklyn native Vince Mancini, a Garden City architect, designed the modern glass-filled home influenced by the likes of Meis VandeRohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Eclectic surroundings

Surrounded by a well-established tree row of Russian olives and honey locust trees, their property has evolved since they began the building project in 1980. Inside and out, Prairie Swift has taken on the couple’s eclectic personality.

In one area, they have even worked live Christmas trees – from pinion pine to junipers – into the landscape. In another, an orchard is filled with Italian prune plum trees, nectarines, apples and peaches, all thriving on the land that was once part of the Great American Desert.

“I have great respect for the people who came before us without the conveniences in terms of the weather,” she said. “It’s always a struggle. If it’s not the hail, or droughts of summer, it’s the brutal ice of winter.”

Early in the morning, Skip is outdoors lugging long garden hoses to water the trees and flowers, anything that will be beaten by the days of 100-plus temperatures and searing winds.

Heading into summer, the place retains its freshness because Mancini is a tireless gardener. She doesn’t give up and let the weeds take over.

There is the flower garden filled with plants that flourish on the arid prairie – things that don’t take much water, such as zinnias, black-eyed Susans and Echinacea – but there are also roses and a vegetable garden.

External, internal journeys

All the while, Mancini, a self-taught gardener, is learning – taking mental notes for ideas to share with her listeners. But she’s quick to tell you she is not the answer woman concerning flora and fauna.

As the creator and producer of the weekly public radio show, she inspires listeners from western Kansas down to Amarillo, Texas, to dig in the dirt.

“I especially appreciate her perspective,” said Loralee Cooley, of Pampa, Texas, who listens to the show on High Plains Public Radio. “It’s not just about the plants that grow from seed to maturity, but about the person growing emotionally and spiritually.”

Bob Kirby, program director for HPPR, explained how Mancini comes up with the content, and writes and reads each script, all produced by Marcus Gonzales.

“It’s a real popular show,” Kirby said.

“Growing on the High Plains” is exactly what the duo set out to do when they moved from San Francisco in the late 1970s.

Haskell County was home for Skip. And while they searched the countryside for the perfect Victorian farmhouse, none could be found. So land that belonged to her father was deeded over to the couple. However, there was no water or electricity – just a flat field. What was needed foremost in such an open spot was something to break the wind.

“The garden is constantly changing,” she said. “Something is always blooming.”

Xeriscaping, or low-water landscaping, is key, she said while walking across the buffalo grass lawn with faithful companion Bella, a Doberman.

This season, Mancini is excited about a new rudbeckia, known as “Prairie Sun,” that appears to be thriving in her garden. She’s always willing to experiment, but she also knows the rabbits will chew everything. Still, she tries to live in harmony with all of nature.

“This hasn’t been the best year for the vegetable garden,” she said. “We had a hard freeze May 10, and there is blight on the tomatoes.”