At Home with Native Plants and Birds- Gardening Successes from our Flathead Community
by Kathy Ross
The Montana Native Plant Society Flathead Chapter and Flathead Audubon are planning a program for spring of 2022, but we need your help. This season, take pictures of the native plants you are growing in your gardens and landscapes. What native plants and techniques are working in your specific growing conditions and the varied ecosystems of the Flathead Valley? We will gather the photos, your stories and come together to share what works in Spring 2022.
It can be one species, a specific method, a whole garden or an established native area you have incorporated into your landscape.
What has worked for you? Is it attracting birds and pollinators? If you can capture photos of the birds or pollinators utilizing the native species even better! It is a delightful way to enjoy the diversity of your own garden. Past years’ photos are great also. This is not a photo contest, but a way to learn from each other’s experiences. We are focusing on local native plant species only, please.
Native plants local to a specific area have evolved over hundreds and thousands of years to support healthy diverse ecosystems. They are especially important to native insects and the birds that depend on those insects to raise healthy chicks. Sharing your experiences builds on our knowledge base of how our local ecosystems are supporting our pollinators that we depend on for much of our food and the birds that bring a world of joy.
Please include any of the following details you are comfortable sharing. Send up to 2 pictures, plant names, your name, address or the part of the valley where you live, along with a short description of the growing conditions (sun or shade, prairie, forest, riparian, or wetlands, amended soil or sandy) – whatever you think is benefiting the success of the native plants. Email your information and pictures (as a jpeg please) and any questions to Kathy, mtkat67@gmail.com, May 2021 through October 2021. We look forward to your participation.
[…] techniques are working in specific growing conditions and varied ecosystems of the Flathead Valley. Click here to read the original May invitation to participate in this project. (Note that the email address […]