D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S P R I N G 2 0 1 6
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BUY PLANTS
With plan in hand, it's time to purchase your plants.
Buying native is more difficult than running down to the
local superstore for a flat of impatiens. Call local nurseries
to see if they sell the plants you're looking for. Most carry a few na-
tive species, but you may have to visit a nursery out of town to find
a wide variety. Contact a local chapter of the Montana Native Plant
Society for advice on the closest nurseries that carry native species.
Also, you may find native plants at farmers' markets.
Don't dig up native plants from the wild unless rescuing some
from an area about to be developed or cultivated. When asked,
many landowners or developers will gladly let you take plants from
a building site. Another option is to collect seeds from wild plants
for planting.
PLANT
Nurseries and garden centers offer plenty of advice on
how to get your plants into the ground. Be sure to water
new regularly the first year until the new plantings take
root. A layer of mulch around new plantings will keep weeds down.
ENJOY
Schmetterling says that within the first year of planting,
he and Marler began seeing more birds around their house.
Many people think they need to leave town to get their
wildlife fix. But with a birdscaped yard, you can stay home and let
the wildlife come to you. "I'm outdoors a lot with my job or when
I'm hunting or fishing, and I get to see wildlife all the time," says
Schmetterling. "But there's something really gratifying about seeing
a chickadee in the backyard eating aphids off a serviceberry you
planted yourself."
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How to make a bird box
for your garden:
www.distinctlymontana.com/bird162
DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL
With a birdscaped yard, you can stay home and let the wildlife come to you.
Western
screech-owl at nest
in Choteau
