MISSOULA, Mont. — Volunteers head to the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden most Sundays during the summer to help care for the space and spend time outdoors.
Elena Ulev manages the garden for the Montana Natural History Center. She said the work also gives people a chance to learn more about native plants in western Montana.
“All of these species in this garden have been growing in western Montana for thousands of years and they’ve evolved and adapted to this environment. So, they’re used to very little rain in the summertime and they just do great. You don’t have to water them. And they’re really great for our native pollinators and our native bird species,” Ulev said.
Ulev explained that planting native species helps address habitat loss. She also said the garden shows people there is more variety in native plants than they might expect.
“There’s cute little, short flowers that are two inches tall. You can have shrubs that are 30ft tall and you can plant a variety of native plants. So, some are blooming, in April and some are blooming in August. I just think it’s aesthetically pleasing to have just a wide variety of native plants,” Ulev said.
Randall Martin has volunteered there for more than a year. He said the plants were only part of why he kept coming back.
“Coming together as people, forgetting about all your greater ideals and beliefs and just coming out and doing a little bit of hard work and seeing what other people are capable of. Forgetting about the rest of the world for a couple of hours every week,” Martin said.
Volunteer sessions at the garden run most Sundays from 9 to 11 a.m. through August. More information about those workdays and other educational programs is available on the Montana Natural History Center’s website.
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