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Gold Country Montana
Master Gardeners

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MSU Extension-Based Gardening Resources

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Gather in the Garden Series

Casual Garden Visits, Relaxed Conversations, Opportunities to Network

This is the heart of Gather in the Garden. The Gather in the Garden series is geared to gardeners who enjoy a close up look at others' gardens and chatting about gardening techniques, projects, landscaping, composting -- in other words, everything gardening.


These gatherings provide a chance to visit with local gardeners and learn the triumphs, hard work and challenges behind their garden's story.


Gather in the Garden hosts will open the very heart and soul of their efforts for a two-hour visit on the day and time of their choice. Days and times will vary (evenings, weekends). We are hoping for a nice variety -- something for everyone. Group size will be limited and will be open to GCMMGA members only. Registration will be necessary to keep group size limited.


The Gather in the Garden series is primarily an Association member-only event, however some Gathers may be open to nonmembers.


SCROLL DOWN TO SEE UPCOMING "GATHERS," and those already held.  

Want to Host a 2023 "Gathering"?

Do you have a special garden space you would like to share with others in the summer of 2023? Contact Dawn Reynolds at 406-266-1045 (call or text) or click below to send an email volunteering your space.

Click to Email and Volunteer as a Host Gathering Site

Connie Klingaman - Tuesday, June 21 - 5 to 7 pm

Welcome to the Flowery on Floweree!

Come enjoy the creek, the evening, and the company, and celebrate the Solstice.

Welcome to the Flowery on Floweree!

Host: Connie Klingaman

Come enjoy the creek, the evening, and the company, and celebrate the Solstice.

Welcome to the Flowery on Floweree!

Come enjoy the creek, the evening, and the company, and celebrate the Solstice.

Come enjoy the creek, the evening, and the company, and celebrate the Solstice.

Come enjoy the creek, the evening, and the company, and celebrate the Solstice.

Information about this Gather in the Garden Stop

Connie's gardens are five years young, though they are the result of 40 years of experience. Connie is a Master Gardener in three states and a hopeless collector of plants: if it will survive in Montana, Connie wants it! 


There are gardens full of flowers, mixed borders with trees and shrubs, a shade garden, cut flowers, two wood framed greenhouses they built, and a vegetable garden with small fruit bushes and some fruit trees. Because her belief is that gardens are meant to be lived in, there are many places to sit and relax, a tiny house, and a garden shop with things Connie's made that are garden oriented. The gardens are decorated with stones, arbors, and ironwork made by her and her husband, Lyle. Connie states Lyle's pretty patient with her endless ideas!


Since moving to this farm on Prickly Pear Creek five years ago, Connie and Lyle have remodeled the house and all the outbuildings-this is their fifth farm fixer-upper. There were only a few big trees on the place when they bought it and no landscaping at all. Just as well, it was a construction zone the first summer anyway.


Guests are welcome to sit out by the creek and celebrate the summer solstice into the evening. There are some chairs but you might want to bring your own. There will be some herbal drinks and snacks for everyone!


This Gather in the Garden is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, June 21st from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. There is a limit of 25 guests. Registration is required. Please email your request to attend. You will receive the address prior to the event.

Private Stock Peonies - Sunday, July 31 - 11 am to 1 pm

Bryan's Latest Labor of Love: Native Plant Strips Between Crops

Featuring Dozens of Varieties of Montana Wildflowers and Species of Grass

Bryan's Latest Labor of Love: Native Plant Strips Between Crops

Host: Bryan Flynn

Featuring Dozens of Varieties of Montana Wildflowers and Species of Grass

Bryan's Latest Labor of Love: Native Plant Strips Between Crops

Featuring Dozens of Varieties of Montana Wildflowers and Species of Grass

Featuring Dozens of Varieties of Montana Wildflowers and Species of Grass

Featuring Dozens of Varieties of Montana Wildflowers and Species of Grass

Information about this Stop in the Gather in the Garden Series

Bryan Flynn will be leading a relaxed conversation featuring his native plant strips, which will be in various stages of development.


Bryan is the steward of four acres of his family's original ranch in Broadwater County. HIs business is named Private Stock Peonies (PSP), but he likes to fondly refer to it as his mini farm. As the name implies, at PSP Bryan grows and sells peony plants, many of which are rare and unique. Another feature on his farm is a testing area with about 250 haskap/honeyberry plants comprising about a dozen varieties. 


Bryan's latest labor of love is tending to an increasing number of native wildflower/grass strips grown between crops. There are about 60 varieties of Montana wildflowers and half dozen species of grass (and counting). This has been a long ongoing trial and process for Bryan, with the objective of sustaining wild pollinators and creating a site that can eventually sustain itself with minimal inputs of water and labor. The goal is to gently encourage others to seek an ecologically friendly balance in their own yards and gardens. 


Guests are welcome to bring a sack lunch. 


This Gather in the Garden is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, July 31st from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. There is a limit of 8-10 guests per session to allow for a relaxing conversation among participants. A second session may be added from 1:00 to 3:00 pm depending on interest. Registration is required. Please email your request to attend. You will receive the address prior ot the event.

Cathy and Dan Jenkins - Tuesday, August 9 - 4 to 6 pm

Welcome to the Jenkins' Paradise!

The Jenkins' yard highlights many projects. Cathy dreams it, Bud (Dan) builds it!

Welcome to the Jenkins' Paradise!

Host: Cathy and Dan Jenkins

The Jenkins' yard highlights many projects. Cathy dreams it, Bud (Dan) builds it!

Welcome to the Jenkins' Paradise!

The Jenkins' yard highlights many projects. Cathy dreams it, Bud (Dan) builds it!

The Jenkins' yard highlights many projects. Cathy dreams it, Bud (Dan) builds it!

The Jenkins' yard highlights many projects. Cathy dreams it, Bud (Dan) builds it!

Information about this Stop in the Gather in the Garden Series

Take a step into a secret paradise known as the Bud and Cathy Jenkins' backyard, right at the edge of Jefferson County. The Jenkins' yard highlights many rustic homemade projects (tree branches, moss and lichens abound), a pond and fountain they built, small fruit, herbs for medicinal use, and a new rustic she shed/greenhouse. Cathy dreams it, Bud builds it! 


Wander through the yard and find out just how they created this magical spot. The mood is eclectic, soothing and fabulous. 


This Gather in the Garden is scheduled for Tuesday evening, August 9th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. There is a limit of 20 guests. Registration is required. Please email your request to attend. You will receive the address before the event.

Previous "Gather"ings!

Gustafson Home - Sunday, May 15 - 2 to 4 pm

The Gustafsons' 1888 South Central Helena Home

The Gustafsons' 1888 South Central Helena Home

The Gustafsons' 1888 South Central Helena Home

An ode to Loren's Swedish heritage, the Gustafsons' home and garden are lovingly referred to Sweden House and Sundborn Garden.

Hosts: Loren & Cynthia Gustafson

The Gustafsons' 1888 South Central Helena Home

The Gustafsons' 1888 South Central Helena Home

Loren relaxes, surrounded by some of their 500+ spring bulbs.

Enjoy the Beautiful Spring Displays

The Gustafsons' 1888 South Central Helena Home

Enjoy the Beautiful Spring Displays

Over 500 springs bulbs will be in glorious bloom during the Gustafsons' Gather in the Garden.

Over 500 spring bulbs will be in bloom during the Gustafsons' Gather in the Garden!

Information about this Stop in the Gather in the Garden Series

Guests are cordially invited and welcome to come and stroll, or pause and ponder, the Gustafson Family efforts to build and tend an urban farm garden in the heart of Helena. 


Rhode Island Red hens, Italian honeybees, and one aging Labrador mix pound puppy comprise the extent of the urban farm livestock. Over a dozen raised garden beds are dedicated to fruits, vegetables and flowers. While the date of this garden tour is scheduled prior to the normal planting and seeding schedule, we are hopeful to capture a majority of over 500 spring bulbs in glorious bloom (however, last year they were buried in snow during the peak bloom).


While the Gustafsons first came to Helena some 25 years ago, they purchased their 1888 south central home in 2010 and began a two-year process of restoring, repurposing and reimagining what would become the Sweden House. In 2009, Cynthia and Loren had a surprise visit to a lovely Swedish Country House in Smaland, Sweden, which had once been the birthplace and childhood home of Loren's father at the turn of the 20th century. From the visit and photographs taken that day came the vision for a Sweden House in Helena. In 2014, next door neighbors sold their vacant lot to the Gustafsons and so began the Sundborn Garden. Sweden House and Sundborn Garden fit snugly on two city lots located in South Central Helena.


This Gather in the Garden is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, May 15th from 2 to 4pm. Registration is required. Please email your request to attend. You will receive the address prior to the event.

Kelly Hanna, Clancy - Wed., April 20 - 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Kelly Hanna, an Experienced Clancy Gardener

Come for a Close Up Look at Various Season Extension Methods

Come for a Close Up Look at Various Season Extension Methods

Kelly Hanna, a local Clancy grower, known for his (mostly) no-till organic gardens and starting his own vegetables from seed.

Come for a Close Up Look at Various Season Extension Methods

Come for a Close Up Look at Various Season Extension Methods

Come for a Close Up Look at Various Season Extension Methods

Bring your curiosity and questions as Kelly shares lessons learned about his latest passion: season extension.

The Land Boasts Five Generations of Subsistence Gardeners

Learn Ways to Extend Your Growing Season and Outsmart Mother Nature

Learn Ways to Extend Your Growing Season and Outsmart Mother Nature

Kelly has an active interest in traditional skills, continuing the proud tradition of growing, preserving and using food from his garden to feed his family.

Learn Ways to Extend Your Growing Season and Outsmart Mother Nature

Learn Ways to Extend Your Growing Season and Outsmart Mother Nature

Learn Ways to Extend Your Growing Season and Outsmart Mother Nature

Ponder at the various methods in the works right now to begin the Montana growing season a bit ahead of Mother Nature.

Information about this Stop in the Gather in the Garden Series

Kelly Hanna is a Clancy local. He lives with his wife, Pam, in a house she designed. She was the general contractor, the house being built primarily by family, leading to the name "the cousin house." The house sits on a 1/2 acre lot formerly owned by Kelly's grandparents.


Five generations of his Kelly's family have gardened the land. The earliest of those gardeners were among the last of the subsistence gardeners in the area. Kelly continues the proud family tradition with the belief that raising your own food great increases your quality of life.


Growing, preserving and using food for his family has been a focus of interest for the last six years. Kelly's priority during this time has been relearning old gardening skills and acquiring new ones. He is willing to share lessons learned along the way. 


Kelly has an active interest in traditional skills. At any time you may see a yurt or tipi set up in the yard. You may also see buffalo, deer, elk, or antelope hides on a frame in the production of buckskin. You may find something cooking in the solar cooker or a wood-fired rocket oven. Insisde there are dehydrators, canning equipment, and fermenting vessels. There may also be chickens, bees, and pollywogs for the grandchildren's entertainment. 


HIs latest passion is season extension which will be the focus of this Gather in the Garden. There are a couple season extension methods in the works right now to begin the Montana growing season a bit ahead of Mother Nature. Will his efforts pay off? 


You are invited to visit and discover the methods Kelly is experimenting with in Clancy on Wednesday, April 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Bring your curiosity and questions to this knowledgeable gardener for an up-close look at season extension methods. 


This event is open to GCMMGA members only. Registration is required. This gathering is limited to 20 participants. Please email your request to attend. You will receive the address as part of your registration confirmation.

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