Wildflower Wednesday: Blanketflower

What is it about showy yellow flowers? Is it their brightness? Their cheer? The fact that they look like golden bits of sunshine dropped in a meadow or on a hillside? This #WildflowerWednesday we are loving on blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata), another stunner in...

Ask a Naturalist: Winter Vetch

You asked: “What is this plant I’ve been seeing all over Mount Sentinel and the south side of Missoula?” The answer: This is winter vetch (Vicia villosa), also known as hairy vetch. It is non-native, introduced throughout North America from Europe...

Wildflower Wednesday: Penstemon

Is there anything lovelier than the deep bluish-purple of penstemon blossoms echoing the azure of the sky on a summer’s day? Penstemons come in an array of colors, from deep blue to all shades of purple to yellow to white. We have 36 species in Montana, though...

Homeschool Naturalists Celebrate Spring

by Bailey Zook, Teaching Naturalist On the first Monday of April, MNHC’s amazing volunteer Claudia joined me to facilitate the final Middle School Homeschool Naturalists class for the 2019-20 school year. These students are bright, curious, kind, thoughtful,...

STEEM-ing Virtually

“If every little girl in the world had the opportunity to experience the evolution of growth and confidence the STEEM Sisters are, the world would be a better place!” -Janie Quilici, STEEM parent   On the last Monday in March, MNHC naturalists Kelli...