The Flathead Valley was full of green thumbs from around the state last week as The Montana Nursery and Landscape Association annual tour of nurseries, greenhouses and private landscapes came to town. The organization chooses a different location annually for the tour and this year, chose the Flathead Valley. 

Participants enjoyed the full-day, hands-on field trip as they explored top-tier nurseries, innovative greenhouses and cutting-edge landscape sites.  

Whitefish landscape design company Forestoration works to bring more native plants to local landscapes. It offered tours of two residential landscapes that involve native revegetation, pollinator habitat, biodiversity and the role thoughtful landscape design plays in creating beautiful, functional outdoor spaces. 

"Friday’s tour was a success, bringing landscape and nursery professionals together from all over Montana," Shiva Solaimanian, landscape designer with Forestoration said. "We enjoyed sharing experiences and knowledge with fellow “plant people” while showcasing a variety of materials, design and installation methods, and plants, both native and non-native."   

Solaimanian said she hopes to join the tour when it visits other towns in the future and gave a shout out to the clients who allowed the tour to visit their properties. 

The Center for Native Plants offered visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the nursery and several other local businesses were highlighted during the tour, including Big Sky Honeyberries, a family-owned farm in Whitefish that grows a unique and nutritious haskap berries; Foster Flowers Wholesale Nursery, family-owned Whitefish company that uses beneficial insects rather than chemical controls; Kalispell’s Glacier Nursery, Stillwater Landscape and Montana Rockworks.  

Foster Flowers Wholesale Nursery owner Travis Malone told tour attendees about the fully automated watering system in the Foster greenhouses and the company’s unique business model. 

Reporter Julie Engler can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.

    A Forestoration landscaping site featured on the tour in Columbia Falls was designed by Shiva Solaimanian and David Noftsinger (Shiva Solaimanian photo)
  

    The Montana Nursery and Landscape Association garden tour was in the Flathead Valley last week. (Shiva Solaimanian photo)