The Billings Public Library is encouraging residents to plant more native wildflowers this growing season.
As part of its #plantwildflowers initiative, the library is handing out free grow kits with materials needed to plant flowers native to Montana and the West, like columbine and bee plant.
“Even by planting some milkweed in your garden along with your veggies you might help some monarchs that are traveling along the way," said librarian and archivist Carla Nordlund.
The library is hosting a series of events centered around gardening and pollinators in the coming months, and will incorporate native plants into landscaping around the library.
Nordlund says even small additions can make the area more welcoming to pollinators like bees and butterflies, which conservation groups say are slowly coming back after decades of decline.
“You think of your balcony, plus someone else’s yard, adds up into this huge patchwork that is a network that can provide habitat," she said.
Alongside its plant wild flowers initiative, the library is also now home to a free seed bank compiled by the Magic City Community Gardens Coalition.
