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Tour the Backyards of Broadwater
Author: Terey Artz, Broadwater County Master Gardener

Tour the Backyards of Broadwater

Terey Artz

Broadwater County Master Gardener

Terry Artz, Master Gardener, is filling in for Allison Kosto this week.

The Backyards of Broadwater self-guided garden tour returns for its 9th year on Saturday, July 25th, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm with new gardens and old favorites! This year’s tour features six unique gardens and yards stretching from Townsend south to just beyond Toston. Highlighted gardens include old favorites that feature extensive native wildflowers and pollinator habitat, colorful hanging baskets made from old lariats, and a modern homestead producing vegetables, dairy, eggs and meat for several families. Sure to be new favorites are gardens specializing in cut flowers, fresh fruits and veggies for preschoolers, and a reclaimed landscape previously overrun with knapweed and cheatgrass.

There is something for everyone on the tour, whether you’re just embarking on your gardening journey or looking for new and innovative ideas to enhance your “old” landscape. Each highlighted garden has a different focus and faces challenges that are familiar to gardeners and garden admirers throughout Broadwater County. One site will feature presentations on growing fruit with a special focus on haskap (honeyberry), known for its health properties and suitability to our climate.

Proceeds from the Backyards of Broadwater Garden tour are used to support local horticulture, gardening and tree activities, beautification projects, education, and care and maintenance in public areas. In the past nine years, more than $3,600 has been granted to organizations and projects, including the Townsend Tree Board, Preschool on Broadway, Townsend Garden Club & Study, Broadwater Social Services Committee, and Townsend Schools, to support Wyse Acres and the Harvest of the Month program.

The tour is organized by the Broadwater County Master Gardeners and MSU Extension Office with generous support from this year’s sponsors: Ace Hardware, Copy Cup, Elkhorn Custom Sheds, Full Belli Deli, Haynes Ranch Weddings & Events, Infinite Hope Counseling, Marilyn Lane, Rocky Mountain Mini Cabins, Sod Works, Townsend Hardware, and Broadwater County Master Gardeners. Each tour ticket also includes valuable coupons from Copy Cup, Elkhorn Custom Sheds, Full Belli Deli, and Townsend Hardware.

For more information, follow “Backyards of Broadwater” on Facebook and Instagram or visit https://www.msuextension.org/broadwater/, where you can also purchase tickets online. You can also contact MSU Extension in Broadwater County at 406-266-9242 or broadwater@montana.edu or stop by the Extension office in the Flynn Building at 416 Broadway, Townsend.