Grow Wild to host Wildflower Festival in early July 

EBS STAFF 

From July 8 to 12, local nonprofit Grow Wild will host its third annual Big Sky Wildflower Festival at Crail Gardens, Grow Wild’s native plant demonstration garden in Big Sky. The event will include educational talks from experts, creative workshops with local artists and business owners, and guided hikes on Big Sky trails.  

The festival is free and open to the public, but certain events will have limited space and require registration through the online event schedule.  

“Grow Wild is elated to share these unique experiences and learning opportunities to the community all for free,” a Grow Wild press release stated.  

Experts from various backgrounds will discuss topics ranging from creating native pollinator habitat, to the vital relationship between riparian habitat and native trout, according to the release. On Wednesday, July 10, Grow Wild will host a Noxious Weed Bouquet Contest. The festival will also include creative workshops on nature photography, watercolor and flower arranging, “And with Crail Gardens as the backdrop, inspiration won’t be hard to come by,” the release stated.   

Explorative events include a hike to identify wildflowers and weeds, a walk in the woods with Grow Wild Board Chair and “forestry expert” John Councilman, and a walk to discuss the importance of foraging, led by Jacob Zimmerer, a Montana State University PhD candidate in Indigenous and Rural Health.  

The goal of the Wildflower Festival aligns with Grow Wild’s mission of fostering an informed and engaged community, in which citizens support a healthy and functional ecosystem in the Upper Gallatin Watershed by conserving native species.