MTFGC President Mary McLane (above) and other Master Gardeners are working with an after-school group of young children planting tulip bulbs to be forced. Several Master Gardeners are volunteering their time with 6 individual classes of kids totaling 120 children in the Billings school area. Future presentations will be about seeds and then each child plants their own terrarium.

Our members participate with many youth groups throughout the year. At right is a picture of Shirley Spildie working with FFA high school students last December. Teams of students were creating swags to be placed on a 15' by 12' wall during the State FFA Floriculture Career Development Event held in Billings. Thumb-R-Green garden club members helping to judge the results were Betty Ferguson and Mary McLane.

Many of the clubs sponsor a Youth Garden Club/Group. Congratulations to these clubs for taking time for Montana children: Bozeman, Chester, Great Falls Flower Growers (2 clubs), Gumbo Gals in Nashua, Hamilton, Victor, Jumping Junipers in Chinook, Malta Dirt Daubers (2), Thumb-R-Green in Billings, Saco, Sow and Grow, and Dillon. Some youth garden clubs are in schools, some are through organizations (4-H, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls) and some are family and neighbors. Keep up the good work of fostering the love of gardening and nature in our Montana youth!

Would your club like to learn more about starting a junior garden club? Contact our state chair for more youth-related projects, Toni Ziegler. More ideas for fun gardening with kids can be found at Cornell University youth horticulture programs and Kids Gardening.

The following recipe was enjoyed by the Bozeman Garden Gnomes while studying bird habitat.