Helena Urban Meadows (HUM)

Helena Urban Meadows, or HUM is a growing network of urban meadows throughout Helena, MT. The project serves as ongoing research and demonstration of meadow-style gardening in our climate.

A HUM workshop series will take place this April. Participants will learn how to convert lawns or existing gardens to urban meadows, design a meadow for their own space, and have the option to order plants. Don’t have a yard? Stay tuned for native plant container gardening workshops.

Urban meadows use a matrix of grasses and wildflowers to weave together a meadow-like garden inspired by local natural landscapes. Unlike traditional lawn or heavily mulched beds, they create living, changing plant communities that support an abundance of wildlife.

HUM is about learning and growing community, not about gatekeeping meadow-style gardens. Any urban meadow is welcome to join the network (community platform coming soon). Light Song Gardens offers help when needed.

HUM iNaturalist Project

Learn about new species and contribute to the HUM community by tracking birds and insects spotted in the Helena area!

Observations are not limited to gardens and may be collected anywhere within Lewis & Clark County.

The project was created to:

  • Inform garden design and management decisions to better support wildlife

  • Encourage participants to slow down and connect with their gardens and nature through making observations.

  • Allow anyone in the Helena area to participate in the HUM community.

  • Contribute to a larger scientific community through the use of iNaturalist.

Join Project
Project Guide
A backyard garden with newly planted grass or ornamental plants, bordered with rocks, under a tree with green leaves. There is a house with white and beige walls, a small white picket fence, and gardening tools and supplies nearby.
Woman planting grass in a garden with a cat sitting nearby.
View of a small, sunny front yard with a brown pathway, green plants, and a white house with a window and door.
Small backyard garden with plants, shrubs, and a newly laid stone pathway. A large tree on the left and a white house with a window on the right.
A black cat resting in a garden bed with mulch, surrounded by various green plants and shrubs. In the background, a car is parked on the street.
A garden bed with flowering plants and greenery in front of a house with a white stucco exterior and a black-framed window.
A garden with various green plants, including leafy shrubs, grasses, and flowering plants with small yellow-orange flowers.
A light purple flower with a tiny bee on it, surrounded by green leaves and grass.
A lush garden with various green plants and colorful flowers, including yellow, orange, pink, and purple blooms, surrounded by trees and shrubs.
Close-up of tall grass and plants with seed heads in a garden near a house with gray siding.
A woman smiling and giving a thumbs-up, standing outdoors near a garden, with a rake and shovel on the ground beside her, during sunset.
A small garden bed with green plants and grasses, bordered by a chain-link fence on the left and a house with gray siding and shingle roof in the background. There is a gravel area with gardening supplies and a large brick in the right foreground.
Newly planted grass and plants in front of a blue house with soil and rocks, and a black bucket nearby.
A person standing in front of a blue house with white window shutters, wearing brown work overalls, a grey t-shirt, a baseball cap, and sandals, smiling, with a small garden in front.
People gardening and planting grass in a backyard with a red wooden fence and trees.
Three freshly dug plants with visible roots and two in clear containers, a small trowel, and a garden bed with dark soil and some green plants.
A backyard garden scene with a dog standing on grass and dirt, surrounded by gardening tools and supplies. There are black and yellow watering cans, a leaf blower, black buckets, and a wheelbarrow. The garden bed has young plants with yellow and blac
Person planting in a garden bed with a black dog nearby, gardening tools, and a secondhand-looking backyard patio with chairs, a table, and various gardening supplies in the background.
A young man watering a flower bed in a backyard with a garden hose, surrounded by outdoor furniture and tools.
A smiling woman and man taking a selfie in front of a garden bed with a small tree and young plants, a painted rainbow icon on the wall, and a partially visible fence and house in the background.
A lush meadow garden bed filled with tall green grasses and weeds in the foreground, with a backyard patio area featuring colorful chairs, a table, and an American flag sticker on a stone in the background.
A garden bed around a tree with young green grass and small plants, with garden tools scattered nearby in a backyard with a fence and a house
A landscaped neighborhood yard with large rocks, yellow flowers, green grass, trees, and a house in the background during late afternoon sunlight.
Newly planted flowers and grasses in freshly tilled soil on a sidewalk, with parked cars and trees in a residential neighborhood in the background.