BOZEMAN — With recent sunny weather, many Montana gardeners are excited and may have planted some seeds. However, as locals know, Montana's weather can change from 80 degrees and sunny to blustery and snowy in an instant.

Jill Serocki, an expert gardener in Montana, has already started some early planting. "These are things that I seeded out. We've got some broccoli, onions, cilantro, some lettuce back here," she says.

Serocki has been gardening for 14 years and uses her harvest in everyday cooking. "Last year, I would think a lot of meals I came out and collected either some herb, an onion, something," says Serocki.

Through her experience, she's learned that Montana's climate presents unique challenges. "The cold. The hail and stuff. Your garden can look amazing, and then next thing you know, it hails and now it's going to take a while to repair," says Jill Serocki.

This year, Serocki is expanding her gardening capabilities with a new greenhouse built by her husband.

"Oh, I love it. I do love it, and I would even consider going bigger," she says.

Before having the greenhouse, Serocki gardened exclusively outdoors and learned to be cautious about planting dates. "Generally, I didn't feel safe until around June 1st to really dive in and put things in," says Serocki.

Josh Marks, co-owner of the Garden Barn, offers a different perspective on early planting.

"If you want to take a chance? You can do it, you can try because if you do it early and the weather's nice, you're going to get such bigger plants," says Marks.

The Garden Barn recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and is expanding its offerings. They're adding a pumpkin patch, a native plant greenhouse, a 5,000 square foot field of Lupine, and more.

"The biggest new thing is that we are growing almost everything that we sell. All of our annuals, perennials, and all of our vegetables. We've always done our tomatoes," says Marks.

This local cultivation allows the Garden Barn team to determine what grows best in Montana's specific conditions and share that knowledge with customers.

For gardeners eager to experience the satisfaction of homegrown produce, Marks describes the reward: "There really is nothing like sitting down to a meal and you look at it, you taste it, and everything came from your garden? I don't know if it's something psychological, but it just tastes better."

For those impatient to start planting, Serocki recommends beginning with cold-hardy vegetables. "I have learned there are a few things with the vegetable garden that I didn't give them enough credit to handling cold really well. Like broccoli," she says.

Spinach is another good option for early planting. But her most important advice for Montana gardeners? "Patience helps because Montana weather is rough," says Serocki.

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