What Flowers Are in Season in Montana? A Month-by-Month Guide

One of the questions I hear most often at the farmstand is, "What's in season right now?" It's a great question — and the answer changes beautifully throughout the year here in the Gallatin Valley. Montana's growing season is shorter than many places, but what we lack in length we more than make up for in intensity. When things bloom here, they really bloom.

I've put together this month-by-month guide based on what we actually grow at Little Button Farm, just outside Bozeman. Keep in mind that exact timing shifts a bit each year depending on snowmelt, late frosts, and how generous the spring sunshine decides to be. But this will give you a solid sense of what to expect — whether you're planning a wedding, looking for the perfect bouquet, or just dreaming about your own garden.

Spring: The Long-Awaited Awakening (April – May)

April: The First Signs

April in Montana is unpredictable. We can get 60-degree days followed by a foot of snow. But beneath the surface, things are stirring. In our heated tunnels, we start seeing the very first ranunculus buds opening — those impossibly layered, rose-like blooms that come in every shade from peach to deep burgundy. We also start our sweet pea seedlings indoors, getting them ready for transplant once the ground cooperates.

Outside, the earliest bulbs we planted the previous fall start pushing through: crocuses, grape hyacinths, and the first brave daffodils. These aren't typically cut-flower material, but they're a beautiful reminder that the season is coming.

May: Tulip Season

May is when things really get exciting. Our tulips — and we grow thousands of them — hit their peak. We grow single tulips, double tulips, parrot tulips, and fringed varieties in colors you won't find at any grocery store. Think deep plum, apricot, creamy white with pink edges, and a green-and-pink variety called "China Town" that stops people in their tracks.

Ranunculus are in full swing by mid-May, along with anemones in rich jewel tones. We also start cutting our first Iceland poppies — those papery, translucent blooms that look like they're made of tissue paper and light.

This is a wonderful time to sign up for our weekly flower share. Spring bouquets are some of the most special of the year because the colors are so fresh and unexpected.

Early Summer: The Garden Explodes (June)

June: Peonies, Sweet Peas, and the Start of Abundance

June is, hands down, one of the most magical months on the farm. Our peonies open — big, fluffy, intoxicatingly fragrant blooms in blush, coral, white, and deep magenta. Peony season is short, usually just two to three weeks, so we savor every single stem. If you want peonies for a wedding or event, June is the month to plan for.

Sweet peas start climbing their trellises and producing those delicate, ruffled, impossibly fragrant flowers. We grow them in lavender, pink, burgundy, white, and a bicolor purple-and-blue that I'm personally obsessed with. Sweet peas are one of those flowers that simply cannot be shipped — they're too delicate. That's the beauty of buying local: you get flowers that would never survive a cross-country journey.

We also see our first foxglove, campanula, and larkspur in June. These tall, stately stems add incredible structure and drama to arrangements.

Peak Summer: The Height of the Season (July)

July: Snapdragons, Zinnias, Larkspur, and More

July is high season at Little Button Farm, and the fields are overflowing. This is when our snapdragons are at their best — tall, sturdy stems covered in florets that come in every color imaginable, from soft peach to hot pink to a deep, almost-black burgundy.

Zinnias start hitting their stride in July and won't stop until the first hard frost. We grow dozens of varieties: giant dahlias-flowered zinnias the size of your palm, dainty Zinderella types with their scalloped petals, and the elegant Queen Lime series in shades of lime green, blush, and orange. Zinnias are the workhorses of summer bouquets — abundant, colorful, and incredibly long-lasting in the vase.

Larkspur is another July star. These tall spikes of blue, purple, pink, and white blooms are a staple in our summer arrangements and dry beautifully if you want to preserve them.

Other July highlights include lisianthus (which looks like a garden rose but lasts two weeks in a vase), stock (wonderfully fragrant), yarrow, feverfew, and the first sunflowers. Stop by the farmstand on Saturdays — you'll find buckets overflowing with all of these.

Late Summer: Dahlia Season and the Warmth of August (August – September)

August: The Dahlias Arrive

If there's one flower that defines our farm, it's the dahlia. We grow over 100 varieties, and they start blooming in earnest in August. Dahlias are extraordinary in their diversity: dinner-plate varieties the size of a salad plate, tight little pompons, spiky cactus types, delicate collarettes, and waterlily forms with their flat, elegant petals.

Colors range from the softest blush ("Cafe au Lait," a perennial favorite) to electric coral, deep burgundy, bright yellow, sunset orange, and a near-black variety called "Black Jack" that's absolutely stunning in arrangements. We also grow several bicolor varieties with petals that fade from one color to another.

August also brings cosmos in abundance — those airy, dancing flowers on long stems that add movement and grace to any bouquet. Sunflowers are at their peak, too, from traditional golden varieties to burgundy, chocolate, and lemon-yellow types.

September: The Grand Finale

September is bittersweet. We know frost is coming, but the flowers don't seem to care — they keep blooming with everything they've got. Dahlias are at their absolute peak in September, producing more stems per plant than any other month. The colors deepen as the nights get cooler, and something about that September light makes everything look extra rich and warm.

Zinnias are still going strong, and we see our fall asters, celosia (both the crested "brain" type and the feathery plume type), and ornamental grasses coming into their own. September bouquets have a richness and depth that's completely different from the bright pastels of spring — think warm burgundies, burnt oranges, deep plums, and golden yellows.

Our weekly flower share subscriptions run through September, and these late-season bouquets are some of the most dramatic of the year.

Autumn: Drying Down and Looking Ahead (October – November)

October: Dried Flowers and Fall Arrangements

October usually brings our first killing frost, and the fresh flower season winds down. But that doesn't mean the flowers stop. We spend much of the summer and fall drying flowers for autumn and winter arrangements: strawflowers, statice, bunny tails, dried grasses, lunaria (silver dollar plant), and celosia all dry beautifully.

We create dried wreaths and arrangements throughout October and into November. These make wonderful gifts and last for months — sometimes over a year if kept out of direct sunlight.

October is also when we plant thousands of tulip and daffodil bulbs for the following spring. The cycle starts again before the current one has even fully ended.

November: Rest and Planning

By November, the farm is tucked in for winter. The fields are mulched, the dahlias are dug up and stored, and we shift into planning mode — ordering seeds, sketching out next year's garden beds, and dreaming about new varieties to try. It's a quiet time, but an important one. Every beautiful summer bouquet starts with a winter evening spent poring over seed catalogs.

Winter: The Dormant Season (December – March)

Montana winters are long and cold, and the farm rests. We use this time for planning, building infrastructure, and starting our earliest seeds in heated propagation houses beginning in February. By March, the greenhouses are full of tiny seedlings, and the anticipation is almost unbearable.

If you want fresh local flowers during winter, dried arrangements are your best bet. We sometimes have dried bouquets and wreaths available through our farmstand page or by special order.

Plan Your Flowers Around the Seasons

Whether you're planning a wedding, subscribing to our flower share, or just stopping by the farmstand for a Saturday bouquet, understanding Montana's flower seasons will help you get the most beautiful, freshest blooms possible. The key is to embrace what's actually growing — and trust that nature knows what it's doing. Every season brings something worth celebrating.

Have a question about what's blooming right now? Stop by the farmstand or drop us a message. I'm always happy to talk flowers.