Sustainably Grown Foods
Did you know that most foods travel an average of 1,300 miles? Imagine how many resources it takes to keep it from spoiling and transport to your plate. That’s why buying local is so important. Local foods are fresher, raised with fewer chemicals and depend on less fossil fuels for their delivery than out-of-state or imported foods. Plus, your “neighbors” grew them, and wouldn’t you rather pay your neighbor than an out-of-state or foreign grower? Of course, we recommend buying organic or sustainably raised food whenever possible, but if it comes down to local vs. “imported,” choosing local will keep your money circulating in your region’s economy longer.
Sustainable Furniture
Who says you have to give up style when you make sustainable choices? It just isn’t so, and Mike Patrick’s New West furniture designs prove it.
Although New West consistently wins Western Design Conference awards for their furniture designs, we love them because they satisfy more than our desire for beautiful furnishings. They add value to locally produced wood products, and they provide 20 family wage jobs to the Cody community.
We encourage everyone to support furniture makers like New West that show us how to have our sustainable choices and high style, too.
Native Landscapes
It happens every spring. The supermarkets and department stores set up their summer gardening tents, and everybody goes nuts over annuals and exotics. Petunias, impatiens, and snapdragons flow into borders and window boxes in every town, from coast to coast.
There’s nothing wrong with showy annuals and exotics, but consider the birds and the bees. They were here several million years before you were, and they depend on the flower, shrub and tree species they evolved with. If your garden is relatively silent in the spring, try planting a few natives. You can get them in person or by catalogue at the businesses listed below. Next spring you’ll have a whole new crowd of winged friends who will be glad you did and you can feel happy knowing that you’re the newest hero for biodiversity in your neighborhood.
We especially recommend Blake’s Nursery, just north of Big Timber, Montana. Sandi Blake fell in love with “lowly” natives years before conservationists rediscovered them, and she offers an excellent selection of drought-tolerant and winter hardy grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees. Her catalogue also features the charming artwork of Juliann Jones, a Livingston, Montana, artist. Need help designing a native landscape? Sandi does that, too.
