ABOUT
Pipilo Native Plants was founded in 2018 in Missoula, Montana. At that time I was growing native plants in my little backyard in the middle of town. In 2021 we moved the operation up to Charlo, Montana, and have expanded to include a a greenhouse, large shade structure, and a demo garden.
The nursery property is an old dairy farm, and every day is an adventure of battling noxious weeds, coexisting with tons of wildlife, and trying to maintain pockets of order in a very chaotic space. Each year we chip away at the acres of grass and weeds to convert it to something more able to support pollinators and the species that rely on them (that's pretty much all species). We are not only growing native plants, we are (like many of you) learning by doing and understand how challenging it is convert gardens, pastures and rangeland to native species.
Pipilo is named after our local resident of the genus Pipilo, the spotted towhee. This handsome bird relies on native plants for food and shelter, and so to find one you'll generally have to venture a short distance outside of town (at least for now). They especially enjoy the dense tangle of stream-side thickets. In the spring males can be found trilling from the tops of hawthorns and chokecherries to claim them as their own, and often you'll hear them scraping through leaf litter in the search for food.
They are basically my favorite bird, although I have a lot of favorite birds...
Elliott Conrad, owner and founder of Pipilo, started the business after an obsession with growing native plants left him with more natives than space to plant them. He has a background plant biology, restoration, and aerospace engineering (look, it made sense at the time). He even did a little stint in the military, just to build character. He spent over ten years as an bio tech then ecologist for the US Forest Service Fire Sciences program, and even ran the Missoula Parks & Rec Conservation Lands greenhouse for a few years. When he isn't at the nursery, he is out trail running (always with an ulterior motive to collect seeds) or working with his two BLM mustangs.
Brian McHale, business operations and partner, handles delivery, logistics, and purchasing, and similar non-planty scenarios. He provides a share of the photography for the site.
Elliott Conrad, Pipilo founder and owner. Seen here demonstrating proper solar eclipse viewing gear and technique. Feat. Zelda, RIP.