BILLINGS — With summer in full swing and many busy tending to gardens, one young woman in Billings has taken her love for gardening to new heights by starting a business and creating her own plant species.
Monet Bjerken, 22, has experienced remarkable growth in her plant venture over the past year with her business, Monet's Garden.
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“I’ve been creating new plants that haven’t existed before,” she said. "I'm just surrounded by people who create plants. And so, of course, I wanted to do that, too."
When Bjerken first started her business and MTN News interviewed her in February 2024, her indoor greenhouse and home housed about 180 plants combined. Now, that number has soared.
“So I have about 2,500 plants in my house right now. Just because each hybrid, I have 487 of this one. I have 200-something of another one,” she said.
Some of the hybrids have taken months to sprout from pollination to harvest, while another species has taken Bjerken a full year to grow. She plans to keep a few of each plant to continue creating generations of the plant, which she will then name.
"To breed anthurium, basically you have to have two flowers in each stage. So, each flower will go through the male and female stage, and you just kind of have to catch them in the right form," she said. "I had a flower last year that I just used to pollinate something this month. So it's pretty cool. I have a freezer full of pollen."
Bjerken describes each seedling as a unique creation, a blend of the “mother” and “father” plants.
“No one knows what they're going to look like because they're brand new,” she said. "I have no idea what people are going to think of them, but I'm very excited."
Anyone will have the opportunity to purchase Bjerken's rare hybrids at an upcoming event. Starting Friday, July 11, Monet's Garden is partnering with Gainan's in the Heights to host Foliage Fest.
“I bought my first plant actually from Gainan’s. And so, to be able to work with them is such a full-circle moment,” Bjerken said.
Gainan’s will provide a variety of tropical plants for sale during the two-day event, alongside Bjerken's special hybrids. The event runs from 3-6 p.m. on Friday, July 11 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 12. She will be selling her new plants for $45.
