The Montana Set
Three printable Montana editions in one purchase — the twelve-month journal, the native plants reference and the stargazing guide — for less than the three cost apart.
- Three printable Montana editions, in one checkout instead of three
- Twelve undated Montana month pages to write the year down in
- The Montana native plants reference, with bloom windows and zone timing
- The Montana night sky guide — dark places and the year's meteor calendar
$29.00one-time$33.98 bought separately
Instant download · yours to keep, with no account and no renewal · full refund within 30 days
A look inside
What the Montana pages actually look like
From the Montana editions
Some of what is actually in the set
The Montana Nature Journal
Each Montana month page carries that month's reference side — the blooms, trees and butterflies Montana actually has then. Names you will meet in it:
- Bitterroot
- Arrowleaf Balsamroot
- Glacier Lily
- Beargrass
- Silky Lupine
- Blanketflower
- Ponderosa Pine
- Western Larch
- Quaking Aspen
- Plains Cottonwood
- Rocky Mountain Juniper
- Engelmann Spruce
- Monarch
- Mourning Cloak
- Western Tiger Swallowtail
- Weidemeyer's Admiral
- Painted Lady
- Rocky Mountain Parnassian
Native Plants of Montana
49 native species are profiled for Montana, chosen for hardiness zones 3a–5b. A dozen of them:
- Showy Milkweed
- Wild Bergamot
- Aromatic Aster
- Stiff Goldenrod
- Purple Prairie Clover
- Blue Vervain
- Little Bluestem
- Big Bluestem
- Switchgrass
- Sideoats Grama
- Blue Grama
- Maximilian Sunflower
The Night Sky over Montana
Every dark-sky place the Montana edition sends you to, and every meteor shower it tracks through the year:
- Glacier National Park
- Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex
- Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
- Makoshika State Park
- Quadrantids
- Lyrids
- Eta Aquariids
- Southern Delta Aquariids
- Perseids
- Draconids
- Orionids
- Southern Taurids
- Northern Taurids
- Leonids
- Geminids
- Ursids
How the Montana year breaks down
Counted, not claimed
Across the twelve Montana month pages the reference side draws on 6 wildflowers, 6 trees, 6 butterflies and 7 things coming into season locally.
Something in the Montana list is in bloom from March through November, and June is the peak — 26 of the 49 species are flowering then.
11 of them are caterpillar host plants and 9 support specialist bees — the ones that do the most work in Montana yards.
On the 2027 numbers the standout for Montana is the Quadrantids — about 120 an hour at its peak with the moon only 18% lit, best after midnight into dawn.
The Geminids, by contrast, peak against a 100%-lit moon that year — the kind of night the guide tells you to skip rather than let you find out at 2am.
The calendar runs every major shower of the year — 12 of them — with the moon's brightness worked out for each peak, so Montana knows which nights are worth the drive.
In the box
Exactly what you receive
| The Montana Nature Journal | 15 pages — twelve month pages plus covers and how-to |
|---|---|
| Native Plants of Montana | 9 pages — the species table, bloom windows and planting calendar |
| The Night Sky over Montana | 8 pages — the meteor calendar, dark-sky places and seasonal targets |
| Pages in all | 32, across 3 Montana files |
| What you save | $4.98 — $33.98 bought apart, $29.00 bought together |
| Format | PDF, laid out for both Letter and A4 |
| Delivery | An instant download link, plus a link you can re-open for 72 hours |
| Access | Yours to keep — no expiry, no account, no subscription |
| Refunds | Full refund within 30 days, no questions |
How it works
From checkout to the field
Buy it
Checkout takes a card and an email address — no account to create.
Open it straight away
The download link appears immediately and the Montana files are yours to keep.
Use it through the year
Print the Montana pages you want and take them outside; they are laid out with room to write on as the season moves.
The set, or the pieces
Both are honest ways to buy the Montana editions
| One at a time | The Montana Set | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Whichever single Montana edition you pick | All three, together |
| Checkouts | One for each — there is no cart here | One, for the whole Montana set |
| What it costs | $33.98 for the three apart | $29.00, saving $4.98 |
| If you only want one | Buy it on its own; every Montana edition is sold separately | The set is only worth it if all of it is new to you |
Before you buy
Who this is for
Made for
- Someone starting from nothing who wants the Montana basics in one go
- Gardeners in Montana who also go out after dark
- Anyone giving the whole Montana set rather than a single file
Not for
- Anyone who already owns one of the three Montana editions in it — buy the rest singly instead
- Anyone who wants the Montana Nature Year; that is the bigger book, sold on its own page
Everything here describes typical timing across Montana, drawn from long-run records — weather, elevation and how close you are to water all move the real dates around. So the Montana pages say "usually early May" and never "May 4th", which is not hedging but the most the data can honestly carry.
Questions
Before you decide
What exactly is in the Montana set?
Three things, sold separately elsewhere on the site: The Montana Nature Journal, Native Plants of Montana and The Night Sky over Montana. You get every file each of them contains.
What if I already own one of these Montana editions?
Then buy the others on their own — the Montana set only saves money if all of it is new to you, and we would rather say so than take $29.00 for a file you already have.
Is this cheaper than buying the Montana editions one at a time?
Yes — $29.00 rather than $33.98, a saving of $4.98. There is no cart here, so buying them apart also means checking out 3 separate times.
Do the Montana files arrive together?
They arrive as one download list on one page — 3 files in all for Montana, each downloadable on its own, and the link re-opens for 72 hours.
How accurate is the timing for Montana?
It describes typical timing across Montana drawn from long-run records, and because weather, elevation and habitat move real Montana dates around it says "usually early May" rather than "May 4th".
Is it worth paying when the Montana pages here are free?
The free Montana pages are the month you are in; these are the Montana editions around them — planned before the year arrives, and printable, so you are not holding a screen in the garden.
Will it work for my part of Montana, or just the big cities?
It is written at state resolution — Montana as a whole, with regional notes where Montana genuinely differs end to end, and nothing behind it is recorded finely enough to honestly promise more than that.
What format is the Montana edition, and can I print it?
A PDF laid out for both Letter and A4, one page per sheet — printing it is the point, since the Montana pages are made to be carried outside.
What if the Montana set is not what I expected?
Email hello@birchcompass.com within 30 days for a full refund on the Montana edition, and keep the files either way — asking for them back would be theatre.
Everything in this set is also sold on its own — The Montana Nature Journal, Native Plants of Montana and The Night Sky over Montana — and the free Montana pages cover this month either way.
The rest of the Montana shelf
Also for Montana
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