Our Team

Living in verdant England during the late 60’s and early 70’s, it was not difficult to catch the proverbial horticultural bug. Sandi was frequently found digging in the dirt and making things grow without much effort. Once smitten, she attended horticultural college in Worcestershire and visited many public and private gardens throughout southern England. Switching gears from England to Montana was challenging, but the basic principles of gardening were the same, and what was especially exciting was the fresh new plant palette such as sagebrush and buffaloberry as opposed to fussy hybrid tea roses and English elm. In 1977 Blake Nursery was launched, with special—though not exclusive—attention paid to Montana native plants. For the last 40+ years the focus has been on producing and selling great plants and landscape ideas, keeping Montana looking like Montana instead of Anywhere, USA, and promoting the use of “green” practices and materials. One of the biggest rewards has been our customers: people who love plants are the best!

Born and raised in Big Timber, Amory has always had an appreciation for the land. When other young friends were talking Nintendo, he was counting hay bales. Besides numerous 4-H projects, he took to nursery work at a young age, and was always ready to learn. After college graduation he had a congressional internship in Washington DC, then returned to Montana and received a degree in Horticulture at MSU. He then officially joined the family business and began running the nursery with Sandi. First as Landscape Manager, then expanding into all purpose point man. He has a creative mind and is always thinking about how to make things work better. To mention a few particulars, we appreciate his skills with customer relations, cost cutting, staff management, and landscape design. Blake Nursery could not exist without him.

Raised in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, he's had a life-long interest in agriculture, enhanced by inheriting a gene for horticulture. This led him to farming in England, then to ranching in Big Timber in 1973. Besides his love of livestock—especially Red Angus cattle, he’s always had a keen interest in the preservation of ag land. One of his first priorities at Blake Ranch was to fence off riparian areas along two miles of Otter Creek where in the past livestock had grazed at will, it is now lush and green with tens of  thousands of cottonwoods and other native plants enhancing the once bald ground. In 1977 Francis encouraged Sandi to start the nursery. Meanwhile with his guidance Blake Ranch has moved relentlessly towards low cost production practices with rotational grazing, little use of commercial fertilizer, and raising natural beef. Francis also likes to make and consume fresh apple cider made from fruit collected from our own trees. (Note: a few blemished apples add a little kick!)

Meghan has worked in the plant industry for a number of years in Montana, during which time she has accumulated an invaluable amount of knowledge and expertise, with an emphasis on native plants. This interest developed while earning a BS in Horticultural Science at Montana State University.  We also treasure Meghan for her calm and steady nature, superior management skills in keeping the office and employees on track, providing top of the line customer relations, and all the while being a dedicated Mom to three great kids. In short, we are forever indebted to her ongoing contributions to the well-being of Blake Nursery.

With no official horticultural training, Amber has been a quick learner the past three years while working at Blake Nursery. She truly assists by wearing many hats during any given day. When she’s not entering data and diligently printing thousands of plant tags, her impressive customer service skills kick in as she cheerfully assists customers with a myriad of plant questions. Amber is proud to have raised four talented children with, as she says, her husband and best friend of 23 years. When she leaves work at the end of the day she heads home to look after 2 dogs and four horses, all the while serving a youth group at her church and assisting junior high students in her “free” time. We treasure Amber and look forward to seeing her every spring when the nursery starts to green up and prepares for another busy season.

Ranch raised, 4-H member, and competitive rower,  Alex has a diverse career/education to date: farming in Kenya, working in Kansas for an international grain company, serving in Iraq as a Marine artilleryman, and receiving a graduate degree in Ag Economics from Texas A&M. He presently works three jobs: Western Sustainability Exchange, a non-profit organization in Livingston, MT; Blake Ranch, overseeing cattle and grazing operations; and Blake Nursery, assisting in numerous ways and serving as jack of all trades. He also assists his wife Abby with their new business venture, Wide Sky Adventures that offers ranch retreats, horseback riding and workshops in nature where you can build skills, rest and grow. He has boundless imagination and is not afraid to try something different, especially when it promotes sustainability. His dry sense of humor and wit put a smile on our faces.