Honored to Grow with You in 2025

Connor Evers
Dec 30, 2025
3 min read

As we wrap up 2025, we’ve been feeling especially grateful for the people who make this work meaningful. Every conversation, every project, every shared vision for a healthier landscape has shaped our year in ways we don’t take for granted. This community — clients, collaborators, neighbors, and friends — continues to remind us why we do what we do.

Winter gives us a moment to pause, breathe, and look ahead. And as we step into 2026, we’re carrying a lot of appreciation with us. Thank you for your trust, your support, and the way you show up for high quality plants and land care in our region. We’re excited for what the new year will bring, and we’re honored to grow alongside you.

Cheers to a bright, steady, and resilient 2026.Colin & Connor Evers, Norm’s Greenhouse & Nursery Team

A Project Feature: From Site Prep to Ecosystem Integration

We were honored to partner with BlackFork Farms near Brandt, SD this year as they began a long‑term master planning effort and an initial planting phase within an existing stretch of their shelterbelt. Norm’s supported the project through planting design, plant production, procurement, delivery, and layout consultation, while their on‑site team carried out the site prep, planting, and ongoing care.

Collaborating with BlackFork Farms felt like a natural extension of our own approach to land care. Their long‑standing commitment to the Prairie Coteau region over six generations— protecting its waterways, honoring its natural contours, and farming with an eye toward long‑term resilience — mirrors the way we think about design and planting. The shelterbelt project we completed together grew out of that shared mindset: using thoughtful placement, diverse species, and ecological intention to strengthen the landscape rather than impose on it. It’s the kind of partnership where stewardship and practical function meet, and where both of our businesses and families can contribute to a healthier, more enduring landscape.

Photos courtesy of BlackFork Farms

Phased Planting Approach

The BlackFork team began clearing the understory of the shelterbelt before the ground thawed for the 2025 season. Aggressive understory plants were removed, along with fallen, diseased, and storm‑damaged trees. A broadleaf herbicide pass helped reduce weed pressure ahead of planting, and the soils were lightly tilled to incorporate organic matter from the surface layer.

Photos and plan by Connor Evers

Right Plant, Right Place creates Resilience

To match the character and demands of the site, we developed a planting plan inspired by the Northern Great Plains woodland‑edge prairie — an ecotype that can withstand exposure, competition, and seasonal extremes.

The shelterbelt’s microclimates demanded a planting strategy that could flex with both exposure and season. In part‑sun zones, where filtered light moves across the day, we leaned into species that echo the woodland edge — asters, Eutrochium (joe‑pye), and understory shrubs like Ribes (gooseberry) and Amelanchier (serviceberry.) These plants emerge early, bloom late, and offer structure across the growing season, supporting pollinators and wildlife even as the canopy shifts overhead.

In full‑sun stretches, the rhythm changes. These areas swing between dry midsummer heat and sudden saturation after heavy rains, thanks to the site’s rich, organic black soils. Here, we selected deep‑rooted prairie grasses like little and big bluestem, along with resilient perennials like Baptisia (wild indigo) and Amsonia (bluestar). Their growth arcs mirror the prairie itself — slow to wake, strong in summer, and graceful in decline. Together, they anchor the soil, outcompete weeds, and hold visual interest from spring through frost.

This layered palette — trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs — was chosen not just for beauty, but for timing, tolerance, and ecological fit. Each species plays a role in the seasonal change of the site, helping the shelterbelt evolve from a static windbreak into a dynamic, living garden space.

Layout and delivery

Photos by C.E.

Planting was a feat. And the weeds crept in....

Summer brought heat, and July and August delivered a stubborn dry period. Even so, the BlackFork team stayed diligent. Additional layers of wood mulch were applied, and weeds were tackled by hand with a few extra sets of willing helpers. Their persistence paid off — the young planting held its ground.

Photos by C.E.

The Site Continues to Develop

As the seasons turn, the shelterbelt is beginning to knit itself together. Root systems are establishing, species are settling into their niches, and the ecological structure we envisioned is slowly taking shape. This project is only the first chapter in a longer story of restoration, resilience, and thoughtful land care — one we’re grateful to be part of.