Ken Erdahl no longer has to hold his hand in the air and wait to be called on by teacher Sig Ostby. Lessons of addition, subtraction and phonetic sounds are long gone, and instead the pair has become lifelong friends.

Ostby was Erdahl's first-grade teacher in the northeastern, high-rolling plains part of state in the small town of Froid, but today they both call Helena home.

Ostby, a full-blooded Norwegian who turns 90 in just a few days, has always been an avid gardener. When her five children were little she grew vegetables to can and feed her family. Today, she's turned her attention and her green thumb to a flower garden outside her residence at Hunter's Pointe that came together with the help of Erdahl, High Country Growers and other community members.

Once just a bed of rocks and a retaining wall, the space is now transformed into a colorful, fragrant, floral landscape since Ostby moved in three years ago. There are an endless number of purple and pink petunias trickled with spots of tall, yellow sunflowers and vibrant red poppies.

The scenic, floral space is a delight to residents living at Hunter's Pointe. And since the planting of the garden, the number of residents taking strolls around the property has more than doubled.

Rodney Nick is one of the many who take walks to enjoy the flowers.

Nick moved into the facility around the same time as Ostby and has enjoyed watching it grow. He's even pitched in a time or two.

Nick wanted to lend a hand after seeing her climbing under the trees to work the flowers.

";So I trimmed the pine trees so the branches didn't hit her in the face," he said.

Lee Majors doesn't get around so good anymore so she's not able to help with the maintenance and upkeep, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying the flowers too.

Her favorites, and Ostby's, are the prize-winning irises.

Jack Lee, manager of Hunter's Pointe, says he thinks the flower garden is fantastic and offers more than just a pretty view.

";The more the seniors do, the better it is for them because they have something to achieve," he said.

Lee said Ostby seems to always be weeding and deadheading her garden. Any time other residents are interested, she's got something for them to do, he said.

";And anyone that walks by will catch a few flies because their mouths are open," Lee said.

Many have helped Ostby with her garden, but it's Erdahl and his family who continually bring new plants and help with labor.

Since the teacher-student reunion, Ostby has joined Erdahl in attending weekly church service at Hannaford Street Bible Church. A handful of members from the church got wind of the ongoing deer problem in Ostby's garden and helped to build a fence.

It's a temporary fence, but Ostby is grateful nonetheless. Since it was installed, the number of mornings she awakes to flower destruction is lessened.

Ostby doesn't complain and says she's happy to share the land with the deer. She even planted some corn in hopes of distracting the deer from the flowers.

It's disappointing, she admits, to tend so religiously to her perennials and annuals only for it to become the dinner of a four-point buck.

Ostby's hope is to have a more permanent and deer-resistant fence.

";They tell me there is no deer-proof fence," she said. ";I hope they are wrong."

Gardening isn't the only hobby, Ostby excels at; she's also a skilled quilter.

She has sewn and donated well over 100 quilts to Shodair Children's Hospital. She's currently making an elaborate blue and beige quilt with geese on it and intends to hold a raffle as a way to raise money to build a more permanent fence.

Ostby knows she won't be able to do that alone, and the help she receives always amazes her. Maybe that's because she's become a well-known friendly face around the facility, or maybe it's just her sweet charm.

Hunter's Pointe is now home for Ostby and she's enjoying her time there, but misses the ranch she and her husband established between Medicine Lake, Froid and Granora.

";I'd still be on the ranch if I could," she said whole-heartedly.

The family also had a home in Froid where they lived during the winter months, and where she remained until she relocated to Montana's capital.

There's not much to do in Froid, which according to the 2000 census had a population of 195.

";Another gal and I used to drive 35 miles to Plentywood to play bridge once a week," Ostby said. ";I just decided this old lady didn't have any business driving 35 miles in the winter to play bridge."

One of her sons lives in Helena, and she enjoys being close to him. She gave up the northeastern plains, but not the gardening or the bridge.

";She had a huge garden back in Froid all the time, and was kind of known for that," Erdahl said.

Ostby was inspired in her botanical hobby many years ago back in Froid by two young men that would frequently park their trucks in front of her home.

";I thought I was in trouble," she said wondering why the strangers spent time viewing her property.

Ostby said both men indicated they had problems with depression. Seeing her flowers brought them some happiness and a boost of optimism and strength to face the day, she said.

";That inspired me," she said.

That's not to say she doesn't enjoy working the soil, watching plants grow, and smelling the flowers, because she does. So she continues today with gardening in the hopes of bringing joy to those around her. Ostby says some of the residents at Hunter's Pointe wrestle with depression and loneliness. She hopes the flower garden helps them in some small way.

Ostby is a busy lady who doesn't stay in one spot for long. If she's not playing bridge, eating a meal, or sewing a quilt, it's likely she can be found among the begonias, delphiniums and lupine through the back door of her two-bedroom apartment.

Alana Listoe: 447-4081 or alana.listoe@helenair.

com.