Tizer Botanic Gardens & Arboretum (TBGA) was started by Belva Lotzer and Richard Krott in 1998 on a piece of property about twenty miles from Montana's capital city of Helena. Creating a public garden was not in their plans. It was supposed to be a private and somewhat therapeutic place after Richard's challenge with cancer altered his philosophy about life. They started planting trees and shrubs and built flower beds for their own enjoyment. By the spring of 2000, hundreds of people started stopping by asking to look at the plants. By 2005 thousands of people were touring the almost 7 acres of property each summer. Close to 20,000 visitors now tour TBGA in its short six month season

Tizer's extensive plant collection and their whimsical presentations is what made TBGA a popular attraction. They have over 1,500 varieties of perennials, shrubs and trees totaling many thousands of plants. Part of their tree and woody plant collection includes more than 225 varieties of conifers and 450 varieties of deciduous trees and shrubs, which include about 100 types of roses. Tizer is a Test and Demonstration Garden for Colorado State University and the Denver Botanic Gardens "Plant Select"® Program since 2003 and an All American Selections Demonstration & Test Garden, started in 2012.