Gardening in Alaska : How did your garden grow?

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How did your garden grow?

Posted by talkdirt

Posted: November 9, 2008 - 4:28 pm

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Outdoor chores are done and the garden is put to bed. Now is a good time to look back over the summer (what summer?) and take stock. Was there anything in particular that did really well for you this year?

For instance, my trollius did better than ever this summer and I got a spring and fall bloom from them for the first time in a long time. I realized that their poor showing over the last few years has had more to do with the warmer weather than anything I was doing. - Fran

Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer.’ Photo by Dana Klinkhart. The ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea has to be at the top of my list of successful experiences this 2008 season.
For the past two seasons I’ve taken a cutting from the mother plant in the fall and given it a start under lights until the following spring. It was then hardened off and planted in a warm part of the garden.
Each year my hopes that the mother plant or the child plant might bloom had not happened, until this summer. The 2-year-old plant from one of the cuttings bloomed this summer. I am hoping that it has morphed into a hardier version of the original. Each gorgeous pink blossom measured 10 inches in diameter.
They were watered with warm water, not cold tap water. That may have contributed to the success. They are planted in a southern exposure and in a garden bed against the house and had been mulched with leaves in the fall. The “Endless Summer” blossoms developed from the new spring growth. It did not seem to be adversely affected by our cooler than usual summer.
Other Anchorage gardeners may already have enjoyed success with these hydrangea but for me it was the highlight of my gardening season. - Dana Klinkhart

The aphids were wonderful and early. The weeds were substantial and finally ignored. The rabbits loved them and got all excited about them when I went to the garden. The cabbages finally did their thing and I got lots but I haven’t made the sauerkraut yet and if I don’t get a move on, they are going to die an ugly death. At least we didn’t have slugs because we had our banty chicken flock free in the garden. I still am hit with ennui and loathing when I think of last summer-from-hell. - Rosemary Kimball

Most things did terrible. Some exceptions are: 1) Most if not all of the conifers. 2) The annual Nicotiana ‘Sensation.’ 3) Hostas did exceptionally well. 4) Aconitums, all of them. 5) Ligularias. That’s a few that stand out as doing well. Most everything else was slow and not as vigorous as in previous years. - Doug Tryck

Hostas emerged strong, dense and handsome, not the usual case in this cool, 650-foot-elevation garden where they struggle to return most years. Slugs were slow to action, slow enough for Slug-go bait to make it out to the garden in time to reduce their numbers, leaving the hostas pristine.
Lamium ‘White Nancy,’ ‘Beacon Silver’ and ‘Aureum’ came back with great vigor, covering up for some of the late arrivals or no-shows in the garden. And with fewer flowers, the variegated foliage was welcome. However that same vigor is sure to make a battle with Lamium inevitable in the years to come.
Stalwart cimicifuga and geranium performed well. Lady ferns supplied great cover and height for the weak showing of delphinium, lily, and thalictrum. Shrubs both evergreen and deciduous took center stage along with other less showy plants when the usual headline flowering performers failed. A Brenda Milan trellis was especially appreciated for the splash of color and height it provided throughout the summer.
This definitely was a year to appreciate shapes, textures and subtle color variations, and perhaps to see more clearly the “bones of the garden” or lack thereof. — Susan Miller

Dandelions!!!!!!!! - Jeff Lowenfels

I do not remember the specifics, but the impression I got was that many plants did well with the extra moisture. It seems that every once in a while we get extra rain and we see just how well the plants like it. So that is my take-home idea from this summer … more watering would probably make happier plants. (Not that I thought my plants were unhappy.) The extra moisture seems to have been the reason that I can figure out from the others that have been chatting about the gardens. It may even be that maybe it was a combination of not drying out as much as in warmer summers and/or getting extra rain. Because the rain was only a couple inches extra, it might be that the extra heat (and thus drying effects) of the other summers was actually the stressful factor. - Debbie Hinchey

Hmmmmm, this year my delphiniums were incredible, mints all did well -- apple, cat mint, peppermints and the decorative pink and purple ones. Black-eyed susans, echinacia, ferns and strawberries. Raspberries picked up later in fall but were wonderful. - Carol Ann Woody

Sorry, Fran, my garden was the pits this year. - Mary Shier

My Polestar climbing rose flourished this summer, sending out long shoots, but can’t swear it was superior to the past. - Della Barry

Nomocharis pardanthina, hails from the high Himalayas. Photo by Les BrakeThis lily relative, Nomocharis pardanthina, hails from the high Himalayas, so last summer’s cold weather suited it perfectly. In fact, all of the plants that I grow from that region, with the exception of one (an October bloomer), performed well last summer, with most having an extended period of bloom. - Les Brake

Most of the primulas and the alpines looked great this year. Too well in fact, lots of seedlings. - Carmel Tysver

Sadly, once again my work overshadowed my gardening. I remain thankful for a mature perennial garden - very forgiving. However, we did two hardscaping things that really improved our enjoyment of the garden: Mike stained the deck ‘bordeau.’ Don’t anyone call it purple. Our house is a little, pale yellow cottage ranch and the deck was a nondescript extension. Now it is a room. I used lots of purple and chartreuse in the pots and washed the patio furniture and pillows. I put potted plants in an antique bird cage on a stand and grew runner beans up bamboo teepees for height. Finally, we pulled up some loose Hope slate that had been part of the garden path, cleared an area for a fire pit, built the pit walls with the slate and spread pea gravel for the new surface. The final effect is a more blurred transitional space from home to garden...the garden feels closer and the house spills into it. Of course, I don’t think I have any pictures...but you get the idea. Now paperwhites for inside! - Marieke Heatwole

The ornamental cabbage and kale as well as the parsley win the prize for this growing season. And, with the addition of Plantskydd a couple times over the season, they didn’t become moose fodder. Even now in the 2nd week of November, a couple hardy cabbage are still standing in a color bowl at my front door. Makes me smile every time I look at them. I plan on continuing incorporating the ornamentals with annuals in my landscape activities. But for now, I’m happy to let it all go and hibernate. - Nickel LaFleur

Please share your experience in the comment section. Thanks so much!

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