Do you love to make mud pies, grow a houseplant, eat veggies, or stop to smell the bouquet on your co-workers desk? Everyone enjoys a bit of green growing around him or her and then there are those that are passionate and needy when it comes to dabbling in the dirt. With this blog, we'll try to satisfy those needs and tell you about what's going on with the Anchorage gardening scene. You know, as I finally learned, it's all about the dirt.
Photographer and gardener Fran Durner (fdurner@adn.com) writes the blog.
Take an interactive tour of the gardens showing in Sunday's city garden tour, with photos and audio commentary from each gardener.
Municipal Greenhouse Gardeners
Alaska Society of Outdoor and Nature Photographers
Alaska Plant Materials Center:
Fairbanks Georgeson Botanical Garden
Lazy Mountain Woolwood Gardens
So many gardens, too little time - 7/24/2008 12:55 pm
State Fairgrounds in flower - 7/23/2008 9:38 am
Palmer Garden Festival - 7/21/2008 12:41 pm
Don't miss this weekend fun! - 7/17/2008 5:41 pm
Flowering indoor plants for low-light situations? - 7/16/2008 10:33 am
A succulent garden - 7/15/2008 5:08 pm
Lawns needed - 7/14/2008 10:02 am
Farming of the future? - 7/10/2008 11:35 am
Ants on the loose - again - 7/9/2008 4:43 pm
A view from the garden - 7/8/2008 10:44 am
Beetles swarm Fairbanks - 7/7/2008 11:02 am
Girdwood outing - 7/6/2008 1:18 pm
An homage to the lilac - 7/2/2008 1:05 pm
July Garden Calendar - 6/30/2008 6:06 pm
Poppy Perfection - 6/29/2008 5:42 pm
Orchid Potting Party - 6/26/2008 11:06 am
The Bugs of Summer - 6/24/2008 10:52 am
The Fruit Hunters - 6/23/2008 8:41 am
Tree tour, with hops on the side (but no beer) - 6/21/2008 11:40 am
Anchorage gardener hits the Silk Road - 6/20/2008 8:49 am
A Topiary Twosome - 6/18/2008 12:03 pm
Weeds Fair and Governor signs bill in Anchorage - 6/17/2008 9:31 am
Posted: May 4, 2008 - 6:02 pm
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The King Career Center Greenhouse flower sale begins at 9 a.m. sharp on Monday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Wednesday, or when the plants sell out, which is usually the case. On Career Center Drive off E. Northern Lights near UAA. All plants have been nurtured by students at the Center. Prices are $2 for a six pack and $3 for a 4-inch pot. Hanging baskets are also available but sell very quickly.
These fake tulips look pretty good. Who doesn't want to see a garden full of the real thing? Fran Durner/ADN
A walk through the neighborhood recently had me chuckling out loud at the lengths some of my neighbors will go to to have flowers NOW! This time last year there were swollen buds on the Primula auriculas and some of the Primula florindae were already in bloom. We're about a week away from that in my yard this year. 
Fake forsythia and cherry blossoms pretty up this porch. They could almost fool me into feeling warm! Fran Durner/ADN
The snow has almost melted completely but I'm still waiting til next weekend to "fluff" up the leaf mulch I laid on the flower beds last fall. I've been tricked into running out and removing mulch too soon in the past only to have a freeze slap me up the side of my head. Won't do that no more.
I love the joyful enthusiasm and corniness of this yard display! Fran Durner/ADN
But I did spend part of this weekend (after I cleaned the garage and did a run to the transfer station and recycling bins) potting up three hanging baskets with a wild color combo of rose colored Wave petunias, deep red nasturtiums, cerinthe and chartreuse Creeping Jenny. My reward will be seeing the real thing - eventually. 
I'm not sure what this is supposed to represent but the sculpture caught my eye. Fran Durner/ADN
May 19, 2008 - 7:29pm | tagalak
Judy, if you love flowers, buy some perennials for your yard...... go to PLANT SALES from Garden Clubs (there is one almost every weekend from now til end of June
it seems).... the silk flowers have their place, I suppose.. but PLEASE try living plants.. you don't need a greenhouse... some room on a table with some lights will give you a good start on real greenery. Good luck and be glad your neighbors don't mind the plastic flowers, I know my neighbors would revolt!!! Nickel
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1 May 19, 2008 - 8:40am | judyjudyjudy
Fake Flowers in my Yard
I love lots and lots of colorful flowers in my yard. I can't afford to buy them and don't have a HUGE greenhouse or the time to raise them so I use silk flowers. My yard looks beautiful in less than a hour! I can also change the arrangement of my colors to make it look different if the mood strikes me. I buy silk flowers at the end of the season on sale and they usually last 3 summers before they get too faded.
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