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 Anchorage's garden tour, with photos and audio commentary from each gardener.
Splitting dahlias with Amelia Walsh
Deadheading and seed collecting
Harvesting herbs from your garden
Municipal Greenhouse Gardeners
Alaska Society of Outdoor and Nature Photographers
Alaska Plant Materials Center:
Fairbanks Georgeson Botanical Garden
Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge
Pyrahs Pioneer Peak U-Pick Farm
South Anchorage Farmers Market
Fertilizer prices going up - 1/7/2009 4:40 pm
The catalogs are arriving - 1/6/2009 4:33 pm
Q&A with Becky Myrvold - 1/4/2009 6:09 pm
January Garden Calendar - 12/29/2008 5:05 pm
Light up the night with ice - 12/28/2008 7:40 pm
Best slug tip of the year - 12/21/2008 2:41 pm
Make way for ducklings - 12/18/2008 10:00 am
Painting with Ice Fog - 12/16/2008 11:43 am
Christmas in the Tropics - 12/14/2008 5:20 pm
Still Life with Carol Lambert - 12/11/2008 2:02 pm
Holly is a Christmas tradition - 12/9/2008 9:35 am
Gift Book Ideas - 12/7/2008 5:57 pm
Christmas tree time - 12/4/2008 1:30 pm
Splitting dahlias with Amelia Walsh - 12/2/2008 9:53 am
December Garden Calendar - 11/30/2008 4:39 pm
Thanks - 11/26/2008 9:50 am
Greenhouse, nursery and peony conferences coming in January - 11/24/2008 6:20 pm
About Garden Design - 11/23/2008 4:15 pm
50 Years of Statehood - 11/19/2008 3:26 pm
Try pinwheels for moose defense - 11/18/2008 3:38 pm
Harvest bark responsibly - 11/16/2008 2:52 pm
Have a healthy winter - 11/13/2008 3:09 pm
Posted: August 17, 2008 - 7:26 pm
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Look at this gorgeous cauliflower from the VanderWeele stand at South Anchorage Farmers' Market! Photo by Fran DurnerProduce is begining to arrive in abundance at farmer's markets around the Anchorage bowl. As the weather cools, it's time to begin thinking about what to put up in the freezer and on the pantry shelves for the winter. If you don't already grow what you want to preserve you can usually find it at one of the markets.
Friday found me making a pot of navy bean soup and sauteeing chopped Swiss chard with herbs, (all from the garden,) garlic and olive oil. The greens I didn't use in the soup (or eat straight from the pan) got spooned into baggies and popped it into the freezer. I pulled my first beautiful carrot of the season! It went into the soup as well.
Besides basil, arrugula and lots of fresh produce at the Arctic Organics stand, sunflowers show their happy faces. Photo by Fran DurnerSaturday found me at the Farmer's Market on 15th and Cordova to pick up a bunch of sweet basil from Arctic Organics that I keep fresh in a vase of cool water on my kitchen counter. It's ususally gone by the following Saturday. Pretty sunflowers were also offered at their stand.
The delicious loaves of bread at Rise & Shine Bakery. Alison will let you taste a sample! Photo by Fran DurnerDown at the South Anchorage Farmers' Market off the Old Seward and O'Malley, I beelined for Rise & Shine Bakery's fresh artisanal whole wheat breads. On the other end of the market, I couldn't believe the beautiful rainbow of colors of cauliflower at the VanderWeele's stand!
Lots of people had the same idea and came out to pick their own at Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm. Photo by Fran DurnerBy early afternoon I was heading out the highway for Pyrah's U-Pick Farm near the Butte. I've been hankering to pickle some baby beets and didn't see just what I wanted at the markets. The weather was clearing up and walking the fields near beautiful Pioneer Peak seemed mighty appealing.
Unfortunately, they are having the same cool-weather problems as everyone else and their beets weren't big enough yet but we managed to find potatoes and collards and just thoroughly enjoyed the outing.
A simple meal of cheese, tomatoes, fresh toasted bread, chopped basil, olive oil, a nice bottle of wine - and a sunset! Couldn't get much better. Photo by Fran DurnerBy dinner, it was outside again to enjoy the fleeting evening light - a perfect day!
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