Gardening in Alaska presents big challenges, whether it's the extra effort in finding plants tough enough to survive our Zone 2-4 climate, communicating with like-minded Alaska gardeners, or keeping up with the latest trends, issues and solutions. We'll try to help with that. We'll also tour gardens from Homer to Anchorage to Wasilla to Willow whenever we get the chance, and post the best garden photos around. Presenting a forum about cold-weather gardening and for cold-weather gardeners is what we are all about. We hope you'll join us on the Talk Dirt garden blog.
Photographer and gardener Fran Durner (fdurner@adn.com) writes the blog.
A member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame, Jeff writes a weekly column on gardening in Alaska.
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Posted: July 6, 2009 - 5:42 pm
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I'm watching to see if the tanacetum I moved to a sunnier spot will need to be staked this year. So far they look pretty sturdy. Fran Durner photo.Has anyone spotted a slug yet? I haven't, nor have I observed any damage from them either. (Knock on wood.) I'm sure they are out there but the warm weather and the dry soils may be holding them off, keeping them way down in the soil where it's still moist and cool. They can stay there too!
The alium bloomed for the first time in years - I love the "stars" that make up the flower ball. Fran Durner photo.The lettuces have responded amazingly to their first cut - within a week there was enough new lettuce grown to cut them again. The arugula has begun to bolt and so has the broccoli! That's never happened to me before.
The peonies came with the house. I don't know what their variety name is though I believe they have been in Anchorage for a long time. Fran Durner photo.The peonies - so blowsy already and they barely opened a week ago. I can't bear to cut them for a bouquet and soon the blossoms will be gone. The peony bush has half as many blooms as it did last year. I'll probably divide it in the fall to see if it will stimulate growth for next year.
The dainty white blooms on Saxafraga 'London Pride' just don't seem to match the thick fleshy rosettes. Fran Durner photoThe baskets and planters with annuals -- lobelia, ivy geraniums, pinwheel marigolds, nasturtiums and red petunias are filling out nicely and blooming happily. And the canary bird vine is greedily grabbing any fixed object in its path to hook on to.
The white Meconopsis betonicifolia does not like the heat and needs lots of water daily. Fran Durner photo.
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