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.
RECENT COLUMNS
Timelapse garden through a season
Splitting dahlias with Amelia Walsh
Deadheading and seed collecting
Harvesting herbs from your garden
Bugs of Summer: The good, the bad and the squishy
Municipal Greenhouse Gardeners
Alaska Peony Growers Association
Alaska Society of Outdoor and Nature Photographers
Alaska Farmers' Market Association
Alaska Natural Heritage Program
Alaska Plant Materials Center:
Evergreen Nursery and Garden Center
Fairbanks Georgeson Botanical Garden
Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge
Pyrahs Pioneer Peak U-Pick Farm
South Anchorage Farmers Market
Review: The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden - 11/22/2009 5:20 pm
Reflections of the past summer - 11/18/2009 4:46 pm
Holiday flower show warms the day with blooms - 11/17/2009 4:04 pm
Stock up for Thanksgiving - 11/17/2009 10:05 am
Colorado based grocer operates own farm - 11/15/2009 3:48 pm
Review: Hardy Succulents - 11/12/2009 3:58 pm
Timelapse of a garden season - 11/11/2009 5:29 pm
Two forums of interest to gardeners this week - 11/10/2009 5:14 pm
First snow was a surprise - 11/9/2009 3:42 pm
Lesson learned - 11/8/2009 12:13 pm
Moose-free garden? - 11/5/2009 8:23 am
Book review: Black Plants - 10/29/2009 3:46 pm
November Garden Calendar - 10/28/2009 2:49 pm
Fall means apples and winter veggies - 10/26/2009 6:12 pm
Botany of Desire airs on Wednesday - 10/25/2009 5:39 pm
Some changes proposed for muni Horticulture Section - 10/22/2009 11:47 am
Verna and Frank Pratt recognized - 10/20/2009 10:35 am
Birds are gardeners' companions - 10/18/2009 6:58 pm
Anchorage is one of the best cities for community gardens - 10/14/2009 3:18 pm
Fall colors Outside - 10/14/2009 11:26 am
Take advantage of the sun to mow your leaves. - 10/12/2009 4:09 pm
A gardener's conundrum - 10/11/2009 5:00 pm
Posted: July 6, 2009 - 5:42 pm
View July Garden Calendar
View Garden Gallery
Submit Your Garden Photos!
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.
Read the adn.com updated privacy policy | 
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
© Copyright 2009, The Anchorage Daily News, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company 
Contact Us | Newsroom Contacts | Communication Forms | Subscriptions | Advertising | Featured Advertisers
Daily News Jobs |
RSS Feeds |
|
ADN Store |
Newspapers in Education
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | About our ads | Copyright
