Alaska gardens photos

Reader-submitted garden photos

2009 Gardens

Location: Homer Wild-looking unknown bulb. I planted these bulbs last year. Don't have a clue what it is but it stirred-up quite-a-bit of excitement when it opened-up.

Share your photos of this year's crop of brilliantly-colored flowers or massively-sized vegetables.

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Feature garden galleries

McPhee gardens

The growing season is a memory for this year at McPhee Community Gardens in Mountain View. Makeshift fences divide the plots in which some Anchorage residents take great care to grow traditional foods.

Though the growing season is over at McPhee Community Gardens in Mountain View, evidence remains of the great care that was taken to grow traditional foods for some Anchorage families. Stroll through what remains at this urban agricultural reserve on a foggy fall morning.

PHOTO GALLERY

Insects and spiders

Orb weaver spiders are some of the largest found in Alaska gardens. They eat many kinds of insects.

Some of the many good and bad bugs that can be found in our gardens.

Invasive Plants of Alaska

The flower of an orange hawkweed, one of the many invasive plants that can be found in Alaska. Invasive plants displace native vegetation and degrade wildlife habitat.

Invasive plants and weeds are becoming an increasing problem in Alaska. Here are some photos to help you identify the culprits.

Homer Garden Tour

Driftwood used in many gardens provided a sense of place. The third annual Homer Garden Tour of six private gardens took place under beautiful skies on Sunday, August 2, 2009. The gardens included a Homer homestead, a high altitude garden, greenhouses, unusual plants and a garden with an on-site landscaper.

The Homer Garden Tour sponsored by the Homer Garden Club took place on Sunday, August 2, 2009. Six gardens with a backdrop of Kachemak Bay were open to the public for viewing under blue skies.

Meet your Alaska Farmers

Farmer Arthur Keyes offers fresh picked celery to sample at the Kenley farm on the first Meet Your Alaskan Farmers tour on Friday, July 24, 2009. Keyes was one of the organizers of the tour.

The Mat-Su Farm Bureau organized the first "Meet Your Alaskan Farmers" tour recently. Participants visited four farms in the Valley and were treated to a catered sit-down lunch of elk, buffalo, vegetables, produce, strawberries and ice cream - all Alaska grown products. The tour was organized to promote farmer's markets and the local products readily available at the markets.

2009 Anchorage Garden Tour

Shirley Larson's garden is on the 2009 Anchorage Garden Tour. She planted an Alaska State flag and used the state flag colors of blue and gold in planting over 40 containers and baskets around her Hillside home.

Take a preview tour of some of the gardens on this year's Anchorage Garden Tour. It's on Sunday, July 26, from noon to 5pm and it's free and open to the public.

2009 Willow Garden Tour

Kathy Mailer is a member of the English Delphinium Society where she got seeds to start her plants.

The 2009 Willow Garden Tour on Saturday, July 18, took in seven different Willow area gardens.

Primulas grow well in Alaska

A yellow laced Primula auricula

Many varieties of primulas, also known as primroses, grow well in our cool Alaskan temperatures. Their main requirements are a rich soil and excellent drainage.

Wildflowers Highlight Alaska Highways in June

The wild Iris setosa at Eklutna Flats are in shades of purple from royal to pale levender. You must be at least 100 feet off the Glenn Highway to pick iris flowers although digging up the whole plant is considered illegal.

June is the best month to view wildflowers in bloom in Southcentral. From Eklutna Flats to Turnagain Pass and beyond, a drive in either direction brings beauty to the forefront.

A visit inside the Municipal Greenhouses

Municipal gardener Eva Weiss waters begonia starts inside the Municipal greenhouse at Russian Jack Springs Park. Muni gardeners grow over 85,000 plants for the public gardens every year.

Municipal gardeners grow over 85,000 plants from seed every year to place in the many public gardens and hanging baskets around Anchorage. They also maintain the Mann Leiser Memorial Greenhouses located at Russian Jack Park, that are open to the public year round.

Features

GARDEN BLOG

Talk Dirt to Me

Fran Durner shares her tips and secrets to maintaining an Alaska garden year-round.

2008 Garden Tour

Take an interactive tour of Anchorage's gardens.

Readers' gardens

Best of 2008

Best of 2007

September 2007

August 2007

July 2007

June 2007

April 2007

Best of 2006

Reader-submitted

Halloween costumes

Post a photo of you in your Halloween costume to show off your creativity and check out others to see how you measure up.

Halloween costumes: Kids

It's one thing to dress up for Halloween as an adult, an entirely cuter thing to get your kid dressed up. Share your photos and check out other tots in disguise.

Pet costumes

It's time for our annual Howwwwl-oween costume contest, your chance to make your Scary Scottie, Ghoulish Greyhound or Princess Pug famous.

Alaska birds

Alaska is home to hundreds of different migrating bird species. Share your photos.