Gardenig in Alaska. Tips & Guides

The first summer I lived in Alaska, my neighbors brought over a bouquet of enormous, lush pink flowers that I had never seen before. Set in vases against the green walls in my home, I could’ve stared at them for hours.I soon learned that peonies (Paeonia

I’ll never forget the morning when I first woke up to the sight of a moose lying down in my backyard.Well, two moose, actually. Young, fuzzy, and h

Do you know the old saying about how good things come in small packages? Creeping junipers rarely stretch above a foot or so tall, but they make an outsized impact.This species of evergreen comes in some unusual colors like y

Johnny-jump-ups are one of my favorite flowers because they pop up everywhere, placing them among the easiest blooms to grow. They’re determined to flourish.Here’s an example: One year, I grew a container of t

Pansies, violets, and violas are some of my favorite flowers. These perky, cheerful blooms all belong to the same genus, Viola, but they are diverse in size and color.Known for being prol

Boysenberries, Rubus ursinus x R. idaeus, are tasty hybrid berries that typically grow best in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9.I’m in Zone 4, and it is admittedly audaci

We’re here to look at the best varieties of shelling peas, Pisum sativum, to grow in your garden. But first I have a confession to make.I love to make very strong recommendations about what peop

If you’ve fallen in love with bird of paradise plants but live in a cold climate, you can grow these tropical beauties indoors as houseplants.Given enough sunlight and the righ

Every spring, I hold my breath and watch the flower beds at the front of the house.The first year that I lived in my little red Alaska home

There’s nothing like waking up one late-winter day to a field of gorgeous crocus blooms in your own backyard.But when, exactly, do yo

For much of his young life, my son has carefully pre-screened each item of food he puts in his mouth.You might also call this picky

Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) grows all over the place up here in Alaska, and no wonder: it’s a supremely cold-hardy plant, although most cultivars thrive best in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8.Like celery, this plant features a firm petio

Around February of each year, snow is still falling up here in Alaska. Moose are trampling through yards, chomping all bits of soft willow branches and baby birch tree limbs they can find. (Yes, I’m still mad that they ate my birch tree.)While it’s all very charming and beautiful, I

Greenhouses offer an amazing venue for overwintering plants, but purchasing and constructing one may be outside a gardener’s budget. Or it may be too large to fit on their property. Or perhaps it’s a bit too labor intensive.A cold frame, however, is like a foot

Every kid in my tiny elementary school thought I was a strange girl because I kept a jar of sand on my desk.But it wasn’t just any sand. It was sand my dad

They're only a few inches long, but hummingbirds flap their wings so fast they create an actual humming sound that gives them their name. These little birds are stunning creatures who make the environment — and your garden — a much brighter place. Learn more about these incredible animals and find out how you can welcome them to your own yard with these tips, including a few from Geoff LeBaron of the National Audubon Society.

Shallots aren’t always easy to find in US grocery stores.At least, not for me up here i

Is there anything more autumnal than walking into your garden, the scent of turning leaves in the air, to pick a pumpkin for Halloween?I think not. And that’s why, this year, I decided to grow thre

Is it your dream to grow a pumpkin so big you could crawl inside of it? Then I have good news for you: your dream is completely attainable.All it takes is a dedica

For gardeners who want an easy-to-grow flower that refines their capacity for patience, daffodils are perfect.You plant them before the ground freezes i

It’s kind of a miracle that my first-ever delphiniums survived their maiden winter in Alaska.I had purchased them at the Home Depot, plante

If you’re looking for color and whimsy in your landscape, or you want to attract pollinators to your wildlife garden, baby blue eyes is the plant for you.There comes a moment when a gardener discovers they’re a

The first spring I spent in Alaska, I got a strong hankering for fresh basil. I craved sandwiches on ciabatta bread with mozzarella cheese, fresh tomato slices, and aromatic basil leaves.Nothing could taste more like summer, and when you live in Al

I’ll admit it: as a kid, walking past the soldierly rows of celery in my mom’s garden made me shudder.Celery was the stringy offender in the otherwise pleasant garden vegeta

The first year I moved to Alaska, I threw some sweet corn seeds down in my flower bed halfway through the summer, gave them some water, and blew them a kiss goodbye.Okay, not really (the kiss part). The seeds germinated and the seedlings grew a few inches – and

Cantaloupe is like candy in melon form.For some reason, watermelon gets all the summertime hype. Some

If you’ve ever smelled something oniony in your yard and seen hollow-stemmed, grasslike herbs growing there, you might be dealing with wild chives (Allium schoenoprasum).But what are wild chives, exactly? Will they sp