In the city of Anchorage is the beautiful Alaska Botanical Garden, which is a peaceful place of education within the living museum. Open year round from dawn to dusk, the center strives to be a quite an environment where visitors can connect with nature, learn and even visit the Green house to find plants to grow at home.
Beginning in 1993, the first gardens where planted, since then the garden has grown to about 110 acres. Prior to the botanical garden the land was used the by the Athabascan people, and during the 1940s and 1950s the area was occupied by the US Army as a training base. Now the center is a place for visitors to admire, explore, learn, and enjoy the lush gardens in this vibrant living museum.
There are many different exhibits within the Alaska Botanical Garden, which guests can stroll through and view the 8 developed gardens and many different types of flowers. Connecting the entire center are trails that lead throughout the gardens within the garden. The most popular route is the 1.1-mile long Lowenfels-Hoersting Family Nature Trail that weaves throughout the gardens and is a great spot to watch for wildlife along the boreal forest.
Some of these gardens include the Entry Garden, Lower Perennial Garden, Herb Garden, Rock Garden, and the Junior Master Gardener Children’s Garden.At the beginning of the garden is the Entry Garden, which welcomes visitors with its colourful plants and blooming flowers throughout the growing season. This floral entrance leads into the rest of the garden such as the Lower Perennial Garden. This section of the center is focused around perennials, which are flowers native to Alaska, and other flowers that are equipped to grow in the climate of the North. The poppies, hostas, peonies, iris, delphiniums, rockcress, and meadow rue are all beautifully arranged in the garden and are in full bloom during the summer. The Herb Garden is a botanical dream and showcases a variety of culinary and medicinal herbs. By continuing through the living museum, is the exhibit of the Rock Garden can be found that is inhabited by more than 350 species of alpine plants. Coming from Alaska, China, the Himalayas, and Scandinavian countries these plants thrive in the Alaskan terrain. The garden is full of Tufa rock from British Columbia and many of the plants grow in hand-made tufa troughs. In the Junior Master Gardener Children’s Garden, this area is dedicated to allowing kids to nurture their love of gardening. The small fruit orchard, blueberries, strawberries, red currants, and perennials is grown and maintained by children with a green thumb. The Anchorage Heritage Garden is a re-creation of a typical garden between 1915-1950. Here there are many vegetables that are harvested and donated to Bean’s Café and the FoodBank to promote “Plant a Row for the Hungry.” All of the gardens showcase the biodiversity of plants within the Northern Sate of Alaska.
The Botanical Garden is dedicated to preserving nature in Alaska and provides educational classes for people of all ages to engage in learning about plants. Some of the different programs offered include classes for both adults and students to engage in wildlife. The classes for are adults are specialized for gardeners of all areas of expertise. These workshops range in topic, but some of the upcoming classes are tree pruning and care, grafting watermelons and peonies, and a class dedicated to learning about local wildflowers. For students the garden offers field trips, learners a first hand experience in the outdoors classroom as they tour around the lush gardens. With different specific activities designed to foster learning for grades 1-6, children can get their hands dirty while discovering the biology of the earth. Through educational workshops, visitors of all ages are encouraged to learn.
At the garden there are a variety of events throughout the year that allow members of the community to explore, and get involved with the center, the Mushroom Walk and ID, Garlic Tasting, and Bulbs for Beginners are all programs open to the public in Anchorage. The discovery of fungi begins in the Mushroom Walk and ID event, which showcases mushrooms and educates visitors throughout the garden. In Garlic Tasting, different kinds of garlic will be available for sampling and your favorites can be purchased to plant. During the 3 day workshop, the Bulbs for Beginners event provides information to the community about how to prepare a garden during the Fall to have beautiful blooming flowers in the Spring.
4601 I Rd, Campbell Airstrip, AK 99507, Phone: 907-770-3692, website, Map
