The Palmer Visitors Center, A Summer Visit.

You may remember my November visit to the Palmer, AK visitors center in November when it was about 15 degrees F. outside.  To see that post, go here.

 

 

Life-size replicas of the giant vegetables for which this area is renowned.

Hydrangea macrophylla is supposedly hardy to zone 4 but I know that the branches would be frozen to the ground each year.  I wonder if this is being used as an annual or if it's a special variety that will bloom on new wood.

Big splash of color!  This sure looks different when it's not frozen!

It was the first week of July and some things had just been put out.  The long days will cause all to quickly mature beautifully.

The "it" plant this year is even growing here.  Purchased at a local nursery, this Isoplexis, hardy to zone 8, will definitely be an annual here.

 

Old pal Astilboides tabularis is hardy here and this one looks considerably happier than the one in my garden!

Rosa glauca

Clematis erecta purpurea.  They must have cleverly supported theirs somehow.  I finally got rid of mine because it didn't retain it's purple foliage color and flopped all over everything.  Joy Creek Nursery has one that stays purple so perhaps I'll see if they have it for sale in the spring.

Warm border!

Lovely when full of plants, the structure of the beds in this area add winter interest when they're not covered in a few feet of snow.

Scarlett and purple/blue are always a winning combination.

 

 The rock gardens no longer look like graveyards!

 

 

Sedum  kamtschaticum

Lychnis chalcedonica

Fireweed is a great companion for Rosa glauca.  Here, they wouldn't bloom at the same time but the foliage of the rose is a nice foil for the magenta fireweed.

 

 

 One way to get height.

Another view of the explosion of color!

I've never seen the fir trees so full of cones.  Local wisdom says that this means that they'll have an especially cold or long winter.

 

 Yikes! 

 Speaking of height, wouldn't you love to have this view from your garden?  (Well, maybe not the truck.)

 

This is a great demonstration garden for visitors to experience and word has it that locals enjoy visiting as well!  Next time you're in Palmer, do stop by!

 

Visiting the Garden at the Palmer Visitors Center

Palmer (website with interesting history here) is a town in the Matanuska Valley in  south central  Alaska.  This is the area of the state renowned for growing giant cabbages and other vegetables. The combination of fertile soil and summer days with 19 hours of daylight encourage rapid growth.  Just to the south of the Visitors' Center is a wonderful garden showcasing plants grown in Palmer from it's colonial beginning through the present.    

 

So, not a lot of green this time of year but there's  loveliness  to be found in this special garden. 

The varitey of  browns, tans, and golds seems endless and the bluegreen of the evergreens is beautiful.

 

The plants are all well labeled so that both local and visiting gardeners can learn about plants hardy enough to live through the winter in this harsh climate.

There's even a crevice garden. 

And raised area for alpines.

Plant graveyard I assume:-)

When colors and plant choices are limited, one really appreciates the winter color contrasts available. 

 

With background scenery like this, you could temporarily forget the garden.

There were a few minutes of sun - yea.  I tend to think of frost as a fleeting thing that melts off at sunrise.  Here, the frost just stays until spring. 

Bless the saxifrages for providing some of the only green other than the small conifers.

These are tough little buggers!

The Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grossbeaks will be glad for these crababble and mountain ash snacks!

 

My niece was disappointed that there weren't a few feet of snow on the ground during my visit.  There was snow in some areas but not a lot in others.  The average first snowfall in Anchorage is October 17 but it can happen as early as September.  The last snowfall is typically in April but in one out of every four years, it's still snowing in May.  It's certainly a gorgeous place to visit.