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About Us
Location and
Directions
Tour the Garden
Nursery
and Gift Shop
Contact Info
Our Mission
Board of Directors
Garden Highlights
Master Plan and Phase One
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Tour the Garden
Gardens
and Trails
The
Garden contains over 1,100 varieties of annual and perennial plants
known to grow in southcentral Alaska. There are about 150 species
of Alaska native plants in the Garden. Each of the gardens is designed
with a purpose or theme in mind. |
Floral Interest
Through the Season
Early
June begins
with bulb emerging, Trollius and Primulas coming into bloom and lilacs
appearing. The Garden is just waking up from a long winter sleep. The
Rock Garden and Wildflower Walk will be at its best through June.
In
early July, the Garden is in full swing with Peonies,
Delphinium, Clematis, Columbine, and the famous Meconopsis, the Himalayan
Blue Poppy. The Entry Beds are overflowing with color from vivid annuals.
The Garden is ever changing
and by the end of July the Ligularia, Nepeta, Lilies, Roses, and Hostas
are in their full glory. The Herb Garden is at it best through July and
August.
In
August the Thalictrum
begin to take over the show, but are still accompanied by the Hostas,
Aconitum, Veronicastum and Geraniums. The Herb Garden is full of culinary
scent and has an impressive Kiwi Vine.
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Entry Garden Beds
These
beds are designed, planted and maintained by the Alaska Master Gardener
Association. They highlight colorful annual plantings. Entry Bed Map
and photos.
 Upper
Perennial "Demonstration Garden"
Designed
and planted in 1993, this garden demonstrates some cost effective
ways of creating garden borders. One bed is bordered with broken
sidewalk, salvaged by volunteers from a construction site. Concrete
test cores border the central garden beds. When concrete buildings
are built, engineers take samples of the concrete to test them
for strength. These are the salvaged leftovers. Yet another
bed in the Demo Garden is bordered by birch logs. These are
all attractive and inexpensive borders that compare favorably
with the border built of manufactured pavers. The pavers that
would have been beyond ABG's budget were donated by a local
business. |
Lower Perennial Garden
Designed by Wendy Anderson, the Lower Perennial Garden was
created to showcase examples of perennials that are hardy in
southcentral Alaska. Over the winter of 1995-1996 the plants
in this garden were well tested. The ground froze particularly
hard and deep. This gave us an opportunity to renovate and renew
several of the original beds. In 2000, a large cedar trellis
was added to this garden. |
Wildflower
Trail
During
the summer of 1996, the Wildflower Trail was planted. The Trail,
which is maintained by the Wildflower Garden Club, carries many
examples of the common wildflowers of the Anchorage area. The
wattle fence along the trail was built in 1996 to prevent the
wildflowers from being trampled.
There are currently more than 100,000 glaciers in Alaska, and
historically there have been many more. Signs of glacial activity
lie all over the Garden in the form of glacial erractics, which
are stones and boulders carried by the glaciers, sometimes for
very long distances, then dropped where the glaciers melt. The
largest glacial erratic ABG boasts is just off the Wildflower
Trail, behind a rail fence. Visitors are discouraged from climbing
it, since climbing disturbs the moss and lichen growth on the
boulder. There are mosses on the boulder that are rare to the
Anchorage area. |
 Herb
Garden
Designed
by Cathy Sage and Land Design North and built in 1996, the Herb
Garden is ABG's most formal garden. The Herb Garden showcases
both annual and perennial herbs, some native to Alaska. This
garden is maintained by the Herb Study Group and is the most
popular site for weddings. The beds are edged with textured
poured concrete. The four central beds are raised so that they
may be used as benches, inviting visitors to linger and enjoy
the space while adding warmth and drainage for the more temperamental
herbs. |
 Rock
Garden
The Alaska
Rock Garden Society has designed and constructed a new and enlarged
rock garden. The new section includes a shade garden and a large
sunny rock garden on a rise just to the south of a pre-existing
smaller rock garden. This garden holds more than 350 species
of plants from alpine areas in Alaska and the Himalayas. This
garden is maintained by the Alaska Rock Garden Society. |
Nature
Trail
The
Lowenfels Family Nature Trail
is just southwest of the Herb Garden and makes a sweeping
1.1 mile loop. Pick up the interpretive Trail Guide at the
beginning of the trail. The guide provides a detailed description
of 22 interpretive signs along the trail. Military tanks used
part of the trail during WWII maneuvers.
Work on
the Lowenfels Family Nature Trail began in 1997 and was completed
in 1998. This is one of the most beautiful trails in Anchorage,
with a diversity of terrain that is breathtaking. The forests
slowly change as one walks down the trail that includes most
of the area's tree types: alder, cottonwood, white spruce,
black spruce, and birch. There are bogs, meadows, and a creek.
Wildlife along the trail includes spruce hens, chickadees,
woodpeckers, goshawks, moose, squirrels, bear, and lynx. The
trail winds down to the north fork of Campbell Creek where
king salmon are often seen spawning in summer months. Interpretive
signs ar placed alon the trail and include information about
the local environment. The trail is nearly all surfaced with
chips or gravel and has 2 sets of stairs. Time to complete
the trail varies from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours if you linger. |
 Wildlife
The undeveloped
acreage of the Alaska Botanical Garden is ideal wildlife habitat,
as is much of the land around the Garden. Moose, their tracks,
droppings, and signs of their browsing are seen on the Garden
grounds outside of the moose fence. There is also the possibility
of spotting a bear or bear sign. There is an occasional goshawk
that is protective of its territory on the Lowenfels Family
Nature Trail. To date, there have been no negative interactions
between humans and wildlife on the grounds of ABG. Still, it
is adviseable to stay alert while walking the trails. Moose
and bears, no matter how docile and adorable they seem, are
wild animals. They are equipped to defend themselves whenever
they feel threatened. The basic rule is to never approach a
wild animal. They don't like to be crowded. For further advice,
contact the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, or
a similar agency.
Please
click here for a map of the Alaska Botanical Garden
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