tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209525042024-03-07T16:09:01.788-08:00TundraGardenThis is mostly about the ongoing saga of the Tundra Garden, which is the northernmost garden on the North American continent.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-49207680084065809312010-05-23T00:11:00.000-07:002010-05-23T00:15:59.030-07:00Moving TundraGarden to WordpressI'm moving the blog to Wordpress. It's not that I don't like it here, but I've got another blog over there that I needed more features for, and it's just easier to have them both there. <br /><br />It's hard enough to find time for blogging, and things really lapsed here after the loader made such a mess of the garden, but I'm back at it.<br /><br />Come take a look at <a href="http://tundragarden.wordpress.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">the New TundraGarden.</span></a>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-80152112780412604132009-03-22T18:23:00.000-07:002009-03-22T18:27:21.453-07:00Almost ready for a little clipping!<span style="font-family: arial;">Everything is up, and the green basil and the chives are actually far enough along that I'm going to be able to start snipping a few bits of for cooking. <br /><br />The "replace bulb" light is on, and it's proving a challenge to get the bulbs up here due to insane shipping charges. I'm ordering a set, but I'm going to order more shipped free to my mom's & bring them up next time I visit. Don't need to spend over $20 to get two little bulbs mailed. Total rip-off.<br /></span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-24301154079261075332009-03-04T20:34:00.000-08:002009-03-04T20:36:40.433-08:00New seedlings!<span style="font-family: arial;">So far, three of the seven are up. The thyme was actually first, in 2 days (!), followed by the 2 basils on day 3. These weren't the freshest seed pods, and they were just sealed in the box in plastic, so I'm pretty impressed.<br /></span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-60033739805191617942009-03-01T20:33:00.000-08:002009-03-01T20:50:03.180-08:00New Round in the Aerogardens<span style="font-family: arial;">It's been a while. (Life intervened, which I may explain in a later post if I get to it.) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">At any rate, the Aerogarden with herbs in it did well, the basils lasting until almost Christmas. I could have kept them going longer, but they'd sort of outgrown it and gotten woody. Also the roots had sort of grown everywhere, including into the pump & water level sensor it turned out. So I pulled the plug.<br /><br />Today I started another set of seven (mint, 2 basils, dill, thyme, chives, and parsley). We'll see if they do as well as the last lot.<br /><br />I'm planning to get the other one going on mesclun, I think. The tomatoes were OK, but they've got a new model with about a foot of extra height, and I think that would be the ticket for tomatoes. I really need to find a place for about 3-4 more of these & we could do pretty welll. </span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-14990682437560855872008-05-29T20:42:00.000-07:002008-05-29T21:03:58.271-07:00The "Pond" emerges<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">I believe I've mentioned the "pond" in the TundraGarden before. It fully emerged from the snowbank today, although a bit the worse for wear. The arctophylla seems to be intact.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">However, we had an awful lot of snow this year, and the snowclearing efforts have been correspondingly vigorous, in an attempt to move most snow onto the lagoon and sea ice while it is still thick enough for heavy equipment to operate safely. The idea is that it will help keep the mud in check and the roads will develop fewer potholes.<br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">In the process, a loader bucket seems to have caught the bathtub (which is what the pond was in a former life) and deformed it enough to cause a good bit of the porcelain to come off at on end. It may eventually look a bit more natural, but it will also start to rust.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">Oh well, everything is archaeology in the end. Something for my professional successors to puzzle over. Unless of course this blog survives.</span></div></div>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-61414111484937570282008-05-22T22:41:00.000-07:002008-05-22T22:48:41.693-07:00Robin in Barrow<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">I was driving back to my office from a meeting when I saw a familiar-looking round-breasted bird hopping along on the ground beside a frozen puddle. A few seconds went by before I thought "Wait a minute! That looks like a robin." The sun was behind it so I had to wait for it to move a bit to see the orange breast, but sure enough, it was a robin. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">It's not the first one ever in Barrow. A couple years ago some friends emailed me pictures of a strange bird they didn't recognize that the husband had taken. A robin.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">We still have a couple feet of snow on the ground, and much more in drifts, so it's kind of odd for a robin to be hanging around in this anyway, and we haven't had any really big storms from the south that might have carried it up, so who knows what it is doing here.</span></div>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-66176556660413559492008-04-28T23:12:00.000-07:002008-04-28T23:30:48.432-07:00Status of the Aerogardens for those who are wondering<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVywU_-flxrdX95Wf-dWu8tVIlgARnNYORrkK0q0k4RaEoOw0rFw5eob8zrgzdUDFGF_gItgZTaKZVYk5YDjAlu7fHmiRQlhyphenhyphen5K1wlL0eY2moJwCcJa-Qy1hxMm67AvRzS6xJ0JA/s1600-h/IMGP5211.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVywU_-flxrdX95Wf-dWu8tVIlgARnNYORrkK0q0k4RaEoOw0rFw5eob8zrgzdUDFGF_gItgZTaKZVYk5YDjAlu7fHmiRQlhyphenhyphen5K1wlL0eY2moJwCcJa-Qy1hxMm67AvRzS6xJ0JA/s320/IMGP5211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194550276034724018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Aerogardens are chugging along. The pictures above are from late January. All the herbs (above) did quite well, although the basils seemed particularly happy. They are still going strong, although the purple basil is getting somewhat odd looking leaves. The dill also did well, but a few weeks ago it just died, although it had not gone to seed. The mint has more or less overwhelmed the parsely at this point.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiAhtInWKNzjA3jt8XUZlGrtPiW0ICinuJ_LZJrpn5oHOIO59Ni_gjpTguQ17gnWLNPzwobTyiWE6zlj8yORXVrwACcOG_X5PwHTSdtZ8H7ISddT3ISwlfj2-Z8KVq6T0xvppWw/s1600-h/IMGP5212.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiAhtInWKNzjA3jt8XUZlGrtPiW0ICinuJ_LZJrpn5oHOIO59Ni_gjpTguQ17gnWLNPzwobTyiWE6zlj8yORXVrwACcOG_X5PwHTSdtZ8H7ISddT3ISwlfj2-Z8KVq6T0xvppWw/s320/IMGP5212.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194546925960233106" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In January the tomatoes were not up to the light, and had started growing fruit, although none had ripened. Now we're getting the second flush of ripe tomatoes, and more are coming (both the yellow and red cherries seem to be inderterminate). I personally think the red are much tastier, but hey, fresh tomatoes in Barrow in April.....</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFw80sHo4Um5-1KXfpv8YajH55ebXJImZNuQUyMFX1XLDSIB6lYn8-deRLmnQSOHJy1jkYMU9WdHO2rpfxqXt2mcMEK9Oailzl2Xg49XB62mrz4FvFfVHMG4uZvnSCLqoOiJ1cLw/s1600-h/IMGP5336.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFw80sHo4Um5-1KXfpv8YajH55ebXJImZNuQUyMFX1XLDSIB6lYn8-deRLmnQSOHJy1jkYMU9WdHO2rpfxqXt2mcMEK9Oailzl2Xg49XB62mrz4FvFfVHMG4uZvnSCLqoOiJ1cLw/s320/IMGP5336.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194550585272369346" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-23017741387935907152008-04-27T00:24:00.000-07:002008-04-27T00:56:10.603-07:00Spring arrives on the wings of snowbirds<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well, it has been a while. But the sun has come back and the temperatures are above 0, and the snow is even melting a teeny bit every now and then, so in a month or two, the TundraGarden will emerge.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But I know it's spring, because the snowbirds are BACK!!!! They are really snow buntings, but everyone here calls them snowbirds. They are the first birds back (except for the ravens that spend the winter) and they are the true sign of spring. The males sing, loudly, from high perches, and I often hear them a couple days before I see one. I'd been hearing them for a few days, and then saw one driving home from work a couple of days ago.</span></div>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-5733414755529551712007-11-17T14:08:00.000-08:002007-11-17T17:18:20.546-08:00More baby herbs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZG9025eygjqrjTu3kc6sVDFfhtCq7oyybqvruGiWBD56dsGtE79IEmx2YjK1TNAqKo4e9dL7nscfHHP-KVO_hruEyrn5FB5yP52buhhMCPtCjpTOju14PaNpMz7OnCSu76lsWag/s1600-h/IMGP5188.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZG9025eygjqrjTu3kc6sVDFfhtCq7oyybqvruGiWBD56dsGtE79IEmx2YjK1TNAqKo4e9dL7nscfHHP-KVO_hruEyrn5FB5yP52buhhMCPtCjpTOju14PaNpMz7OnCSu76lsWag/s320/IMGP5188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133935630682831426" border="0" /></a><br />As I was saying, when so rudely interrupted by Blogger, almost all of this happened in one day. The thyme really grew fast too.<br /><br />The chives are having a real growth spurt today as well. The mint and parsley seem to be coming along fine too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvk3vggGeW-CpcQy-37WHUPNqfjlcIU7jhYlOOGTQKd0M-I23k5w3l_kwbUi9RbPUUQCbPMtUn36s10knTzrQ6kbjH-xMmeH7ssehCKTN0LbsPUZmwaIidRSECB5QiZSUXQPeMWw/s1600-h/IMGP5192.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvk3vggGeW-CpcQy-37WHUPNqfjlcIU7jhYlOOGTQKd0M-I23k5w3l_kwbUi9RbPUUQCbPMtUn36s10knTzrQ6kbjH-xMmeH7ssehCKTN0LbsPUZmwaIidRSECB5QiZSUXQPeMWw/s320/IMGP5192.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133980294047742562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In the other Aerogarden (located in the office/exercise room for lack of available table space in any other area where it will get the necessary dark to set fruit), the tomatoes are also progressing nicely. The yellow cultivar sprouted in 3 days, with the two red cherry tomatoes sprouting in 4.5. I took the hot cap off the yellow ones on Thursday night, and the other two got their caps off Friday night. Today the yellow ones are just starting to show the 2nd set of leaves. Tme to find my teeny scissors and sacrifice the weaklings among the tomatoes.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzg-egNrw3gw9IeqV5EyiDK65Lb1GMmE4jwIS4vQnwUELB5jQ9Fweoqw8SmnmIEwlRx1rUBFj_Lt58U6YMQk1GyAqmA2fTksueoatwVySKGjeZOtOdkDvLi7bSMEfn05LbQRemPQ/s1600-h/IMGP5193.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzg-egNrw3gw9IeqV5EyiDK65Lb1GMmE4jwIS4vQnwUELB5jQ9Fweoqw8SmnmIEwlRx1rUBFj_Lt58U6YMQk1GyAqmA2fTksueoatwVySKGjeZOtOdkDvLi7bSMEfn05LbQRemPQ/s320/IMGP5193.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133980298342709874" border="0" /></a>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-3587153622860526062007-11-17T09:04:00.000-08:002007-11-17T13:49:47.067-08:00Portrait of the Basil as a young herb<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppEk5BnH7FuMgW2dmZfRXIbjamRU2eqSInM4Kg8kEL6REPSKL4rd4eV8t3qbM6yNxfa2zYZqPACzSOMKiGBtz3INSPDlIcSttC5tptRdWkaTbWQiFlcx4vjxBzT0Irakub3scvQ/s1600-h/IMGP5190.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppEk5BnH7FuMgW2dmZfRXIbjamRU2eqSInM4Kg8kEL6REPSKL4rd4eV8t3qbM6yNxfa2zYZqPACzSOMKiGBtz3INSPDlIcSttC5tptRdWkaTbWQiFlcx4vjxBzT0Irakub3scvQ/s400/IMGP5190.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133870561928297010" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcELtrYulVKLjyJWUdmROoPsA2lnTpVjmhqpn_uDcQwPfpxbtvW7-bHprE2ixrAFMyj8S9NT6t-L4a5CgJPSOmh3LrS-FBcelMp0UH1AMUuozB3vhDo4my7WjgIo4nzJEOzJQTow/s1600-h/IMGP5187.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcELtrYulVKLjyJWUdmROoPsA2lnTpVjmhqpn_uDcQwPfpxbtvW7-bHprE2ixrAFMyj8S9NT6t-L4a5CgJPSOmh3LrS-FBcelMp0UH1AMUuozB3vhDo4my7WjgIo4nzJEOzJQTow/s400/IMGP5187.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133864338520685026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczoc4eiLVWLQbiYXCs5f-V0q24M7fRIYfBlOjiHgE2O-H5LBkFC1i2quF-k8dTLVv_u3pFL6JO3nVMeP_dTSuNEMm51lEJej9bkebmYefM-o6EvtepcET5K12jnOA3f8SRdenGg/s1600-h/IMGP5189.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczoc4eiLVWLQbiYXCs5f-V0q24M7fRIYfBlOjiHgE2O-H5LBkFC1i2quF-k8dTLVv_u3pFL6JO3nVMeP_dTSuNEMm51lEJej9bkebmYefM-o6EvtepcET5K12jnOA3f8SRdenGg/s400/IMGP5189.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133864407240161778" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Things have been coming up apace in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Aerogardens</span>. The dill showed up on day 4, and was ready to have its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">hot cap</span> off the next day, along with the 2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">basils</span> & the thyme.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The chives appeared on day 5, as did the mint, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">parsley</span> is just showing a hint of green.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, Blogger is pretty much refusing to upload pix. I've tried about 10 times, so the rest will have to wait until later.<br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-39654476247734272062007-11-13T21:39:00.001-08:002007-11-13T22:32:43.051-08:00Patience may be a virtue....but it's not one I possess in any quantity. Fortunately for me, the Aerogarden is really going gangbusters. On day 3 (well, 2.5 from starting) 3 of the 7 types of herbs have sprouted. Both the purple and green basils and the thyme are up. I tried for a picture, but the teeny-tiny hot caps reflect too much. They'll come off in a day or so, and then I'll get a portrait of a young herb.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-2079905057315103342007-11-12T18:47:00.000-08:002007-11-12T19:35:37.235-08:00The Garden Outside & the Gardens Inside<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxX5QsNdxMjbI7QjctQIDdV2pKCD_PP9s1LG56HyaA1w35y76kaXCCIWa9j974GZq0eftCUkdtfz8Dmipi-Pj3mC7LnbjuUsBXvwUnVf1u4h72_BA6_bBmoa9kHuw-nExRh9uRXA/s1600-h/IMGP5186.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132153405594063218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxX5QsNdxMjbI7QjctQIDdV2pKCD_PP9s1LG56HyaA1w35y76kaXCCIWa9j974GZq0eftCUkdtfz8Dmipi-Pj3mC7LnbjuUsBXvwUnVf1u4h72_BA6_bBmoa9kHuw-nExRh9uRXA/s400/IMGP5186.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />While it is certainly not what we would call winter here in Barrow, since the temperature is still well above 0˚F, for most folks it would qualify. The Tundra Garden is draped in a blanket of snow, with mushroom hats on the sections of log that serve as garden funiture (stools, tables, whatever is needed) in warmer times. Although much more snow will accumulate, and it will be scuplted by the wind in various and ever-changing shapes from fantasy, the overall state of affairs won't change much for the next 6 or 7 months. We're down to less that 3.5 hours of sun today, and going fast.<br /><br />That being the case, what's a gardener to do? I do have a fair number of house plants that live by windows with fluoresecent strips above them. The mother-in-law's toungue does very well (5 feet high and blooming regularly) and the Christmas cactus blooms several times a year. However, I have a yen for fresh vegetables.<br /><br />SO, prompted by an <a href="http://www.adn.com/life/gardening/lowenfels/story/9371679p-9285331c.html">article in the Anchorage Daily News </a> by Jeff Lowenfels, garden writer extrodinaire, I bought a couple of <a href="http://www.officialaerogarden.com/default.aspx?adid=ggl1002.1">Aerogardens</a>. (If you follow the link, keep in mind he gardens in South Central. They have a couple more months than I do.) They are self-contained hydrponic gardens, with lights. They come with a pre-planted seed kit, although you can get stuff to use your own seeds. I set them up over the weekend. They are cute, the lights are very bright, and they hum gently when the pump is running. I'm finding the bright islands of light very alluring, and I must admit I keep checking the herb one to see if the basil is up yet (I know--it's too soon, but in a couple days...). I'll keep you all posted.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-11057596209044967852007-11-07T09:46:00.000-08:002007-11-07T09:57:17.038-08:00Night is falling on the TundraGardenAt this latitude, winter is pretty dark. Today, the sun officially rises at 10:51 and sets at 3:30. So we have a whopping 4 hours & 40 minutes of daylight! Of course, it's overcast today, so there's not any actual sunlight. It diminishes rapidly; tomorrow's sunrise is10:58 and sunset is at 3:30. I believe the sun will set until next year on Novemeber 18th. <br /><br />This doesn't mean that it's totally dark. Around solar noon the sun is close enough to the horizon that we get a sort of twilight that one could read by. The ground is snow-covered, so what light there is is reflected. When there is a full moon and no clouds it is actually quite easy to get around outside of town.<br /><br />I've ordered an Aerogarden, and am eagerly awainting its arrival to try a few things under lights. My house plants live unde a couple of flourescent strips we put along the windows they are next to, to make up for the sunlight they don't get for half the year.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-15802175513743473802007-11-04T14:59:00.000-08:002007-11-04T15:09:59.440-08:00Visiting in IdahoI'm in Idaho for a conference. One of my friends here has bought some land & is planning to build on it. He took several of us up there to see it. The place has great views. It's on a really steep hill, currently covered with juniper, which really smells wonderful. There were lots of deer tracks on the lot.<br /><br />The contrast with home was really striking. Aside from the fact that there's no snow and lots of daylight here, the overwhelming impression is dry. It seems odd, since I actually live in an Arctic desert, but the permafrost keeps the water on the surface and it's so flat, it doesn't run off quickly. Here, it looks like they don't get much rain, since there's a lot of stuff built on steep places, and lots bulldozed for new construction don't seem to have much in the way of erosion control.<br /><br />I haven't had much chance to look at gardens, but the ones I've seen seem to feature large rocks plopped in them, and more bark mulch than I've seen in *years*.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-86093975172346451302007-10-19T13:21:00.000-07:002007-10-19T16:30:12.349-07:00Sea Ice and the view from the Tundra GardenOne can stand in the Tundra Garden (or in my front door out of the wind) and look at the Chukchi Sea a couple of hundred yards away. We're finally getting some sea ice in the near-shore. It was fairly cold for a few days and some new ice was forming, but strong east winds blew it off. For the last few days ice has been showing up from somewhere to the north & east. It's small chunks, but they have 6 inches or more thickness, so they're not brand new. This is really late. Normally by mid-October there should be shore-fast ice. I've been working on a project involving the shipwrecks of an entire whaling fleet lost in 1871 due to ice entrapment in early September.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_BSbLMZ_g90iDLpbdLAT_sSkPE168hFrO2AvcPRlb-Ieg0PDHSZ3KbUEpRltaTN6m0PPpH8BK91rxUzDYl2T7eHwxMnSh0xwqA5wDl8UhzQQFiR_FcgxhVLF_i3bRXRo2TBOrg/s1600-h/IMGP5177.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_BSbLMZ_g90iDLpbdLAT_sSkPE168hFrO2AvcPRlb-Ieg0PDHSZ3KbUEpRltaTN6m0PPpH8BK91rxUzDYl2T7eHwxMnSh0xwqA5wDl8UhzQQFiR_FcgxhVLF_i3bRXRo2TBOrg/s320/IMGP5177.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123192656444831442" /></a><br /><br />Yesterday, a walrus came riding by on the ice (it's the dark spot on the ice). For the last several weeks, huge herds of walruses have been beaching themselves along the Chukchi Sea coast at various spots. The females and calves normally stay with the ice in this area, but it pulled back so far this summer that it wasn't over waters where they could find food. They need to be able to dive and find clams & such, but the ice was over much deeper waters, so they had to swim for it.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-34069740976181143262007-10-15T17:05:00.000-07:002007-10-17T16:51:16.461-07:00Sustainability-A Blog Action Day view from the TundraGardenToday is Blog Action Day. Although I usually stick to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">TundraGarden</span> itself, today I am looking at sustainability. Sustainability is a fairly broad topic, and there's an awful lot of discussion and information available about balanced, sensible, non-greedy use of resources in a locally appropriate manner. That's really important, and if we would all just do that, the giant experiment that we are all taking part in on an involuntary basis might run a bit slower, or even grind to a halt. That would be a really good thing, and if you're interested in trying to move things in that direction here are a couple of resources:<br /><br /><a href="http://http//www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/greentips-from-ucs-archive.html">The Union of Concerned Scientists <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Greentips</span> newsletter</a><br /><a href="http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/">The Nature Conservancy Carbon Footprint Calculator</a><br /><br />In my non-gardening life, I'm an archaeologist. That means I tend to look at things over time scales much longer than even those of the average gardener. My particular professional interest is something called "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Paleoeconomy</span>" which is a fancy way of saying I'm interested in how people fed, clothed, and housed themselves in the past. One thing that becomes apparent very quickly when one studies this is that the world in which we live (topography, climate, biota) is continuously changing, and has apparently been doing so since well before human beings evolved. There are of course changes from day to night, from day to day, month to month, year to year. But there are also longer-term changes, at least some of which appear to occur on cycles of various lengths, from decades to many <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">millennia</span>. Just like waves in a wave tank, the cycles can amplify each other, or cancel each other out.<br /><br />Unfortunately, as our society has become urbanized, and developed truly extraordinary engineering prowess, most people (other than the few fishermen, farmers, and hunters that are left) seem to have lost touch with this fact. The result is that many things are being designed as if we lived in a static world. Incredibly expensive houses and infrastructure are built on barrier islands (which by definition do not stay put), in areas only a few feet above sea level (which has been rising for some time to thermal expansion of the oceans), on top of faults or in areas where the soil is going to turn to Jell-O with the first serious earthquake, and other similarly silly locations. Once this happens, large amounts of resources are spent on trying to maintain this infrastructure, particularly when it belongs to the well-to-do and well-connected.<br /><br />Great effort is put into protecting certain areas as "critical habitat" for threatened species, without considering that a few hundred years ago these areas were not the same as they are now (e. g. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Izembek</span> lagoon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">eelgrass</span> beds). Sadly, no effort is put into figuring out where those endangered species found that habitat in the past, nor attempting to project where they might find that sort of habitat in the future as changes continue. Currently, it is all too easy to assume that an area is not important to a species (which it may not be at the moment), and that it is therefore suitable for some other use, and never realize that it may be the critical habitat of 300 years in the future. Thus, all this effort may be simply prolonging the decline of the species.<br /><br />Current legal and regulatory frameworks tend to assume a static world. We really need to be taking a much longer view, and working to change those frameworks in such a way that people are able to move toward a more flexible, and yes, sustainable, way of living. For example, communities that wish to relocate after flood damage rather than simply rebuilding at their original high-risk location face huge hurdles. It is far simpler and quicker (although neither simple nor quick) to get assistance to rebuild in place, sometimes repeatedly. There has to be a better way. Changing the status <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">quo</span> is going to take a lot of pressure from a lot of people, but we've gotten ourselves into a bit of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">a</span> hole, and the only sensible thing to do is stop digging now. It is not the time to be playing "after you, Alphonse."AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-9514758730773806992007-10-08T14:07:00.000-07:002007-10-08T14:08:21.624-07:00New Season, New TemplateThe green just seemed like too much color, now that the snow has fallen and the TG is white. So, changing with the seasons....AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-29535766904867475512007-10-05T11:35:00.000-07:002007-10-05T11:53:02.786-07:00Northern Light<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNgFeLYRZr44BIAKr5HvMA5Qk2AN8K-2UXIN7Bb1H2E3LT03PFFo49vfGc8KKRNzVQ6Z5bw-FZvKZm8uM5rkJeT0j3JbKgG_sMAeNhGJr91oQTqudgpKV1uNAtFsCYLPHzSM09g/s1600-h/IMGP5166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNgFeLYRZr44BIAKr5HvMA5Qk2AN8K-2UXIN7Bb1H2E3LT03PFFo49vfGc8KKRNzVQ6Z5bw-FZvKZm8uM5rkJeT0j3JbKgG_sMAeNhGJr91oQTqudgpKV1uNAtFsCYLPHzSM09g/s320/IMGP5166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117925325732886178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A couple days ago we had one of those gorgeous fall days that come along so rarely. Winds were calm for much of the day, and the sun was shining. Temperatures dropped overnight, and the lagoon behind my house froze over.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxoq1Fq79Ky11TwksN8NJ9hdLUxp6PgvRuZj6QTNdlCOXY9LgvoAo5TizD3peQy8s0tVTMHE8bUNwi9Xo_yrf4NnUirCt9qobkuhIGewyGtzofr_6wijk_cL6_Rx6WefNBvH5-Q/s1600-h/IMGP5170.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxoq1Fq79Ky11TwksN8NJ9hdLUxp6PgvRuZj6QTNdlCOXY9LgvoAo5TizD3peQy8s0tVTMHE8bUNwi9Xo_yrf4NnUirCt9qobkuhIGewyGtzofr_6wijk_cL6_Rx6WefNBvH5-Q/s320/IMGP5170.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117927159683921602" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">It has been snowing for a couple of weeks, but not sticking; now it is. The birds have mostly left for the south, with the exception of the gulls, who are waiting for fall whaling, which means feasting for them as well as the human community. A few were left, hopping around in the snow looking for seeds.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTsK_XM6Ytn7rr3dCWZKIaZYu-zK2mjpNrC_2I3rq2ELslclaUq-EvyfpABUvWN2QLIw82PwByL7GSekhctOq3eMo_qYD2J6A7qj0wR_kbr2B2V_hyphenhyphenO71ml5chU7YvXUXawF7Jw/s1600-h/IMGP5167.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTsK_XM6Ytn7rr3dCWZKIaZYu-zK2mjpNrC_2I3rq2ELslclaUq-EvyfpABUvWN2QLIw82PwByL7GSekhctOq3eMo_qYD2J6A7qj0wR_kbr2B2V_hyphenhyphenO71ml5chU7YvXUXawF7Jw/s320/IMGP5167.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117927155388954290" border="0" /></a>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-35402794706614472862007-09-16T11:33:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.388-07:00Fog & windWell, the weather is more typically fall in Barrow, although still quite warm. I think we set at least 3 record highs for date just this month and it's only half over.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the garden is pretty much in full fall mode, which means everything is brown except a few sedge/grass clumps.<br /><br />The lemming is no longer in residence. It hasn't been seen since a bunch of owl feathers appeared, so the best bet is it became lunch for baby owls. In any event, things got a chance to grow a bit taller than they were able to when the lemming was here. Sheep have nothing on lemmings as mowers, it turns out.<br /><br />If it gets a little nicer, I'll go take pictures of the bathtub/water feature, which finally got some plants in it this summer.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-1404465849566050872007-08-30T14:25:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.388-07:00Long Hiatus & Willow RustWell, it certainly has been a while. Life happens. I've been incredibly busy with work, and didn't get to do much <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">gardening</span>, or garden photography.<br /><br />This has been a <span style="font-weight: bold;">very </span>weird summer, with essentially no rain in June or July. It was good for the flowering plants, especially the River Beauties. No hot caps needed to get a lot of flowers.<br /><br />However, it seems to have been a bit hard on at least one species of willow. The <span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Salix</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">longifolia</span> usually has a few spots of rust, but this year it is essentially golden with rust, except for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">near</span> the drip line, where I'm guessing it got a little more water. Turns out one of the folks coming to a conference my husband & I are organizing here actually is a specialist in Arctic willow rusts, so I spent Saturday PM collecting leaf samples for him. They are currently being pressed, and I'll hand them off to him in late September.AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-1153590424954304262006-07-22T09:41:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.388-07:00Snow in the Tundra Garden<span style="font-family:arial;">The Tundra Garden spends a good deal of the year covered with snow. One might imagine that in summer, short as it is, it would remain snow free. That would be wrong. One of the beauties of living in Barrow is that the weather is a bit, shall I say, variable. However, we do get snow in July most years. This was no exception. July 6th I came out to go to the field to find the garden with a</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> good dusting of snow.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/snowy%20garden.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/snowy%20garden.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The garden was well-sprinkled with white. The willow leaves held the snow, so that most of the garden was frosted with white crystals. It was really quite lovely, although the fact that I was going to be spending a rather cold day in the field, with students (some of whom were probably under-dressed and would therefore require watching for hypothermia) got in the way of true</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> appreciation of the aesthetics of the situation.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/snowy%20potentilla.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/snowy%20potentilla.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Ironically, the garden was just really getting going</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> on blooming at that point. The Arctic Cinquefoil</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (<span style="font-style: italic;">Potentilla hypartica</span>) was</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> in full bloom,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/snowy%20heart-leaved%20saxifrage.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/snowy%20heart-leaved%20saxifrage.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">and the Heart-leaved or Chordate-Leaved Saxifrage (<span style="font-style: italic;">Saxifraga punctata</span> L.) was in fine shape. This is the Nelsoniana subspecies, one of 5 rather differing subspecies which occur in</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Alaska, according to Hulten. It is, however, the</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> only one of them seen near Barrow.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/snowy%20lousewort.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/snowy%20lousewort.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Even the Lousewort (<span style="font-style: italic;">Pedicularis </span>sp.--I'm still trying to verify species, <span style="font-style: italic;">Langsdorffi</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Kanei </span>or <span style="font-style: italic;">sudetica) </span>was starting to bloom.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Of course, by that evening, when I got in at quarter to seven, the sun was out, the snow was gone, and the garden was blooming. You can see a hot cap in the left mid-ground. It is on the River Beauties, as I decided that I would get them to bloom in Barrow if it could be done. More on them later.<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/after%20the%20snow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/after%20the%20snow.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-1152680034842823802006-07-11T21:18:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.388-07:00A Rather Sorry Showing by the Coltsfoot<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/coltsfoot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/coltsfoot.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Coltsfoot (<span style="font-style: italic;">Petasites frigidus</span>) usually does well here where it decides to grow. It likes disturbed soil, so it is found along roads, around buidlings, and also as part of the succsessional sequence on well-drained frost boils on the tundra. It seems to be fairly rampant, so Iwas a little dubious about having it in the tundra garden. However, it showed up, it is a tundra plant, and it does smell lovely (a bit like sweet alyssum), so I let it stay. What I have has nearly pure white flowers, while most plants have a distinct purpleish cast to the flowers. I do pinch all leaves which show up where I don't want it, however. It appears to spread by roots, with leaves showing up first, and then flowerstalks the next year. The "pinch the leaves" strategy keeps it where it belongs.<br /><br />This year the coltsfoot just hasn't been very impressive. The flower stalks have been lying rather flat, and the flowers are only about half open. I'm not sure why. I took a trip south along the coast which involved a couple of miles of road through tundra, and the coltsfoot was really spectacular there. It was also incredibly fragrant, with clouds of aroma several hundred feet away (despite the fact that it was windy as always).<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/lemming%20tunnel.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/lemming%20tunnel.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The big event of the next to last week in June was the arrival of a lemming to set up residence in the tundra garden. It is a fairly high lemming year, which means there are lots of snowy owls (and snowy owl researchers) in evidence here in Barrow. It also means that there are lots of lemmings on the move trying to find a place to set up housekeeping. A young one found the tundra garden and moved in. S(h)e nibbled a bunch of grasses, but seems pretty oblivious to the flowering plants. I haven't gotten a picture, but am still trying. I'm not sure how the lemming will stay unless a mate shows up, and I don't think they will survive if they try to overwinter, since lemmings seem to range much further than the confines of the tundra garden, and it <span style="font-weight: bold;">is </span>in the middle of a gravel pad.<br /></span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-1152505184374159102006-07-09T18:45:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.389-07:00Buttercups in Mid-June<span style="font-family:arial;">By mid-June, the buttercups were blooming. The first to bloom are always the Snow Buttercups, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ranunculus nivalis</span>, which actually start growing and setting buds before the snow is gone. They are quite showy, with quite large flowers for a tundra plant. The color is an intense yellow that is possitively incandescent when the sun hits it.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/Buttercups.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/Buttercups.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Since they track the sun (when it is out), they can be truly spectacular.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/buttercups%20sun.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/buttercups%20sun.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Pygmy Buttercups (<span style="font-style: italic;">Ranunculus pygmaeus</span>) were a bit behind the bigger ones.<br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/R%20pygmaeus.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/R%20pygmaeus.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The other plants were only starting to reawaken after the winter.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/tufted%20saxifrage%20bud.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/tufted%20saxifrage%20bud.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br />The Tufted Saxifrage (<span style="font-style: italic;">Saxifraga caespitosa</span>) had swelling flower buds,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br />the Sea Lungworts or Oysterleaf (<span style="font-style: italic;">Mertensia maritima</span>) were growing new foliage,<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/Mertensia%20maritima%206-06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/Mertensia%20maritima%206-06.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/williow%20rotundifolia%20flowering.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/williow%20rotundifolia%20flowering.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />and a couple of willows were blooming. I'm not sure of the exact species of <span style="font-style: italic;">Salix</span>, but since just the key for <span style="font-style: italic;">Salix </span>in Hulten's <span style="font-style: italic;">Flora of Alaska</span> is 3 pages long, I don't feel too bad.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The longer-leaved of the willows really likes the micro-climate provided by the rock.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/willow%20longifolia%20flowering%2006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/willow%20longifolia%20flowering%2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-1152400337061705302006-07-08T15:57:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.389-07:00In Which the Saga Resumes<span style="font-family: arial;">There has been rather a lag between posts here. The garden was just sitting there for months under snow, and I got busy with life. But it's really starting to take off now, so here's an update.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The snow started to melt back in May.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/5-10-2006.jpg"></a></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/5-10-2006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/5-10-2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">May 10</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/5-20-2006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/5-20-2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> May 20th</span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The garden really got exposed around the end of May. It didn't look all that beautiful, pretty much brown and tan, with just a few specks of green struggling through the dead plants from last year.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/5-28-2006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/5-28-2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This is May 28th, and a rather foggy day it was, too. The front of the willow tundra area and the little bowl for ranunculus were exposed, as was the bathtub which is gradually (oh so gradually) being turned into a water feature for some rather nice tundra pond plants I want. The earliest of the plants were just starting to put forth green shoots at this point.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/first%20green.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/first%20green.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />At this point I took a trip to upstate NY to take my daughter to spend part of the summer at my Mom's place. I was within a couple miles of <a href="http://www.signoftheshovel.com/sign_of_the_shovel/">Sign of the Shovel</a>'s town garden (maybe less--I did spend some time in Saratoga while I was home), but mostly I did some pruning and weeding, and spent a lot of time talking garden design with one of my brothers who has moved home from Philadelphia. He's a landscape artist</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> with an MFA who got into landscaping to pay the rent (landscpae painting being less than trendy these days) and evolved into a landscape designer. He's really got a good command of plants, and can see what things will look like down the road (and paint it for that matter) and has some pretty neat ideas for reviving and renewing the gardens at my Mom's. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20952504.post-1144217490015488802006-04-04T22:36:00.000-07:002007-10-15T18:09:16.389-07:00In praise of volunteers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/Choclearia%20spring.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/Choclearia%20spring.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The Tundra Garden is at least in part educational in purpose; I like having it handy so I can take people outside to show them a plant in real life rather than in a book. Because of that (and because I am not that fond of the Zen garden look outside my house) I am quite liberal regarding volunteers. I've felt otherwise in other gardens elsewhere, but here they get to stay. It is interesting to watch the succession process in gravel, as well.<br /><br /><br />The first plants which show are Cochlearia officinalis L. which are otherwise known as Scurvy Grass. Why grass I'm not sure, since they don't look the least bit like grass. When they first make their appearance in the spring, they look a bit scrofulous until the new leaves outgrow the foliage from last year.<br /><br />After they grow some leaves and begin blooming, they are pretty little white things, and smell quite nice on a warm day if you can get your nose close enough. They come in various sizes. As far as I can see, they seem to grow bigger for a number of years. Eventually they put up a longer flowerstock and then die.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/Cochlearia%20%26%20poppy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/Cochlearia%20%26%20poppy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/Choclearia%20blooming.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/400/Choclearia%20blooming.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />s you can see I let them grow where they show up, including mixed into clumps of other flowers, like the poppies. My favorite is an area where really nothing else has taken hold yet. It's between our house and the road around it on the pad. The cochlearia have taken root all over the space, and they look like petite doilies scattered on the ground when they are all in bloom. There are a few clumps of a small grass showing up now in the wake of the cochlearia.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/1600/Cochlearia%20L..jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7279/2113/320/Cochlearia%20L..jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've been encouraging these plants with watering and foliar feedings. I was using fish emulsion, but it made the garden stink and wasn't always available. So I switched to Miracle Gro.<br /><br />Before anyone goes ballistic, I've been using compost since I was a kid. My parents had about 5 acres in lawn, which needed the leaves raked, and the place wasn't called Tall Trees for nothing. Then I got ponies and boy did we have great compost. Alas, composting doesn't seem to be an option up here unless I want to rent heated indoor space. Things freeze here, and once the pile is big enough, and moist enough, they don't thaw. I do have a compost pile here. The pumpkin from Halloween 1996 didn't look any different than the one from 2005 before the snow fell. As an archaeologist, I can attest to the fact that organic material can stay frozen with minimal decay for hundreds of years here. Call me impatient, but since I don't expect to live that long.... Miracle Gro. I'd worry more if the runoff didn't go directly into a sewage lagoon.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></span></span>AnneBryggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06053731636395393746noreply@blogger.com4