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Entry in SNRAS Blog
June 3, 2009
On a warm evening in early June, cars rolled into the UAF
Georgeson Botanical Garden parking lot, one after the other. Volunteers
emerged with sun hats, gardening gloves, and hand spades.
Their mission? To transform the garden in one fell swoop, planting the annual
flower beds under the direction of GBG Director
Pat Holloway. In preparation for the work party, Dr. Holloway and her staff
had prepared maps for all the flower beds, designating where the 350 plant
varieties would go. There are approximately two dozen plants of each variety.
While most trial gardens are arranged in block style with row upon row of the
same type of plant growing together, Holloway prefers GBG to be more viewer
friendly. “We found that people were interested in color combinations and what
plants would work well together,” Holloway said. “It makes it a challenge.”
Every year the garden is different, with about one-third of the 350 plant
varieties being new to GBG. Varieties are grown for three years, then new ones
are brought in, so that researchers can determine the breadth of what can be
grown in Alaska. The Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station publications
office publishes
variety trials for the garden at the end of each research season. The trend
in this year’s garden is a profusion of one color in particular, Holloway noted.
“There is lots of pink this year.”
With so much work to do in a short time, volunteers are essential to the
garden’s success. Holloway has a small year-round staff and several student
workers for the summers. She particularly expressed appreciation to the
Master Gardeners for their efforts. “These people are one of the greatest
groups of people,” she said. “They are knowledgeable and enthusiastic and
interested in everything related to plants. They keep pushing their knowledge.”
In Fairbanks, Master Gardeners are trained by Michele Hebert, land resources
agent for UAF
Cooperative Extension Service. Students do forty hours of classwork, then
give forty hours of volunteer time to the community. Topics covered include:
botany, entomology, flower gardening, fruit and vegetable gardening, lawn care,
organic gardening, pesticide use and safety, plant pathology, soils and
fertilizers, tree and shrub care, and volunteerism.
The public is welcome at GBG, which is a research facility of the UAF School of
Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences. The garden is open from 9 a.m. to 8
p.m. daily, with a $2 admission fee (children under age six get in free). Guided
tours are given on Fridays at 2 p.m. from June to August. Please leave pets at
home.
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