Flower Power

6 August 2012
8:11 PM

Sunrise at	5:10 AM	in direction	46°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:41 PM	in direction	314°	Northwest

Duration of day: 17 hours, 31 minutes (6 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than yesterday)

August Flowers

Flowers go crazy in Alaska.  You wouldn't expect it - or at least I didn't.  I lived among flowers year round as a child in San Diego and there were many blooming plants that were comfortable with the temperate regions of Central and Northern California.  When I moved to Colorado, I missed flowers and green plants more than anything else through the winter.  So, of course my house was filled with plants, many of them flowering (still is - actually).

While living in Colorado, I planted tulips for spring and native wildflower gardens for summer.  Some summer gardens were wonderful for many years; some never took off.  What I could rarely do with success was plant a really nice flower box.  Invariably, the sun would get too intense, the air too dry, and since I was unable to water continuously, they would flounder.  I would get blooms, but nothing I was really pleased with.  Actually, there was one potted plant that did wonderfully, a geranium that I had for 8 years before it gave up last year, but it was the only one that flourished indoors and out and the pot was large - not a window box or hanging basket. 

What astounded me, and still brings great delight to my days, is the way flowers will poke along through May and June and then suddenly there are profusions of blooms everywhere you turn in Fairbanks and Anchorage.  Anchorage, in fact, calls itself - Anchorage, City of Flowers.  As I drove into Anchorage to visit my mother the weekend before last, I knew I should stop to take photos of the square by the art center and convention center, but was never in the right place at the right time to do that.

Have you seen the wonderful 1950's film, American in Paris? In one of the dance numbers (a daydream actually), they are passing through a stylized version of Paris, painted scenes suggested from the many artists who flourished there before World War II.  It is one of the best art/dance numbers of all time.  In the American in Paris, Flower Market scene,  they dance through the flower vendors.  Flowers are everywhere, thick with blooms of every color imaginable, falling out of pails and carts as well as those growing along the sidewalk.  This arrangement, taken by an attendee at the Philadelphia Flower Show was inspired by that sequence and gives you just a suggestion of the rich colors possible.

Flowers in the center of downtown Anchorage are like that.  When I was sitting in my car, waiting for the light to change, I noticed the blooms were so thick I couldn't see bare ground anywhere and one patch of pink reminded me of pink, silk organza, sewn to create lovely skirt hems and ruffled flowing sleeves.  But, don't take my word for it.  Here are links to images of the care with which Anchoragites encourage their flowers to bloom.

Art.com - Photo by Stuart Westmoreland

Praises for Anchorage from Travel with Steven blog

About.com - Flowers at the Visitor Center

Our own botanical gardens, outdoor gardens, are a wonder as the photo below attests ... click the link in the caption and you can see a clearer image along with other great shots of Alaska.

From Alaska Scenes