I am always doing some spring cleanup work in May around my property, before the weather warms up and the weeds and brush return. Spring in Alaska may pass very quickly or may seem too slow depending how you think about it. From late March our daylight exceeds 12 hours. When the snow begins to melt until the weather warms enough to see some native plants emerge can feel like an eternity. My property seems like the last place for the snow to melt in this area.
It was just a few days ago that I first noticed that the familiar Alaska state flower Myosotis alpestris or Alpine Forget-me-not was beginning to bloom.
After looking around I also found some ferns were emerging with their characteristic "fiddle-heads".
After the snow is finally gone it may only take a few sunny weeks before the the trees begin to leaf out and that makes our springtime seem very short. Warm sunny days can lead to clear frosty nights before we settle into our summer temperature patterns. Our last frost can be near the end of May. This is the traditional start to our garden planting season. Most of the summer daytime temperatures, here in Wasilla, average in the mid 60's with some sunny 75 degree days - but 85 degrees is rare. Some rainy or cloudy days may never reach 60 degrees. With 20 hours of sun during June we make up for our short cool growing season by extremely rapid growth during our long days. It has been estimated that our long summer days are equivalent to adding 2-3 weeks extra frost free growing days. This also means that timing is everything. Setting out plants a few weeks late and there may not be enough time to mature and produce a significant crop. Starting plants indoors is a necessity and helps break up the long winter doldrums. The first perennials emerging in spring are always a welcome sight.
I had a brush covered hillside behind my house that I have been clearing little by little each spring. The annual progress is slow and involved cutting out small trees and grubbing out our native prickly wild rose Rosa acicularis and many surface roots from returning willows. It is a never ending process. I have been transplanting some native forest ferns and mosses that I find around my property. The orange flags mark fern crowns that have not emerged yet. I prefer a natural looking landscape when possible and found a wonderful book with many examples.
The Scandinavian Garden By Karl-Dietrich Buhler is a wonderful book for Alaska gardeners that want a natural looking landscape. I found a used copy online. Much of the Scandinavian climate is almost identical to our climate here in South Central Alaska with many of the same plant species also. My landscape goal is to have a natural looking woodland garden some day in place of an overgrown bushy hillside that was a severe fire hazard so close to my wooden sided house.
Wildfire is an ever-present danger that always lurks in the back of your mind. You will often find yourself scanning the horizon for any sign of fire with the first smell of smoke or the distant sound of emergency sirens on the highway. A cleared brush-free defensible fire zone is recommended around your home.