Anchorage Flower Shops

Anchorage AK News

Nov 9, 2019

It's November, and Southcentral Alaska's unusually warm fall has some plants putting out spring buds - Anchorage Daily News

There’s just one problem: It’s November. “It’s pretty much unprecedented,” said Justin Fulkerson, a research botanist at the University of Alaska Anchorage who said he first heard reports of catkins (also known as “pussy willows”) showing up in the Anchorage area from a fellow scientist in late October. Fulkerson said Scouler’s willow (Salix scouleriana) is normally one of the first plants to bud in spring. They’re usually seen in late March or early April, but for the plants to restart their life cycle in fall, he said, is "really odd and weird.” He said the culprit is Southcentral Alaska’s unusually warm fall, which has willows and other early rising plants thinking spring. “The plants are confused because of the warmer temperatures we’re having right now,” he said. According to the National Weather Service, the average temperature in Anchorage for October was 41.8 degrees — 7 degrees above normal. On Oct. 28, the city hit a balmy 54 degrees Fahrenheit at a time of year when the temperature is typically below freezing. Higher than normal temperatures are expected for Alaska this winter, according to an outlook covering December-February from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. (NOAA map) Meteorologist Bill Ludwig said the wa...

Nov 28, 2018

Anchorage abandons proposal to cut city flower program - Ledger-Enquirer

Anchorage officials abandoned proposed budget cuts to the city flower and horticulture program after residents showed strong opposition to the idea. Assemblyman John Weddleton had suggested cutting the entire $1.7 million horticultural budget to shift that money toward efforts to clear out illegal homeless camps and move people into emergency shelters, the Anchorage Daily News reported . Weddleton changed course Tuesday, saying more than 400 emails had been sent since last week in support of downtown flowers and public greenhouses.

Sep 22, 2017

There was a parking spot, now it's all covered with flowers

Last Friday you may have noticed something unusual but uniquely cool going on downtown.During business hours, spread across various locations, Anchorage’s parking authority, EasyPark, along with artists, activists, and neighborhood organizations came together to allow other local businesses and organizations to temporarily transform metered parking spots into greener "Park(ing)" spaces.It was Park(ing) Day in Anchorage, where parking spots became miniature public pieces of land for people to socialize.Park(ing) Day provides a surprising opportunity for healthy community engagement in a place that you would not normally find it. The city of Anchorage has been fully supporting the idea and encouraged people to visit each space through completing the "Park(ing) Day Passport” that was being handed out.EasyPark also encouraged that everyone who completed the passport and handed it into the Parks and Recreation Department at City Hall by 4 p.m., would receive fun "EasyPark Swag." EasyPark has been an advocate for Park(ing) Day and is one of the many partners in making the event happen each year.Anchorage started participating in t... (Anchorage Press)

Feb 9, 2017

Snowy day a challenge for 719 Boulder finishers

Gregg, 32, of Minneapolis, Minn. (1.33:43) in a two-man sprint to the line.      Talbot is a 2015 Dartmouth engineering graduate originally from Anchorage, Ak. and Gregg, from Winthrop, Wash. was a University of Alaska All-American before becoming a 2014 U.S. Olympian. Talbot’s top time was 16:29 slower than Nick Hendrickson’s 2016 win.      Allison said, “The racers were so whipped. The top guys were just tapped, so different from last year. Same with the Elite Women, who started their race in the snow.      “But you know what meant the most to me? The last woman coming to the finish (Gloria Ploss, 71, of Bend, Ore. in 4.51:52). We were just rolling up the finish when she came in, followed by Sean Petersen, who for years has cleared the course and skied in with the final Boulder Tour finisher.      “The look on her face was incredible. She felt so proud of herself. It brought a tear to my eye and reminded me what this race is all about.      “It was awesome. We did a lot of improvising with the wet conditions, but I’m just happy we pulled it off.”      Repeating as Boulder women’s winner in 1.40:19, 16:24 slower than last year, was Caitlin Gregg, 36, a 2010 Olympian from Minnesota. Just one year ago, after winning the Boulder, Gregg captured the World Championship bronze medal in 10k freestyle in Sweden.      Nate Struebel of Driggs, Idaho and the Teton Valley Ski Foundation won the Half Boulder in 47:39, and Dartmouth College senior Natalie Flowers of Belgrade, Mt. was the top Half Boulder woman, 52:04.      Ketchum’s Charley French, 90, won his age class and placed 115th overall in the Half Boulder, the 43rd man, in 1.29:55.      Local women on the Full Boulder age-class podium were June Lane, Carol Monteverde, Linda McClatchy, Kim Nalen, Elizabeth Youngman, Deb Cornwell, Muffy Ritz, Liv Jensen, Laura Theis, Mary Rose, Alexa Turzian, Deedra Irwin and Annie Pokorny.      Full Boulder male podium placers from the valley were Del Pletcher, Patrick Simpson, Jon Engen, Bill Nurge, John Reuter, Rogan Brown, Cole Morgan, Sebastian Radl-Jones, Fisher Gardner and Mathias Radl-Jones.      Prize money for the 2017 Boulder Tour was $9,150 with $2,500 going to the male and female winners. Second place finishers earned $1,000 and third placers $500. There was $400 in preem money, plus $750 for male and female winners of five separate waves.      You have to go back to February 1985 to find slower Boulder Tour finishing times, again, because of heavy snow.      That year, the Wood River Valley had near-drought conditions for the month of January and most of December before 20 inches of snow dumped between Thursday and Friday, before the scheduled running of the Boulder Ski Tour.      Moisture content of that 24-hour storm was two-and-a-half inches, matching the normal total of all of February.      Local cross-country skiers comprised most of the Boulder Ski Tour field in those days, compared to all the out-of-town participants today. The first solution that organizers came up with was pushing the race start back one day to Sunday.     It enabled groomer Brad Siemer helped by Nordic enthusiasts like John Plummer and Dave Wheelock to work 36 hours clearing the course.      Unfortunate... (Idaho Mountain Express and Guide)

Feb 9, 2017

Master gardener training offered in Fairbanks

Fairbanks Cooperative Extension district office at 724 27th Ave. Longtime Extension horticulture agent Julie Riley, who taught master gardening in Anchorage for 30 years, will lead the class, which will also feature other agents and guest instructors. Riley is based in Fairbanks now. Participants will receive 40 hours of instruction on horticultural topics, including botany, soils, vegetable and fruit production, growing organically, flowers, trees, shrubs, plant diseases, integrated pest management, weed control, and greenhouse construction and heating. After completing the course, master gardeners contribute 40 hours of volunteer service to their communities. A $300 fee includes materials and an Alaska gardening manual. A limited number of tuition waivers are available for those with financial need. Individuals may register online or at the district office, in the Fairbanks Community Food Bank Building. (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Nov 9, 2016

Conway Master Gardener receives local, state honors

Stansel retired a few years ago after 20 years as a supervisory U.S. probation officer in Little Rock. She grew up in Georgia but was born in Anchorage, Alaska. “My dad was in the Air Force, and we moved all around,” she said. She graduated from Northside High School in Warner Robbins, Georgia, and from Valdosta State College (now Valdosta State University) with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. She met her husband, Steve Stansel, while in Valdosta. He is retired from the U.S. Border Patrol and is now a corporate pilot for Koontz Electric Co. in Morrilton. The Stansels were married in 1978 and have one son, Jon-Stephen, 35. Jon-Stephen and his wife, Annie, are expecting a baby boy soon. They live in San Marcos, Texas, where he is the social-media coordinator at Texas State University. Debra Stansel grows a wide variety of plants and flowers in her backyard. When asked what her favorite flower is, she said, “I love all flowers, but maybe because we’re expecting our first grandchild, I’ll have to say the daffodil — the Sir Winston Churchill Daffodil. “Jon-Stephen and Annie are naming their son Winston, after Winston Churchill,” she said, smiling. “I have 193 different varieties of daffodils out there,” she said, pointing to her backyard. “I was recently going through a magazine and discovered the Sir Winston Churchill Daffodil. I’ve ordered 150 of those daffodils and will share some with Annie and Jon-Stephen.” Debra Stansel is also a beekeeper and is a charter member of the Lady Beekeepers of Arkansas. She does not maintain her beehives in her backyard, however, because the family now has a dog, a beagle named Luna. “Luna rules over the house and the yard,” Stansel said, laughing. “She helps me in the garden — she digs two holes, and I dig one. “Our yard has to be dog friendly. I don’t use any pesticides, nor do I plant anything that might harm the dog. I used to have the honeybees out there, but we moved them after we got Luna, who is really Jon-Stephen’s dog, but he couldn’t keep her when he moved to Texas, so we have her now. She goes with us to visit them every four or five weeks.” Stansel also enjoys making pottery and incorporates some of her creations into her flower gardens. She works on her ceramics at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. “I have a sensory garden,” she told visitors as they walked through her backyard. “I plant things like rosemary, lemon and thyme for fragrance. For texture, I have lamb’s ear. For sight, I have big elephant ears and the little ceramic gnomes that I have made. “I also have an azalea garden. They are all one color — fuchsia. I did that to honor Valdosta, [Georgia], which is called The Azalea City.” ... (Arkansas Online)