Visitors to our state often comment that some of our yards are not very tidy; some may even consider them “junk yards.” Those of us who live in Alaska understand that after our long winters, summer weekends are precious and good weather can be rare. Summers are for playing outside, enjoying our friends and families, and soaking in as much sunshine as we can get. This is especially true when we are blessed with unusual multi-day heat waves of 70-80 degree temperatures like we had July of 2013. 

Just because many of our yards do not look cared for doesn’t mean we don’t care. We are probably busy fishing, hiking, biking, camping, entertaining visitors, etc... For example, my husband and I took an eight day trip last summer with friends. We traveled close to 2,000 miles up and down the Dalton Highway, also known as the Haul Road, over the Brooks Range all the way to the Arctic Ocean. I couldn’t feel bad about my yard when I returned home from our adventure to find several dozen mini-trees growing in our dried out lawn. The trees in our lawn continued to grow (much faster than the grass) for a week after I returned home because I was busy planting the rest of my vegetable seeds and starter plants. We have to prioritize time in our short summers and our poor yards sometimes have to wait. This does not mean we are bad gardeners, it just means we are out enjoying other splendors our beloved Alaska has to offer.

Most Alaskans do not choose to live here because they want a picture perfect yard. If they do they will soon learn that manicured lawns are a full time hobby and their neighborhood moose—some who even live in urban areas—have other plans for our plants and trees. The story, “Tulip Trouble,” in last month’s issue, was a great illustration of why Alaskan gardeners may not always strive for perfection. Here you usually don’t have to worry about neighbors judging you … unless maybe your yard is covered in dandelions and you allow them all to go to seed. My daughter and son-in-law found out quickly when they moved to Louisville, Kentucky, a fairly urban city, that even storing their snow tires next to their garage was a municipal code infraction. They both grew up in Alaska where people grow potatoes or flowers in old tires right in their front yards. They learned the hard way that their casual attitude about yards was not shared in other parts of the country. 

Many of us like to recycle and re-purpose unique items in our yards. One man’s junk is another man’s garden treasure. A cousin in Washington once told my mom and me about her awful neighbors who put a wooden bed frame in their backyard and planted flowers in it. She looked at us like we were crazy when we told her we thought a flower bed in an actual bed frame sounded like a fun idea. We can get quite creative in our gardens. If you take a drive towards Talkeetna you will pass a driveway flanked with two re-purposed toilets overflowing with beautiful flowers. I might not choose to do that in my yard, but if others want to get creative and keep items out of our landfills I say, “Go for it!” In Juneau we knew people who kept all their wine and beer bottles out of the landfill by making sheds out of them.

My friend just called and invited me for a hike in Hatcher Pass. The lawn needs mowing; I still have plants in pots that need to go into the ground; I have seeds left I should have sown weeks ago; I have company arriving next week… I’m going for a hike. After all, like my grandma used to say when I was stressing out about getting my house ready for company, “Don’t worry about the mess. Your friends and family are coming to visit you, not your house or your yard.”