How To Add Color To Your Landscape In Anchorage, Alaska
You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the USDA has placed Anchorage in the 3a-4b hardiness zones, which means that many landscaping plants can do very well here.
If you have just moved to Anchorage and are thinking of hiring landscaping services you are probably wondering what sorts of plant could possibly thrive in this climate.
Here are some hardy plants that can add color to any Anchorage garden:
Achillea
This plant is also called the yarrow and produces gorgeous flowers in colors of white, pink, yellow, orange and red in the summer. It also has beautiful, fern-like foliage. Achillea is a perennial that can grow from one to three feet tall and is excellent for a place where the soil is average to poor but well-drained.
Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) can be seen along our highways and roads as it is frequently used for erosion control. Even better, this tough plant thrives in full shade to full sun and can tolerate more than a little neglect.
Serviceberry
The serviceberry is a large shrub or a tree that can grow from 15 to 40 feet high. It is an excellent landscape plant because it provides beauty in all seasons. It has a beautiful bark that stands out in the winter and produces masses of white flowers in the spring.
When it comes to landscaping color, leaves start as purple-gray, deepen to dark green in the summer and change to yellow and red in the fall.
The fruit, which also appears in the fall, is blueberry-like and attracts birds. Serviceberry prefers well-drained, acidic soil and is good for a woodland garden.
Aquilegia (Columbine)
This perennial plant is a fantastic addition to any garden. From April to August this hardy plant produces many blooms.
A variety of colors are available to make the bright blooms really pop:
- Red
- Orange
- Pink
- Purple
- Blue
- Dark Green Foliage
Columbine prefers moist, well drained soil and full sun to partial shade. Be sure to check out the dwarf varieties!
Dogwood
This colorful shrub is a favorite of gardeners and can grow well in climates that are far colder than Anchorage’s. Like serviceberries, these landscaping plants provide interest all year with their bright red bark, fall foliage, flowers and fruit.
Dogwoods like moist, well-drained acidic soil and do well in full sun to partial shade, they have endless uses in the garden. From hedges and foundation plantings to a stand alone shrub, this versatile plant is a cold climate staple.
Daylilies
There are so many varieties of this durable flower that it can be hard to choose which one is best for the garden. That is where landscaping services are handy.
The blooms, borne on structures called scapes instead of stems, range in color from lemon yellow to maroon red to carmine to orange to melon pink. It is true that the flowers only last a day, but there are so many of them that the gardener won’t notice.
The landscaping color provided by daylilies is complemented by the long, grass-like leaves. Daylilies do well in full sun to partial shade and soil that’s moist and well-drained.