Features

Kachemak Gardener: Until next year …

Rosemary Fitzpatrick is a longtime Homer gardener and has been writing Kachemak Gardener since 1990.… Continue reading

 

Kachemak Gardener: Why wait for a crisis to help out in each other’s gardens?

So there is my friend Nancy and she has hit a bump in the road. That would be enough for me but she was concerned… Continue reading

 

Dwarf Korean lilac, dwarf red twig dogwood, Miss Kim lilac, full size dogwood and a Shubert chokecerry fill out the space by the Kachemak Gardener’s balcony in this photo taken Oct. 12, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Your garden is for you, so take pleasure in it every day

For the past three years I have subscribed to “The English Garden.” Each and every issue is packed with dazzling photos of impeccably designed and… Continue reading

 

Jane Wiebe’s wheelbarrow of lovely tubers will cause any potato aficionado’s heart to sing. The photo was taken on Oct. 7, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Jane Wiebe)

Kachemak Gardener: Arrival of fall brings relief after frenetic summer

After the most frenetic summer within recent memory the slow but sure arrival of fall is a relief. This week has been spent turning the… Continue reading

Jane Wiebe’s wheelbarrow of lovely tubers will cause any potato aficionado’s heart to sing. The photo was taken on Oct. 7, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Jane Wiebe)

Kachemak Gardener: Garden journal helps map out next season

This latest rainfall has been a boon. Once again the weeds are easily removed instead of chiseling them out from rock hard soil. And there… Continue reading

A window flower box at the Kachemak Gardener’s home shows waning begonias but enthusiastic pansies and lobelia on Sept. 6, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Take time to smell the roses

Now that the harvest season is winding down, I have more time to actually cook with what I’ve grown. I know that sounds strange —… Continue reading

A window flower box at the Kachemak Gardener’s home shows waning begonias but enthusiastic pansies and lobelia on Sept. 6, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Let the garden thrive and have its head

Smoke. Hornets. Late summer head cold. Local corn: $5/ear. Porcupines. Inexplicably pink Yukon golds Good Grief! But then again, the Dropmore honeysuckle is gorgeous to… Continue reading

Green Globe artichokes thriving and soon to be harvested on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, in the Kachemak Gardener’s home in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Weather is scary but artichokes are fabulous

Of all the years to run out of lettuce it had to be this one. There has been a steady stream of family and friends… Continue reading

Green Globe artichokes thriving and soon to be harvested on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, in the Kachemak Gardener’s home in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
Cottage pinks, asiatic lilies, heuchera, thalictrum, all happily cohabitate in a very unplanned perennial bed at the Kachemak Gardener’s garden in this photo taken on July 28, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Fast and Furious gardening season has been quite a ride

FAST AND FURIOUS. That’s what this growing season is handing us, the first one the likes of this that I can recall in my 47… Continue reading

Cottage pinks, asiatic lilies, heuchera, thalictrum, all happily cohabitate in a very unplanned perennial bed at the Kachemak Gardener’s garden in this photo taken on July 28, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
Grands Marguerite Vallee, Cecilia Fitzpatrick and Genevieve Vallee seek shade, solace, companionship and Doritos under the lilacs on the Fourth of July in the Kachemak Gardener’s garden. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Share gardens through neighborhood stroll

What better way to share a whole street worth of gardens than to have a “Garden Stroll?” I got the idea from a friend who… Continue reading

Grands Marguerite Vallee, Cecilia Fitzpatrick and Genevieve Vallee seek shade, solace, companionship and Doritos under the lilacs on the Fourth of July in the Kachemak Gardener’s garden. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
“Blooming azaleas — what a delight,” the Kachemak Gardener said on June 28, 2019, of the flowers in her Homer, Alaska, garden. “These are two of these shrubs here that manage a burst of color each year.” (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Think about vegetable possibilities

We took a walk on the Eveline Trail specifically to view the wildflowers. We were just in time, they are fading fast. This heat that… Continue reading

“Blooming azaleas — what a delight,” the Kachemak Gardener said on June 28, 2019, of the flowers in her Homer, Alaska, garden. “These are two of these shrubs here that manage a burst of color each year.” (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
Blue poppies and pink meadow rue bloom in Rosemary Fitzpatrick’s garden on June 14, 2019, in Homer, Alsaka. “Who could ask for more?” she asks. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Whew! Finally an established garden

We have been graced with the most excellent combination of warmth and rain. Absolutely every plant in this garden is deeply appreciative. This is an… Continue reading

Blue poppies and pink meadow rue bloom in Rosemary Fitzpatrick’s garden on June 14, 2019, in Homer, Alsaka. “Who could ask for more?” she asks. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
Muscari at its peak of perfection, as seen in the Kachemak Gardener’s garden on May 27, 2019, in Homer, Alasa. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: This is the perfect gardening weather — really

Uh oh. All the mountain ash berries that the Bohemian waxwings did not show up to eat? Sprouting in every single bit of bare earth… Continue reading

Muscari at its peak of perfection, as seen in the Kachemak Gardener’s garden on May 27, 2019, in Homer, Alasa. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
Primulas and anemone rosea greet a spring morning on May 15, 2019, at the Kachemak Gardener’s garden in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Realizing spring’s potential

On the drive to Anchorage about 10 days ago, it was fascinating to observe the leaf emergence on the birch, alder and willow. With each… Continue reading

Primulas and anemone rosea greet a spring morning on May 15, 2019, at the Kachemak Gardener’s garden in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
Don’t miss the forsythia blooming on the corner of Pioneer Avenue and Svedlund Street on May 2, 2019. There aren’t many of these in Homer, so appreciate them now, for their bloom time is short. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Get thee to the nurseries

Homer’s nurseries are truly magnificent. There was a time in the not so distant past that I would journey as far north as Wasilla, stopping… Continue reading

Don’t miss the forsythia blooming on the corner of Pioneer Avenue and Svedlund Street on May 2, 2019. There aren’t many of these in Homer, so appreciate them now, for their bloom time is short. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
The hardy fall planted spring blooming bulb chionodoxa may be worse for wear after being battered by wind and snow, but it bravely offers up its glory as seen in this photo taken April 19, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Come what may, spring will arrive

This is being written Sunday evening. The wind is howling and the snow keeps coming — a typical spring storm. All the lovely in bloom… Continue reading

The hardy fall planted spring blooming bulb chionodoxa may be worse for wear after being battered by wind and snow, but it bravely offers up its glory as seen in this photo taken April 19, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
“In addition to bringing early color and joy into our lives, the honeybees are equally entranced,” the Kachemak Gardener writes of crocuses blooming in her garden on March 31, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: Expectations be damned for crocuses

I have been trumpeting my crocus population to one and all, practically begging friends to come and luxuriate in their presence. To my eye they… Continue reading

“In addition to bringing early color and joy into our lives, the honeybees are equally entranced,” the Kachemak Gardener writes of crocuses blooming in her garden on March 31, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick)
“This may not be the most colorful photo, but I hope the promise of crocus breaking ground and seeking their destiny will cradle your soul and warm your heart,” the Kachemak Gardener writes of crocus emerging at her garden on March 8, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick/Homer News)

Kachemak Gardener: The primal acceptance of March

There is no doubt in my mind that there is nothing trustworthy about March. But, instead of gritting my teeth, I get on with it.… Continue reading

“This may not be the most colorful photo, but I hope the promise of crocus breaking ground and seeking their destiny will cradle your soul and warm your heart,” the Kachemak Gardener writes of crocus emerging at her garden on March 8, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Rosemary Fitzpatrick/Homer News)

Kachemak Gardener: Heed the siren call of seed racks

Now that the sun has meaning you should consider washing your windows, especially if your intention is to start plants from seed. Which, of course,… Continue reading

Strawberries and raspberries picked at their peak of perfection, popped into the freezer to be savored throughout the long, dark winter months. What better reason to garden? (Photo by Cecilia Fitzpatrick)

Kachemak Gardener: You can garden. Be fearless.

I’ve been having some very intense thoughts about you — specifically, those of you who either don’t garden or have tried and failed. The most… Continue reading

Strawberries and raspberries picked at their peak of perfection, popped into the freezer to be savored throughout the long, dark winter months. What better reason to garden? (Photo by Cecilia Fitzpatrick)
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