Advantages Of More Daylight Hours

                          

Last night we drove to Anchorage for dinner. It just so happened a buddy from Mr. Y's Air Force days lives just outside Anchorage and they wanted the opportunity to reminisce about the good ol' days. It was a lovely meal with memories of being in the service as 18 year old boys rehashed from their now adult perspectives. We said our goodbyes around 9pm and I decided I wanted to pack in one more stop. The Alaska Botanical Gardens. 

I looked up their website and discovered that during the summer they are open "During Daylight Hours".  Knowing that it was still light outside after midnight I decided to take them at their word and headed that direction. 

We arrived to an empty parking lot. No gardeners were about. Everything was still. It appeared a gate had been drawn across the entrance to the gardens themselves but upon closer inspection there was a large metal door to the right of the gate that was unlocked. Into the gardens we went. The website stated there was an admission charge and sure enough there was a self pay pedestal just inside the gate for those late daylight hours when no one is around to sell tickets. What a wonderful idea not to restrict visitors to a typical schedule of open hours when the location has the unique capability of sharing the garden for so many daylight hours outside of that. 

A botanical garden is a peaceful, quiet place to begin with but when you realize you are may be the only ones in the entire gardens it becomes the most relaxing place in the world. A leisurely stroll through the perennial garden showed me peonies just beginning to bloom and bleeding hearts still on their stems. We spent about thirty minutes wandering along what appeared to be newly paved paths enjoying an herb garden (What BIG nasturtiums you grow here!) and native Alaska plantings. We only encountered three other people in the gardens, tucked away in Perennial Garden II taking the opportunity to snap family pictures in a lovely setting with soft evening daylight.

Unfortunately monster mosquitos were also enjoying a garden visit and began feasting on our arms and face or we might have extended our stay. As it was we still had an hours drive to get home and eventually it was going to get dark. But what a nice way to spend our extended daylight hours.

Every garden seems to come with a different set of challenges.