Alaska Botanical Garden consists of 110 acres of Boreal forest with eight acres of cultivated gardens and interconnected nature trails. The Garden houses over 1,100 varieties and over 150 distinct species of plants hardy to the region.
Lile’s Garden
This peaceful and serene garden is named in honor of Lile Bernard Rasmuson and designed by renowned landscape architect Carol R. Johnson in conjunction with the local firm Earthscape. Plant selections were guided by local artist and garden designer Ayse Gilbert. Lile's Garden (rhymes with ‘smiles’) is a true 3+ season garden and houses an American Peony Society Gold Medal Peony collection along with a wide range of primrose, tulips, geraniums, and other groundcover perennials.
Perennial Garden
Designed by Wendy Anderson, this garden is intended to demonstrate perennials hardy to Southcentral Alaska such as delphiniums, poppies, peonies, hostas, iris, phlox, rockcress, fall aster, primrose, Asiatic lilies, meadow rue, and roses. The displays of peonies and Himalayan blue poppies in this garden are dramatic late June through July.
Herb Garden
Designed by Cathy Sage and Land Design North, and constructed in 1996, the Herb Garden is a haven of botanical delights. It showcases a variety of annual and perennial culinary and medicinal herbs. This garden is lovingly maintained by volunteers of the Herb Study Group in partnership with Master Gardeners and the Cooperative Extension Service.
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden is a labor of love constructed and maintained by the Alaska Rock Garden Society. Optimal conditions here allow 350+ species of specialized alpine plants to thrive, including specimens from Alaska, Scandinavia, China, and the Himalayas. One section of this garden contains Tufa rock from a deposit in British Columbia. Another portion showcases planted hand-made tufa troughs. The troughs contain small alpine plants creating tiny gardens of their own.
Subalpine Rockery
The latest addition to ABG’s gardens, the rockery features plants that favor subalpine conditions, such as poppies and corydalis.
Anchorage Heritage Garden
The Anchorage Heritage Garden celebrates the 2015 Anchorage Centennial. This charming re-creation of an old-style Anchorage garden depicts the lush plantings of vegetables, annuals, and perennials common in Anchorage from 1915 – 1950. Harvested produce is donated to local food banks.
Trailside Gardens
Long gardens on each side of the paved trail outside of the Outdoor Classroom area make great comparisons to each other for shade- and sun-loving plants. The shady side of the trail features shieldleaf rodgersia, leopard’s bane, Himalayan blue poppies, and primrose. The sunny trail side features ornamental grasses, bee balm, Asiatic lilies, hardy azaleas, and colorful yarrows.
Outdoor Classroom
This special location is exclusively for children to learn and experience the joy of growing their own food and plants. The entry to the Outdoor Classroom is comprised of large, raised beds filled with edible plants. The back entry features small fruit such as currants and raspberries.
Verna Pratt Wildflower Trail
Marked by its rustic wattle fence edging, this trail hosts many examples of common Alaskan wildflowers and native plants. It is planted and maintained by the Wildflower Garden Club. The trail also features a glacier erratic that was pushed down from the Chugach Mountains by a long-retreated glacier. The big boulder wears a coat of mosses and lichens in a myriad of colors.
Entry Plaza
Our entry beds welcome visitors with successive splashes of color throughout the growing season. These plantings are anchored with hardy perennials that gracefully blend into the the backdrop of the native boreal forest.
Lowenfels-Hoersting Family Nature Trail
This 1-mile trail winds through the Boreal Forest at the south end of the Garden, and was truncated in 2022 to minimize the potential for bear encounters at Campbell Creek.
