I was catching up on a few garden blogs when I happened upon a comment from one Brooke, who alluded to gardening in Alaska. Oh, goody, thinks I, another cold climate gardener. Once I get there, I realize she’s Dirt Diva One at Dirt Divas Gardening. Huh? I thought the Dirt Divas were down in Texas. Well, they are. They call their site Divas of the Dirt, and it’s a website, not a blog. I hope I can be pardoned for being confused. I’m writing this so you won’t be.
Co-author and fellow dirt diva with Brooke is Sally, whose latest contribution to their joint effort is a very thoughtful piece on gardening and grieving. The two of them have been blogging away since April, but somehow I’ve missed them until now. Either that, or I thought they were the other divas. But now we all know better, don’t we?
You northern divas grow colchicums, by any chance?
Stumble it!
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Annie in Austin // Sep 22, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Kathy, in early summer I found the Dirt Divas Gardening blog when googling our group’s name [been doing that periodically since we started the site in 2002], so I’ve been reading the Northern Divas, too. This was a beautiful, heartbreaking, yet hopeful post.
On a lighter note, that google search also turned up some Dirt Divas on wheels - mountain dirt bikers!
Annie in Austin/Glinda from Divas of the Dirt
2 Sally/Dirt Diva One/Alaska // Sep 25, 2006 at 3:01 pm
Colchicums are wonderful flowers! I have tried many a variety here in Palmer, AK. but without success. I know they shouldn’t work, but keep hoping. I’ve lived in Oregon a couple of times while in school for myself or my husband, and found them a delightful addition to the garden!If I live long enough perhaps I will actulally be able to grow one here, thanks to global warming. The variety of perennials we can grow here compared to 20 years ago is staggering!
Remaining forever hopeful in Alaska, Sally/Dirt Diva One
3 Kathy Purdy // Oct 1, 2006 at 4:16 pm
‘Ordu’ is supposed to be hardy to Zone 4, and I think there are some hardy to Zone 3. But often I suspect poor drainage is more of a killer than the cold.
4 Sally/Dirt Diva One/Alaska // Oct 1, 2006 at 9:02 pm
Yes, I fully agree about the drainage - a big problem with many plants! I will happily try some ‘Ordu’ and report back to you.
Sally, Dirt Diva One, Dirt Divas Gardening@blogspot.com
5 Gardenista // May 26, 2007 at 10:15 am
Hmmm…I guess this is an older post, but I too was searching for cold climate gardeners so I was googleing gardening in Alaska. I found the Dirt Divas too. I live in USDA zone 2a (Canadian zone 1b) and I don’t believe any colchicum can be grown here so I’ve never tried. I never knew of a hardier one though. I do like to push the hardiness zones though.
6 Kathy Purdy // May 26, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Gardenista, if you look through my Garden Blog Directory there are some Alaskan garden blogs listed there. The one with the most challenging climate is probably TundraGarden, but that hasn’t been updated for a while. You could probably contact the author, though, to compare notes.
I can’t vouch for colchicums in Zone 2a. If you want to try it, make sure your soil is well-drained.
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