WoolWood Studio & Gardens

I first started gardening in the wild tropics of Miami. Undeterred by hordes of insects, I headed to Alaska in 1970 where I finally settled in Palmer circa 1974. After losing my way teaching anthropology at our local college I opened WoolWood Studio & Gardens in 1998. Since then I've been bringing Alaska Grown perennials and art inspired by my natu... ral surroundings to market, while pretending to write garden columns with two other local Dirt Divas , Sally Koppenberg and Hally Truelove, for the Wasilla Frontiersman. Together with several other gardening enthusiasts I've been involved in growing our local Midsummer Garden & Art Faire and bringing the fair to bloom each July on Palmer's town green. Growing gardens in Alaska has been both a joy and a heartache. Mother nature runs wild and strong up here and challenges even the hardiest of gardeners. We're all trying to push the envelope and frequently lose out to a January thaw or a long wet summer. While I may bring you an exotic or rare and unusual specimen for your garden, I prefer to grow only the hardiest of perennial varieties. I collect many of my own seeds to prevent importation of insects and disease while also cutting down on the carbon footprint of the shipping from the lower 48. It generally takes 2 years before those seedlings are brought to market. The Alaska Grown label ensures that those perennials are wintered over, one year for perennials and two years for trees and shrubs. Our plants are generally dog and cat hardy as well. You're on your own with the moose!Read More