Cold Climate Kitchen Garden
Created on 7/20/2009
Brigitte and Willie began creating their Alaskan paradise about twenty-five years ago. They have built a home and three private cottages on a hillside that overlooks the Kachemak Bay and Kenai Mountains near Homer, Alaska. They built their home, the cottages, carved out a garden, built a smokehouse to smoke fresh salmon, a chicken coop, an outdoor stone fireplace, fire pit and stone walkways. When winter descends with its long nights and short days and the garden shuts down they are not spending their free time watching television. They are designing and making their own furniture. Every table, bench, chest and chair is handmade from local wood. Willie has his workshop and Brigitte has hers.
The kitchen garden is on a hillside with a southern exposure so it’s in a warm pocket with the most light. Homer is in southern Alaska on the Cook Inlet so it’s warmer than you might expect, but this garden is at a high elevation which makes it colder so a south face is welcomed.
The narrow doorway into the garden is through a trellis covered in climbing vines and roses. The huge stones used for the pathway and steps were placed by hand. You feel that you might be entering a secret place. Step through the threshold and your view immediately expands to the colorful volume of the garden.
The planting beds are terraced into the hill with grass walkways between them. This creates raised beds and protects the soil from being stepped on and compacted. Rhubarb, currants, strawberries, lettuce, kale, onions, broccoli, carrots, fennel and beets are splashed with bright poppies, daisies and other flowers growing among them. Flowering shrubs and perennials border the vegetables and herbs. The entire garden is surrounded with birch trees and forest so it is an enclosed garden with an opening to see the spectacular view. It’s also outlined with a fence to keep the moose out. Willie put up eight foot posts at intervals and attached expansive fishing nets between them. It works very well although periodically the persistent moose can find its way to the beet greens.
The compost area is in a separate space, hidden from view but nearby. This separate room is large enough to hold a few stray tools, some buckets and a wheelbarrow. There are three large wood bins to collect and rotate debris from the garden and kitchen as it breaks down into rich compost.
The greenhouse is a simple structure- hoops with heavy plastic sheeting thrown over it. Inside the greenhouse they grow tomatoes, squash and basil. Just outside the greenhouse are five or six artichoke plants growing in huge containers. They are tucked in a protected area, thoroughly mulched and miraculously survive the Alaskan winter.
This garden is well designed and the principals apply to any garden whether it’s in Alaska or South Carolina. Work with your site- is it on a hillside of flat plain? Enclose the garden, create some mystery, create raised beds, make pathways wide enough for a wheelbarrow, create features, mix up flowers, vegetables, herbs and fruits then pick something to nibble on and enjoy the view. (Look them up on the web- Brigitte’s Bavarian Bed and Breakfast, Homer, Alaska).
