The Georgeson Botanical Garden is located at 117 West Tanana Drive on the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

campus in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The five acre garden hosts a variety of research and educational programs in subarctic horticulture. It is open to the public during daylight hours, May through September, for a fee. It is part of the Alaska Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The garden was named after

Charles Christian Georgeson Charles Christian Georgeson ( ; June 26, 1851 – 1931) was a Danish-American agronomist. Biography Georgeson was born in Langeland, Denmark and immigrated to the United States in 1873 to attend college, graduating from Michigan State College in 1 ...

, who was

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

Special Agent in Charge of Alaska Investigations in 1899. Dr. Georgeson arrived in Alaska during the Gold Rush to research the possibilities for agriculture in Alaska. He surveyed the land near Fairbanks and started the Fairbanks Experiment Farm. A portion of the land was later annexed for use as the first campus of the University of Alaska. Research at the garden involves a variety of plants including annual flowers, vegetables and perennial ornamentals with an emphasis on Alaska native plants. A ten-year effort begun in 2001 to explore the possibility of exporting fresh cut flowers has led to a small industry centered on peonies. Flowers have been exported to retail and wholesale markets since 2007. Because of Alaska's northern environment, many flowers bloom later than other regions, providing a competitive advantage on world markets. Research results are available on the GBG website. Research also emphasizes domestication and management of wild stands especially of Alaska wild blueberries and lingonberries.

References

{{Authority control Botanical gardens in Alaska Protected areas of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Science and technology in Alaska University of Alaska Fairbanks

See also

References