Alaska became our 49th State 50 years ago in January this year. I’m a little late sending them greetings, but I was reminded of the event when my brother-in-law in Anchorage sent me this picture.

This garden is planted with a new design each year and this year celebrates this milestone birthday. In addition to ‘Alaska’ and ’50’ clearly visible in white on red, Ken tells me the center of the garden is the Alaskan flag: the Big Dipper and North Star on a blue background.

It is such a coincidence that he sent this picture yesterday since I was just doing research into flower gardens. The planting style this garden uses originated in the 19th Century – the Victorian Era. Using annuals of similar heights, the Victorian gardeners used a planting technique called carpet bedding to create their floral designs.

This post could also fall into the category ‘you know you’re getting old when …’ I remember when Alaska came into the Union. I was 10 years old and adding a state and another star to the flag was so exciting.

Then, of course, we got to do it all again 50 years ago this month. Happy Birthday, Hawaii!