| Summary: | This thesis focused on the horticultural traditions among Hmong people residing in Anchorage, Alaska. Hmong, who have an extensive diaspora on many continents, reside in Anchorage where most of the approximately 6,000 Hmong statewide reside. They came from Laos and are refugees or children of refugees who came to the U.S. after the U.S.-Vietnam war ended in 1975. This thesis examined to what extent, how and why they engage in growing vegetables and herbs used in their foods and medicines. 15 research participants were interviewed, and garden plots examined. Informal discussions were conducted with more than 100 other Hmong. Qualitative data were analyzed via Grounded Theory, inductively discovering a basis for conclusions. Virtually all Hmong seem to benefit from local gardening, with socio-economic factors influencing who actually gardens, how and why. Their tradition of adapting to local conditions continues in the subarctic.
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