An indoor jungle on Baranof Street
August 24, 2023

Dasha Contag / Petersburg Pilot
Dasha's granddaughters play in filtered sunlight next to tropical houseplants that will grow along with them. Dasha propagates cuttings, separates root bound plants, and looks forward to "jungling up all [her] kids' homes someday."
When Dasha Contag moved from Juneau to Petersburg in July of 2022 she moved an indoor jungle with her. She and her husband, Ben, bought a house on Baranof Street with floor to ceiling living room windows that are perfect grow lights for many of her houseplants.
Dasha started creating her collection while living at Port Armstrong, a remote salmon hatchery on Baranof Island where they raised their two daughters, Lavon and Ayla, and where Ben continues to work, commuting as salmon rearing and weather conditions allow.
It started with a mail order peace lily. "I got this guy in a four-inch pot...
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