1160 Bellview Ave, Ashland Oregon

Mary Kyman’s beautiful garden at 1160 Bellview Ave. is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for July 2024. She started gardening here in 2009. Her garden was on the AUUW Garden Tour in 2014 and it was gorgeous at the time, but she has made many changes and improvements since then. 

Mary does all the planning and design work. For many years, she did much of the physical labor as well, but has now turned over the day-to-day maintenance to Molly McConnell and her crew from Bee Kind Gardening. Nevertheless Mary estimates she spends about five hours a week on the garden and continues to be fully involved. 

She has to be fully conscious of deer preferences in her plant selections and placement. The back yard is not accessible to those pesky intruders.

The prolific hydrangeas that line the front of the house on the west side are at the height of their glory this month. But many other plants, including rudbeckia, calla lilies, and hotlips salvia are also in their prime right now and these are among her favorite plants.

Both the house and the garden are art-filled. There is a stepping stone and gravel spiral in the front yard.

The garden in back has many fruit trees and berry plants. Raised beds harbor vegetables and herbs. An enormous elm, with fabulous bark, shades a good portion of the patio and back garden.

Mary has kindly suggested that those pedestrians who wish to see the front yard in its entirety, since a hedge blocks much of the view, can walk up the driveway but are asked to stay on the driveway itself.

Article and Photos by Ruth Sloan, AGC GoM Coordinator