Author Archives: Ashland Garden Club

Horticulture Report: Rock Cress

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Plant Name:  Aubrieta deltoidei
Common name: Rock Cress
Plant Type:  Evergreen Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height:  .5’ – .75’
Plant Width:  1’ – 2’
Bloom Time:  Late Spring – Early Summer
Flower Color:  Purple-Red
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained;
Water Need:  Low
Fire Resistant: YES; 30’+ from house.
Attributes: Deer Resistant; Attracts Birds, Butterflies, Hummingbirds;
Uses:  Rock Gardens; Front of Border; Containers.
Note: Cut Back After Flowering, Not in Fall; Short Lived; Divide Every 1 – 3 Years;
Native to: Eastern Europe
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone:  4 -8

Purple Rock Cress

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Eli+, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Oregon Native: Ceanothus prostratus

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Plant Name:  Ceanothus prostratus
Common name:  Mahala Mat
Plant Type:  Evergreen Groundcover/Subshrub
Plant Height:  6”
Plant Width:  8’
Bloom Time:  May – July
Flower Color:  Pale Purple to Pale Blue to White
Exposure:  Sun
Soil Requirements: Average, Gritty Soil.
Water Need:  Regular; Drought Tolerant; Dry in Summer.
Fire Resistant: YES; Plant 30’+ from house.
Attributes: Attracts Bees; Fixes Nitrogen; Host Plant to Some Butterflies; Attracts Other Insects; Deer Resistant.
Uses:  Erosion Control; Bee/Bird/Butterfly Gardens.
Note: Verticillium Wilt Resistant.
Native to: California into Nevada; Pacific Northwest
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member, Master Gardener

Photo Credit: Adam Schneider, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mahala_mat.jpg

Horticulture Report: Creeping Thyme

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Plant Name:  Thymus praecox
Common name:  Creeping Thyme
Plant Type:  Groundcover
Plant Height:  1” – 4”
Plant Width:  6” – 18”
Bloom Time: May – August
Flower Color: Pink White, Purple
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Average, Dry – Medium, Well-Drained; Tolerates Rocky or Poor Soil.
Water Need:  Drought Tolerant Once Established
Fire Resistant: YES.  Plant 30’+ from house.
Attributes:  Leaves in Shades of Light to Dark Green Yellow, or Variegated; Deer Resistant; Attracts Bees/Butterflies.
Uses: Rock Walls; Between Pavers; Rock Garden; Path Edging.
Note:  Cut Back Stems to Maintain Plant Appearance; Susceptible to Root Rot in Poor Draining Soils.
Native to: SW & Central Europe; Greenland; Turkey
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Jason Hollinger, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Veronica Ground Covers

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Plant Name:  Veronica species
Common name:  Speedwell
Plant Type:  Perennial Groundcover
Plant Height:  4” – 8”
Plant Width:  18” – 24”
Bloom Time: May/June
Flower Color: Blue, Pink, White
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Moist, Well-Drained
Water Needs:  Drought Resistant; For Best Bloom Water Moderately About 1” a Week.
Fire Resistant: YES; Plant 30’+ from House.
Attributes:  Attracts Butterflies/Hummingbirds; Deer Resistant. NOTE: Veronica tends to be deer-resistant, though extreme conditions deer with graze on plants they otherwise wouldn’t eat.
Uses: Rock Gardens; Flower Bouquets; Perennial Border.
Note:  Showy in Full Bloom; Cut Back for Overwintering; Deadhead to Extend Bloom.
Native to: Northern Europe; Asia
Oregon Native: NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8

Veronica species

  • Blue Woolly Speedwell (Veronica pectinata)
  • Turkish Veronica (Veronica liwanensis)
  • Thyme Leaf Speedwell  (Veronica oltensis)
  • Snowmass® Blue-Eyed Speedwell (Veronica Snowmass P018S)
  • Veronica filiformis (Creeping Speedwell)
  • Veronica peduncularis  or umbrosa ‘ George Blue’
  • Veronica Repens
  • Veronica peduncularis
  • Veronica liwanensis
  • Veronica oltensis
  • Veronica Repens

Today in the Garden

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Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed.  This is blooming right now.  It is a sun-loving native annual that self-sows widely.  Drought and deer tolerant.  Blooms morning and evening, but closes up during the middle of the day.  See the bumble bee getting pollen off the flowers.  The plant is about 3′ high and 1 1/2′ high.  

Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed

Epilobium canum, or California Fuchsia.  It used to be called Zauschneria californica.  It is a later blooming perennial.  It is drought and deer resistant.  This one is right near an alley and a driveway, and is fine with hot, dry soil.  Hummingbirds love it.  I plant it with dark blue Bachelors’ Buttons, annuals which seed around.

Epilobium canum: California Fuchsia

Gaillardia , or Blanket Flower.  It is a long-blooming perennial with interesting round seed heads.  If  some of the seed heads are left on, it will self-sow.  This particular plant is probably a hybrid, called Gaillardia x grandlora ‘Goblin’, which is a more compact cultivar.  The native is Gaillardia aristata.  It is drought tolerant and deer resistant.

Gaillardia: Blanket Flower

Praying Mantis on Verbena, previously seen eating a bee from the head down.  After crawling up on this bloom, she crawled down on the stem and basically disappeared, lurking until another insect came along.

Praying Mantis on Verbena

Photos and article by Sherri Morgan, AGC Vice President

Garden of the Month: August 2021

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House of Thai – 1667 Siskiyou Blvd

The August 2021 Garden of the Month from the Ashland Garden Club is the front of the House of Thai restaurant at 1667 Siskiyou Blvd.  The restaurant opened in May of 1989, after remodeling the building and starting the garden.

In the mid 80’s, Jit Kanchanakaset, a single mother of five came to Ashland in search of a safe, peaceful life her for family.  A strong-willed, energetic, and hardworking woman, she recruited her kids to help establish the eatery, and then later its garden. 

Ten years later, she met and married Phil Crompton.  They spent much of their time doing what they enjoyed most, gardening and giving back to the village in Buriram, Thailand where she grew up, by donating to schools, hospitals, and underprivileged families.  Jit passed on in April 2020.

The garden has evolved over time with gradual improvements.  There are large, well-established ponderosa pines along the eastern edge.  Gorgeous rhododendrons bloom beneath the pines in May.  Much smaller crepe myrtle trees line the western edge and bloom in August.  In between are a small fishpond and waterfall that were constructed by the contractor who was remodeling the building.  Blue herons have been known to visit the pond, hoping to catch the elusive fish.  Also there is a small lawn, plus a stunning Buddhist shrine. 

The colorful concrete and steel shrine, said to weigh 1000 pounds, was installed a little more than twenty years ago. Jit’s legacy lives on through her family as they continue her traditions while carrying on the restaurant. The family and staff offer respect to the shrine every Friday morning, honoring the house spirits and summoning goodwill.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Committee Chair

Photos by Larry Rosengren.