Author Archives: Ashland Garden Club

2020 Fall Colors

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  • Japanese Maple
  • @Mill Pond
  • Japanese Maple
  • Flowering Cherry
  • Raywood Ash & Maple
  • Sunset Maple
  • @Lithia Park – Japanese Garden
2020 Fall Colors in Ashland Oregon

Photos by AGC Members :

Barbara Bauer, Carlotta Lucas, Linda Thomas, Viki Ashford, Donna Rhee,

Just say NO to Fall Clean Up

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While diseased plants and leaves should be removed from your flowerbeds,  leaving plant debris, seed heads, plant stalks, and leaf litter provides much needed winter shelters and food for beneficial insects and birds. 

Forging urban birds like juncos, sparrows and chickadees need your plant’s seeds for food, and beneficial insects, like butterflies and moths, winter over on flower and ornamental grass stalks. So, by cutting and cleaning out flowerbed debris you are doing more harm than good by disrupting your garden’s natural habitat.

Rethink fall clean up, resist the urge to remove all the debris, keep it until spring because the wildlife depends on it! It also provides mulch to protect plants during cold weather. 

Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member  

Photo by: Carlotta Lucas – Caterpillar on Salvia Stalk (10/22/2020)

Scabiosa ( Pincushion Flowers)

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Plant Name:  Scabiosa
Common name: Pincushion
Plant Type:  Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height: 1’ – 1.5’
Plant Width:  1’ – 1.5’
Bloom Time:  April to Frost
Flower Color:  Lavender Blue
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements:  Average, Medium, Well-Drained.
Water Needs:  Medium
Attributes: Showy Flower; Attracts Butterflies; Deer Resistant; Drought Tolerant
Note: Remove Spent Flowers to Encourage More Bloom; Watch for Aphids, White Flies, Powdery Mildew.  80 species of annuals, biennials and perennials primarily from the Mediterranean region 
Uses: Massing in Border Fronts; Cottage Garden, Perennial Gardens, Cut flowers, Mediterranean Garden
Native to:  Mediterranean, Africa, Asia
Oregon Native:   NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member, Master Gardener

Photo by: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org

Oregon Native Plant: Salmonberry

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Plant Name:  Rubus spectabilis
Common name:  Salmonberry
Plant Type:  Deciduous Shrub
Plant Height: 3’ – 10’
Spread:  3’ – 6’
Bloom Time: March – June; Fruit June to August.
Flower Color: Red or Rose; Fruit Color is Yellow, Orange, or Red
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Soil Requirements:  Tolerant of Sandy or Clay Soil with Various Soil Drainage.
Water Needs: Moderate to High
Attributes:  Nectar for Bees, Butterflies, Other Insect, Hummingbirds; Deer Resistant.
Note: Biennial Stems: The 1st year only leaves; 2nd year develop lateral shoots which bear fruit.
Uses: Thickets for Birds; Bank Stabilization from Deep Rhizomatous Root Growth.
Native to:  Western North America
Oregon Native:  YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member, Master Gardener

Berry with leaf – Photo by: Margalob / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Flower – Photo by :Walter Siegmund / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)