Horticulture Report – Western columbine

Posted on March 7, 2025 by AGC

Native & Firewise Plant

Plant Name: Aquilegia formosa

Photo by: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Common name: Western columbine
Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial
Height: 2’ – 3’
Spread: 1’
Bloom Time: Late Spring to August
Flower Color: Red, Yellow
Exposure: Full Sun to Deep Shade
Soil Requirements: Good Drainage, Organic Material
Water Needs: Low to Moderate; irrigate once a month once established
Attributes: Nectar in Flower Blooms are appealing to Hummingbirds;
Seed Heads provide Bird Food; Deer Resistant; Supports Bats, Birds, Butterflies, Caterpillars
Note: Self-sows, but Deadheading controls spread
Uses: Containers; Native Plant Gardens; Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden
Firewise: YES
Native to: Lower 48 state, Alaska, Canada
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Mapping Pollinator Corridors in Southern Oregon

Posted on March 4, 2025 by AGC

From SOU News: “The Buzzway map helps visualize pollinator habitat connectivity – a vital element in helping native pollinators such as butterflies, bees and moths to navigate the urban landscape. The map also encourages people to create new gardens by showing areas with no certified pollinator habitat, and shares stories about how existing gardens were created.”

Rogue Buzzway gardens grow with SOU partnership

Ashland Oregon: USDA Hardiness Zones

Posted on January 31, 2025 by AGC

Choosing the right plant and planting it in the right spot in your garden is a difficult decision, but you can be assured you are buying the right plant suited for your garden by checking the hardiness zone on its label. By buying plants rated for your hardiness zone you’ve increased the plant’s survival rate and its ability to thrive in your garden.

This is true for vegetable seeds too. Each seed packet has the plant’s hardiness zone printed on the back.

Ashland has 3 hardiness zones: 7b, 8a, 8b. Check your zone by location here: https://www.plantmaps.com/en/us/f/hz/state/oregon/plant-hardiness-zones

Also, be ware that nurseries and stores sell plants that are not rated for the climate where they are being sold.

Heirloom Garden Lavenders

Posted on October 9, 2024 by AGC

Ashland Garden Club’s Community Service: Thanks to all who helped purchase and plant 80+ new lavenders in N. Mountain Park’s Heirloom Garden. October 8, 2024

Bill Viki Carol Lynn

October Flowers for Pollinators

Posted on October 7, 2024 by AGC

Fall flowers for pollinators:

Salvia Microphylla ‘Hot Lips’ & Yellow Coreopsis

Spreading Happiness: Ashland Garden Club’s Lonely Bouquet Event

Posted on September 11, 2024 by AGC

Lonely Bouquet is a global movement which encourages people to create small bouquets with a thoughtful message attached, then leave these flowers in public spaces for others to find and keep. This simple act of kindness has the power to transform someone’s day, spreading happiness throughout communities.

On September 9, Ashland Garden Club members created 30 bouquets, and distributed them randomly throughout Ashland for residents to find.