Garden of the Month: September 2013

The home at 340 Morton is currently owned by Betsy Wessler and the garden is at its peak in late summer.  Kaaren Anderson talked with Betsy last spring to gather a little history on the home and the lovely garden that surrounds it.
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The home was originally built in 1948 and was formerly owned by Dick and Evelyn Strellman.  Betsy purchased the home in 2007 with a move-in date of 2008.  Soon after, the house, as well as the entire yard, were renovated and redesigned.  Betsy’s former husband, Ian Wessler of Wessler Design Associates, worked with her to create the beautiful garden you see today.
 

IMG_0091The first major change was to move the driveway to the far right of the front yard from its former location closer to the house and entry way.  This gave a much broader area to reconstruct the garden.  The entrance to the garage, which originally faced the street, was reoriented to create a turnaround at the end of the new driveway.  Broken concrete pieces from the driveway were used to form walkways leading to the entry and around the house to the garage.IMG_0089

One challenge with the design involved mitigating a seepage problem located at the right rear of the front yard.  This was done by lowering the grade to create a gravel and rock lined dry creekbed, directing water through the front yard to a gated front vegetable garden.  As you will see, it is this creekbed that is beautifully lined with boulders and various tall grasses.  Winding back through these grasses one can find a Triflora maple, Zelkova and palm along with lilaIMG_0088c and wild currant.

Original rhubarb, quince and raspberries were kept and moved to various locations throughout the property.  Blueberries, Asian pear, persimmon and other fruit trees share the backyard with many of the original camellias.  

— Kaaren Anderson

Garden of the Month: August 2013

It’s tempting to suggest that you rush to see the front garden at 745 Park Street  immediately because the colors are so vivid right now and everything looks healthy and fresh. But it often looks great because it has been so well planned.
  IMG_0076 The homeowners have been serious about their gardens for 15 of the 17 years they have been in the house.  Initially, they had design and installation help in the back garden from Carol’s Colors.  In 2003 they met landscape designer Sharon Creek Siewert, whose practical and creative design ideas have transformed both the front and back.   Sharon ’s husband, Steve Siewert, also offers a variety of horticultural services.  Dubbed the “Tree Whisperer,” he saved the blue spruce in the front yard after it was blown over in a windstorm–among other significant contributions.  Kai Van Aken oversees garden management and weekly maintenance.
They have successfully screened the view of an apartment house over the back fence by planting Leland IMG_0075cypress, deodar cedars, and a giant sequoia, all of which are thriving, in a back area they call “the woods.”  Also in the back garden adjacent to the wood deck is a charming corner known as the Japanese garden with specimen rocks, a tiny stone bridge, azalea, and lacy Japanese maple.
 
 Flowers currently in bloom in front include roses, rudbeckia, heather,IMG_0073 gaura, penstemon, and salvia.  Other times of year, peonies, Dutch and Japanese iris, and lavender abound.  A crepe myrtle is on the verge of bursting forth.  When they moved in 17 years ago, the front garden was largely juniper.
IMG_0074In addition to the woods and Japanese garden in back, there is a lovely terraced area anchored by a large locust that shades the back deck and patio, plus dogwood, fig and apple trees.  Also rhododendrons, more roses, fuchsias, rosemary, gladiolas, erigeron, crocosmia, barberry, hostas, yarrow, photinia, and many more beautiful plants.  Annuals impatiens and snapdragons provide seasonal color.
 This garden is an unexpected treat in a dry (and this year smokey) month.
— Ruth Sloan
 

Garden Of the Month: July 2013

WE1As you walk along the Bear Creek Bike Path that goes between Walker Street and Normal Street, you will be intrigued by the cyclone fence that has many locks and keys attached to it. Further along there is a memorial made of shovels. Then you can peek into a lovely, serene and peaceful garden for meditation. Next, pass by a wooden fence covered in old snow skis. Now, if you are like me, you wonder who lives here?

 
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Well, Wendy Eppinger lives here, at 190 Walker. She is a very artistic person who loves creating art from almost anything. She is also a dedicated gardener. She has spent years making her wonderful and interesting south-facing garden. Many trees…Monkey Pod, Variegated Box Elder, mulberry, maple, Douglas Fir, Santa Cruz Cypress, redwoods, an apricot and an apple shade her garden. In the front area are cottonwoods, a plum, a pear, a eucalyptus and an Incense Cedar filled with a collection of 34 decorative crows. Many of these trees were here when Wendy bought the property in 1993, and she added seven more.
 
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Be sure to notice her personalized window boxes, many ceramic and clay masks, and the large mosaic on the back fence that has a story that Wendy will tell you about.WE3

Her garden has many peonies, rhododendrons, wisteria and perennials such as Erysimum Bowle’s Mauve, alyssum and dahlias. Notice the planter barrels next to the house with cut metal vines and leaves. There is so much more for you to discover!

Wendy has been described by her daughter-in-law as “the most persistently creative person I have ever met. Creating for Wendy is like breathing for other people, and every inch of space reflects this.”

Wendy’s garden is a hidden treasure.
~Karen O’Rourke

*Wendy asked that we not put up our AGC sign honoring her garden.

Garden of the Month: June 2013

When Jan Christenson and Rick Ukena bought their house at 445 Thimbleberry in 2008, it was surrounded by lawn and a few trees.
IMG_0038Today, there’s no lawn, but there are 11 new trees (shantung maples and heritage birch, mugo pine, gingko, eucalyptus, yellowwood, perotia), shrubs (artemesia, lilac, elderberry, thimbleberry, smoke bush, cistus), flowers (helibore, peonies, wallflowers, gaura and gaillardia), many different ground covers, including mock strawberry, wild sunflowers, herbs, a small cactus garden, a small, deer-proof raised bed — even bonsai.
The wrap-around garden is accented by whimsical, custom-madeIMG_0050 pavers and garden goddesses, a delightful water feature, bird bath, rocks from various trips around the West, driftwood sculptures accented by antique metal objects, a mini dry riverbed, and meandering pathways. The lawn was used as a medium for creating berms surrounding the dry creek. All this on a corner lot that’s just .15 acres.
Tucked away from view are two small private gardens, one with a hot tub and 20- foot-tall Nordmann fir IMG_0039trees that doubles as a dog run. The patio garden off the kitchen includes raised vegetable beds, canna lilies, large pots with abelia and jade, a maple tree, and various potted flowering plants.
Jan designed the garden with Zack Williams of Regenesis, who created the hardscape. These days, Rick does most of the heavy digging, while Jan continues with design.
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Jan and Rick moved from Portland, where they had a huge double urban lot. “I must say, we so much enjoy managing a smaller landscape area,” says Jan.
 
You can see this garden any time at the corner of Thimbleberry and Starflower. On Friday, June 14, Jan will be on hand from 10-12 to show you the private gardens and answer any questions.
 
— Julia Sommer
 

Garden of the Month: May 2013

IMG_0030The first thing you notice upon arriving at 1120 Prospect Street is the natural quality of the garden – simple, elegant plantings that look as if no one has fussed over them at all. But this garden has been 15 years in the making. At first a tangle of ivy and bushes, it has been transformed into one filled with rhododendrons and peonies that carpet the light-filled, woodsy property. A variety of trees, including Japanese maple, oak, blue spruce and deodara cedar, provide the shade that make this garden thrive. TID water is the only irrigation used to maintain the simple beauty.

P1000721Jonathan Warren, the current owner and creator of the garden, moved 15 years ago into the home formerly owned by the Cotton family. Built in 1948, it was the first home on the hill above the university from Siskiyou Boulevard. The garden fills two acres. In addition to the trees and the 245 rhododendrons and peonies, there are numerous cherry trees, lilacs, iris, an enclosed berry garden filled with 100-year-old transplanted raspberry plants, and an abundance of blueberries.

P1000723Looking beyond the garden, you’ll see a home that fits the property. Built in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, it is constructed of clear red cedar. But the most prominent feature is a large boulder that lives both outside and inside the home, creating a small pond in the living room. Talking with Jonathan, there is an obvious sense that both the home and garden are well loved.

P1000719All are invited to drive by and view this property as the plants begin to bloom throughout the month of May. From Siskiyou Boulevard take S. Mountain Avenue to the top where it intersects Prospect.  Number 1120 will be the garden in front of you.  Don’t miss the street views from S. Mountain and Elkader after they dogleg around the property.

Enjoy!–Kaaren Anderson

Garden of the Month: October 2012

The home and garden of Helen Jones at 264 Grant Street has been selected as October’s Garden of the Month. Her garden is available for your street-side viewing pleasure.

Helen purchased this property in 2005 and she says it’s still a work in progress. Helen occasionally consulted Alan Miller and Aaron Blasen of Renaissance Landscaping, but it was her idea to have a natural meadow to bring back memories of the meadows she loved at Mt. Lassen.

When Helen bought her house the magnificent rock walls already existed, but she added many of the trees & shrubs which are now showing wonderful fall colors. The plantings around the front of her home includes: dogwoods, white birch, mugo pines, Japanese maples, eastern redbuds, lilacs, and a lovely weeping cedar.   Recently she scattered Asian poppy seeds around her flowerbeds, and Helen stated, “in the spring her purple wisteria is gorgeous.”.

Helen’s large circular drive creates a mounded area where she planted a ginkgo, a madrone, and a slender rather than broad magnolia. Interspersed among the trees are two  manzanita; one native and a cultivar with dark green leaves that loves the granite soil. The under-story plants include a variety of perennials such as Shasta daises, asters, lavenders, dianthus, rudbeckia, coreopsis and many types of ornamental grasses. The evergreen kinnikinnic spilling over the rock walls adds the finishing touches.

Helen has garden help once or twice a month to help keep the garden manageable, but in a natural state. She also has  a drip watering system to keep it all green.

The effect of all her planning is just what she was hoping for, a mountain meadow that we all can enjoy!

Karen O’Rourke
October 2012