Garden of the Month: September 2012

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As we approach autumn, it is such an unexpected pleasure to see the gorgeous display of blooming plants in Ronald Doyle’s garden at 945 Hillview Drive. In addition to more than 150 roses, currently in bloom are coreopsis, petunias, anemones, Jupiter’s beard, gaura, honeysuckle, ice plant, zonal geraniums, and a stunning display of giant phlox. A well-established crepe myrtle tree is just beginning its annual show. Other trees in the front yard include flowering crabapple, tulip tree, Japanese maple, and a giant cedar that anchors the corner at Ross Lane.


Ron has been gardening here since 1985. Much of the property was just gravel when he moved in. Some of the garden design is by his late wife, Eva-Maria vonChamier. He uses TID water for irrigation. Two dump-truck loads of soil and amendments have been brought in. The garden paths are of hazelnut shells, which he first saw at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. Presumably the sharp edges of the shells discourage snails and slugs, but Ron has good reason to believe otherwise. Well, it looks really good! There is a very large and graceful metal arbor in the back yard that Ron designed, based on something he had seen in France. The magnificent display is contained in the relatively small lot of 90’ x 130’.

The fragrant roses are an amazing array of varieties and colors, including a very large Cecile Bruner that has finished blooming. Other plants that are past the bloom stage now but provide color at other times of year are rhododendron, azaleas, lilac, mock orange, oriental poppy, lilac, iris, daphne, bellflower, clematis, and lilies. Ron has tomato plants in a raised bed, grapes, and a recently installed raspberry patch. Both a Granny Smith apple tree and cherry tree grafted to supply five varieties of the fruit are in the back yard. An especially lovely oregano fills in among flowering plants in the front.


If Ashland Garden Club members would like a guided tour during the first half of September, just ring the Westminster chime doorbell and, if Ron is home, he has graciously offered to show you around.


— Ruth Sloan

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

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Ingredients & Method

  • 2 lb Fresh Cherry Tomatoes, and/or Sun Gold Tomatoes and/or Roma Tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1-2 teaspoon sea salt
  • optional: 1 tablespoon sugar
  • optional: garlic

Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Slice small tomatoes in half and spread them out over a baking sheet, cut side up. (If you are using big heirlooms, cut them into quarters or even eighths.) Drizzle olive oil over the tops of the tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.  Roast for 2-4 hours.

Options:
Sprinkle on a bit of sugar to add caramelized goodness.
Add as many cloves of garlic you want to bake with the tomatoes.

After roasted,  if you don’t eat them all right away, you can keep roasted tomatoes in a jar by covering them with olive oil, then refrigerate them.

Uses: Blend into a pate’, spread on bread or pizza, use on top of baked brie, or use whole in sandwiches, pasta, quiche… the list is endless!

submitted by: Carlotta Lucas

To Propagate Evergreens

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A simple propagation method for many garden club members to do in preparation for AGC’s plant sale next spring.  

 This Information was taken out of an older August Sunset Magazine Article: 

“To propagate evergreens:  Take 5” cuttings of azalea, camellia, daphne, euonymus, holly, or rhododendron.  Strip off all but the top three or four leaves, dip cut ends into rooting hormone, then plant in 4” pots.  Put them in a bright, sheltered spot, and keep moist.  In spring, you’ll have rooted plants”.  

Tomato Pie Recipe

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Here’ s a great recipe for those gardeners out there who are actually harvesting some red tomatoes this year!

 Tomato Pie Recipe
Ingredients

1  9-inch pie shell
1  onion, chopped [if caramelizing, double the amount; it really adds to the flavor!]
4 large peeled tomatoes, sliced or chopped, [approx 3 cups] squeeze to remove excess juice1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped basil, or more to taste!
2 cups grated cheese (combinations are good: Sharp Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Gruyere, Mozzarella)
1 cup mayonnaise [or vegetarian Vegenaise] Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350°F. 
  1. Pre-cook pie shell approx.10 minutes, a frozen crust might need to cook slightly longer.
  2. Salt tomatoes in a colander and allow them to drain while pre-cooking pie shell.
  3. Chop onion [option:caramelize*] 
  4. Using paper towels, squeeze as much juice out of the tomatoes as you can.
  5. Layer onions, tomatoes, and basil in the pie shell. 
  6. Combine grated cheese and mayonnaise to together. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Spread mixture over the tomatoes.
  7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until light brown & bubbly.

Serves 6.

*Caramelizing Onions
New York Times recipe for caramelizing onions fast. Start onions in a dry pan without any oil. As the onions begin to darken, but before they burn, add oil and salt to stop their browning. Then sauté them until they have softened in some spots and crisp up in others. This is said to take less than half the time of the traditional, slow-cooked method. 

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/a-quick-way-to-caramelize-onions/

Firewise: August 2012

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This weekend brings us the first  opportunity of the season for extreme fire danger coupled with the potential for lightning. It is the time of year that wildfires can strike at a moment’s notice, and embers can ignite fires wherever they land. Remember these fire season and Firewise resources until we get that first wetting rain of fall. Remember that firebrands can land up to a MILE ahead of a wildfire. You do not have to live in the forest to be impacted by a wildfire…you just have to live downwind of a fire, and in Ashland, any neighborhood can be impacted by embers.
 
First: Look at your home and the first ten feet around the foundation. Move anything that could burn away from your home. This includes bark mulch, dead leaves (yes, the space under your deck counts!), stacks of lumber, and especially firewood. If it can burn, do not let it touch your house! Use only well watered and maintained fire-resistant plants in this area.
Second: Look Up! Make sure your gutters and roof are clean. This can help protect your home from igniting from embers.
Third: Stay Informed. The Ashland wildfire hotline (541-552-2490), Citizen Alert, and 1700 AM Ashland Emergency Radio are  great resources to know about during a wildfire event. You have to register your cell phone with Citizen Alert if that is how you want to be notified of an emergency. Land lines are already included, but really, are you planning on being at home during a wildfire? You never know, so take the 5 minutes to register your cell phone number! For wildfires outside the Ashland city limits, check out the Oregon Department of Forestry blog swofire.blogspot.com. It is full of updates on local fires.
Fourth: Know Firewise. You may not be planting now, but before you do, check out the host of resources regarding fire-resistant plants and construction materials  available on ashlandfirewise.org. The new OSU Extension Fire-Resistant Privacy Screening publication is available there, as well as other plant lists, Firewise Tips, grant information, and additional resources. Our Facebookpage has some great photos and other tips found nowhere else! Like it to see what’s new!
Fifth: Be careful with fire. Know fire season restrictions that apply to you.
 
The smoky skies outside are a daily reminder that we live in wildfire country. We all share the responsibility for being prepared for a wildfire. Have you done everything you can to be Firewise?
As always, Ashland Fire & Rescue is here to help you with grants, information, and a free wildfire safety home evaluation service to residents of Ashland.
Wishing you a safe summer,
 
Ali True/Firewise Communities Coordinator
City of Ashland / Ashland Fire & Rescue
455 Siskiyou Boulevard  Ashland, OR 97520
541-552-2231

Garden of the Month: August 2012

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Hidden Springs Wellness Center:
In the dog days of August, the cool, green garden at Hidden Springs Wellness Center can be a blessed relief from the acres of asphalt at Ashland Shopping Center.
Accessed through a sweet gate at the top corner of the shopping center parking lot, the one-acre Hidden Springs garden offers a large pond with blooming water lilies and visits by waterfowl, including a blue heron, plus at least one giant koi (the heron tends to eat the koi).  The pond is fed by springs and a pump powers a recirculating stream meandering up to the Wellness Center designed by Jim Bowne.  Ian Wessler of Wessler Design Associates did some of the initial landscape and pond design.  Cottonwood trees complete the pond’s rural feel.
 
Rod and Brooks Newton bought what is now the thriving Hidden Springs Wellness Center in 1999.  It had been a private home, but thanks to the adjacent shopping center, part of the lot was zoned commercial.  Now the center is home to 14 wellness practitioners, including therapists, coaches, massage therapists, naturopathic doctors, and a fitness center.  It also hosts classes and workshops.  You would never know that the Tidings building and the shopping center are right outside, so well have the plantings grown, including Japanese maples, Mugo pines, a Kwanzan cherry tree, and beeches.
When the Newtons took possession, the pond was there, full of cat-tails and blackberries.  With the help of friends, they pulled out the blackberries by hand; no chemicals have ever been used in the garden.  Then they hauled in huge rocks from their Ashland home to dot the property.  Original fruit trees and ponderosa pine continue to thrive.  The garden is made even more inviting by small picnic tables, a swinging tree chair, and a bench by the pond.  The garden is open to the public; the gate is never locked.  The Newtons simply ask visitors not to interfere with Wellness Center activities.  Workers from the shopping center who’ve discovered the gate enjoy their lunch breaks there.
For the past ten years, Paul Garber has taken care of the garden.  Many people have also contributed in trade for classes, workshops, and wellness services, including construction of a little Japanese bridge over the stream as you first enter the garden.  Elizabeth York of Ashland has donated much of the plant material.
As the Wellness Center has been enlarged and remodeled, the gardens surrounding it continue to be upgraded.  A raised bed for herbs is currently under construction by the new fitness center.
– Julia Sommer