Plant Name: Cercocarpus montanus Common name: Alderlead/Silverleaf Mountain Mahogany Plant Type: Evergreen Shrub or Small Tree Plant Height: 8’ – 20’ Plant Width: 4’ – 8’ Bloom Time: April – May Flower Color: Non-showy Flowers followed by Feathery, Silver-White Fruit. Small flowers appear red when they first open, then turn whitish-yellow Exposure: Sun; Tolerates Shady Sites. Soil Requirements: Well-Drained Water Need: Low to Medium Firewise: YES Attributes: Nitrogen Fixer; Attracts Butterflies/Moths; Tolerates Drought; Bark is Dark Red Mahogany Color; Good Fall color. Uses: Erosion Control; Hedge Native to: SW Oregon – California – Rockies Oregon Native: YES USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 – 10
As most Garden Club members know, their gardens are not eligible to be AGC Garden of the Month. This is an exception. Carolyn Gale was invited to be April Garden of the month in 2020, before she had even considered joining. She declined for 2020, but said she would be willing for April of 2021. In the interim, she joined the Club!
When Carolyn Gale bought the house at 198 N. Wightman Street in the summer of 2014, the yard had been neglected. After spending the first year remodeling the interior, she has turned the property into a colorful and interesting site. Now her garden is the April Garden of the Month for the Ashland Garden Club.
Such is Carolyn’s attention to detail that she painted the exterior of the house to match the branches of a stunning magnolia that stars in the garden in April. She planned very carefully to assure that plants are in bloom twelve months of the year, using the book The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden: A Blueprint for Continuous Color as her guide. She spent nearly a year developing a comprehensive plan that features meandering pathways connecting the side and front gardens
Augustin Herrera and his crew installed the initial plants, irrigation system, and hardscape according to Carolyn’s thoughtful plan, and continue to do the heavy-lifting and some routine maintenance. But Carolyn spends a lot of time maintaining and improving her garden and it shows.
Plants that are not deer-resistant are confined to the fenced back yard. The back was also designed to accommodate her dog who likes to dig and eat green things. She devised clever ways of protecting her plants, such as elevating potted plants on shelves. She has had to resort to pots in some places in the front yard where tree roots interfered with the development of smaller plants.
Among Carolyn’s favorite plants are rhododendrons, heathers, camellias, hellebores, and irises. She planted 500 bulbs just last year. If you look carefully, you will see rainbow patterns and themed planting beds in the landscape, such as a recently added succulent garden with a seaside theme. This is a garden to revisit throughout the year to see the ever-changing display.
Photos by Carolyn Gale, except the photo of the new succulent garden which is by Larry Rosengren. Some of the pictures here are from previous years and months other than April.
Plant Name: Archtostaphylos uva ursi Common name: Kinnikinnick Plant Type: Trailing Evergreen Shrub Plant Height: 6” – 12” Plant Width: 10’ Bloom Time: March – June Flower Color: Pink to White Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade Soil Requirements: Rocky, Sandy, Acidic Soil Water Need: Low Fire Resistant: YES Attributes: Red Berries Succeed Through Winter; Reddish-Purple Fall Color; Papery, Reddish, Exfoliating Bark; Attracts Butterflies, Hummingbirds, & Other Birds; Larval Host for Butterflies & Moths; Drought Tolerant; Deer Resistant Uses: Large Scale Groundcover with Year-round Interest; Control Soil Erosion; Border Margin; Native Plant Garden; Rock Garden Note: Slow Growing; Trailing Stems Send Out Small Roots; Native to: Almost All of North America Oregon Native: YES USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 – 6
Bloom Time: April – May
Water Need: Low to Medium
Hellebore and Tulips