Hugelkultur (pronounced hyoo-gul-kulture) is a German word which means mound culture or hill culture. A hugelkultur is a sloped and raised planting bed filled with wood (large and small), organic materials, and topsoil. This gardening method has be practiced in German and European for hundreds of years.
344 Helman Street
While all the rain and snow we’ve enjoyed this winter bring hope of a fabulous spring and along with it fabulous gardens, it does mean that the season of renewal is running a little late this year. Last year at this time, the garden at 344 Helman Street—home to Suzan and Marshall Malden—was blooming gloriously and lush with plants ready to burst forth. It’s obviously poised to do that again, but perhaps a little later than usual. This is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for April 2023
When the Maldens purchased the property in 2001 the cottage was smaller, and both front and back yards were little more than lawns with a few trees, including the wonderful mulberry. After completing a beautiful sunny addition to the house in 2006, Suzan set about establishing lovely gardens with help and advice from family friend Dave Mizerak. The bones of that design remain much the same, but Suzan has fun adding and subtracting plants as conditions change over the years or as enthusiasm strikes her.
Lilacs and grapevines at the perimeter contribute to a feeling of privacy in back. A delightful water fountain is visible from most spots around the yard as well as from rooms at the back of the house. Among Suzan’s favorite plants are peonies, rhododendrons, daphne, and azaleas. Fig trees in back not only produce delicious fruit but are gorgeous sculptural plants. The Japanese maple in front is stunning all year.
A tall flag pole in back features an ever-changing display of flags, some to honor countries where the Maldens have lived (such as Sweden and Norway), some to honor countries of origin for visitors, and some to honor events
Suzan does almost all of the gardening herself, averaging a half-hour to an hour a day in the busiest seasons, with occasional help from Nathanael Brees on the biggest projects. She sees the garden as her sanctuary and gardening brings her great joy. As she says, “life is beautiful in the garden.”
Ashland’s new Japanese Garden is open daily, located in Lithia Park.
Photos by Lynn McDonald, AGC Member
This time of year, many Ashland gardens are starting to look little tired, victims of prolonged excessive heat and thirst. Ornamental grasses do particularly well in these conditions and those gardens that feature them continue to thrive. Elizabeth and Gerard Boulanger’s gorgeous front yard at 453 Tucker Street is a great example and is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for September 2022. It requires only a modest amount of water to put on a beautiful show year-round.
The Boulangers moved here in June of 2021. They tidied the front yard, particularly giving room to the Japanese blood grass, the leaves of which are currently a stunning dark purple, so it wouldn’t get lost in the thicket. Their display of ornamental grasses highlights the varieties of colors (some of which change seasonally), blooms, shape, and blade structure. The large green grasses directly in front of the house turn a bronze color in Autumn.
They have done a lot of work on the side yards during their short tenure here, including a massive restructuring on the western side, terracing the space to make it more usable by creating a bocce ball/horseshoes court and pleasant patio on different levels. The handsome block retaining walls were created by Jorge Regalado and his crew from Firststone Masonry. Elizabeth credits Gerard for the design of this area, but admits to making some suggestions. Dwarf gingko trees border the wooden stairs on one side and buddleia shrubs border the other side. They have started a hedge along the fence in back, along the north side of the property, to soften the near part of the nice view toward the hills. Trees include juniper, maple, and ash.
Elizabeth and Gerard personally work in the yard when they can and clearly enjoy the plants. Particular favorites are Pacific northwest myrtle, hydrangea, sweet peas, dogwood, and lavender. Christie Mackison of Shooting Star Nursery has advised the Boulangers on plant choices.
Photos by Larry Rosengren
Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Chair
Flowers & Photos by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member
994 Kestral Parkway
Jill Weston’s lovely garden at 994 Kestral Parkway is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for August 2022. She has been gardening here for about three years, starting from the nearly blank slate of bare dirt and dead trees of a previously neglected property.
In late July and early August, black-eyed Susans dominate the front yard, putting on a dazzling display. Climbing roses, transplanted from a stunning five-acre spread east of Ashland that Jill and her late husband shared before downsizing, thrive against fences surrounding a small patio in back. The north side of the property, on the Stoneridge Avenue side of this corner lot, holds rhododendrons, clematis vines, and small fig trees.
Daffodils enliven the front yard before the black-eyed Susans pop up from the ground each year. Jill refers to the latter as “hardy, determined girls.” They share the space at this time of year—somewhat unwillingly—with echinacea, rose campion and many other plants.
Jill spends a lot of time in the garden, loving every minute. And she thinks about the garden much of the time even when she’s not in it. She has an eye for design that enhances the overall display. Of plants not already mentioned, Jill loves cosmos, coreopsis, tithonia, and zinnias among many others.
Jill has had guidance over the years from Tom Scales of the garden department of the Grange Co-op in Ashland. And her friend Silvino has been helping her in this garden and the previous one for 15 years.
Jill has only recently learned the benefits of feeding her plants. She says she’s been slow to adapt to new gardening conditions, and terrible at being practical. But none those flaws show in the current result.
Jill recommends that, if you want to see the black-eyed Susans in their full glory, you visit very soon because the extreme heat is taking its toll. This is a neighborhood of many fine gardens. Nearby, check out 305 Stoneridge, across the street from Jill on Kestral and 336 Stoneridge, across the alley from Jill.
Photos by Larry Rosengren
With thanks to Marilyn Love for the suggestion,
Ruth Sloan, Garden of the Month, Chair