December 4th member’s met at the Bellview Grange to celebrate the Holidays! Member’s were introduced to Yurritzy, and her parents, who received our Rogue Community College Scholarship. The room was decorated with wreaths made by club members, colorful tables full of entrees, salads and desserts and lively festive entertainment was provided by Jeff and Julian Jones, of Generation Jones.
623 Prim Street
Elysian Graham and Lou Martinez bought the handsome house at 623 Prim Street in 2020 and promptly set about re-imagining the front landscape. This is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the month for September 2023.
They hired Banyan Tree Landscaping and landscape architect Lucretia Weems to do the job. Among their primary goals were to achieve easy maintenance for their steep yard, conserve water, and be deer resistant. They also wanted a subtle color palette, but color and interest all year, and to be pollinator-friendly. They have achieved all this and more.
Only the large sweet gum tree on the left side of the garden and the thicket on the far right side, which is seasonally favored by deer, remain from the original yard. Overhead sprinklers were replaced by a drip irrigation system. The rock retaining walls and graceful stairs were added.
Ornamental grasses are highlights at this time of year and on through the winter. As the homeowners and designers of this garden have done, the Ashland Garden Club urges gardeners to take care in choosing ornamental grasses that are not fire-prone, and to remove dead and dry growth.
The couple handle all the maintenance themselves and, as busy professionals, they are grateful that their yard is so easy-care. Elysian particularly likes the guara and Lou likes the Japanese maple.
Photos by Lou Martinez
Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC GOM Committee Chair
Ashland Garden Club member, Peter Finkle came across this photo while doing research about 4th of July celebrations at the Southern Oregon Historical Society. This photo was taken of an article in the Medford Mail Tribune dated July 5, 1976; it’s about Ashland’s 4th of July parade Grand Prize winner, the Ashland Garden Club. All flowers on the float were real. They were contributed by garden club members and friends!
“Ashland Garden Club took the top prize of all the entries in Sunday’s parade through downtown Ashland.”
Float: Betsy Ross sewing on the first US flag
Yearly, Ashland Garden Club members donated flowers from their personal gardens to create numerous table arrangements for the Ashland Lions Club annual Feast of Will dinner in Lithia Park. Members of Ashland Garden Club include (many) master gardeners, a state flower judge, retire florists, professional landscapers, and people who just love flowers and plants!
