April 2020: Garden of the Month:

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Ashland Garden Club

467 Scenic Drive

The lovely garden at 467 Scenic Drive is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for April. It is a work-in-progress by homeowners Elaine Yates and Michael Costello who have had this property for 3.5 years. Although the yard had good bones, with handsome hardscape and fruit trees, the garden had been greatly neglected in recent years. They removed several diseased or dead trees which has opened things up for new additions with an emphasis on blooming plants.

Elaine is the primary gardener and designer, but Michael contributes. He rebuilt an impressive set of raised beds for edibles in the side yard as well as choosing and placing a new wisteria. Having moved to Ashland from the Bay area, Elaine has had a steep learning curve with new weather patterns to understand and more aggressive deer than she was accustomed to. On the plus side, she has been happy to discover the multitude of bees and other pollinators and the wonderful profusion of blooming plants that thrive here. She spends anywhere from three to five hours per week in the slow season (Winter) to ten to twelve hours per week the rest of the year.

Heathers, grape hyacinths, forsythia, azaleas (in the deer-proof back yard), and rosemary are the stars right now but soon the rhododendrons will burst forth so Elaine encourages readers to delay until late in the month or early next month visiting to admire the garden from the street.

Garden of the Month: September 2019

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Ashland Garden Club

110 8^th Street – Ashland, Oregon

The selection committee for the Ashland Garden Club’s garden of the month program first noticed the beautiful garden at the corner of C and 8^th streets over a year ago. When we went by again in September 2018 we knew we had our September 2019 Garden of the Month. By September, most gardens are starting to fade, at least, and some are downright shabby, but not Kelly and Jeff Straub’s gorgeous place at 110 8^th Street. Kelly’s diligent work shows to good advantage all year. She keeps the planting areas well groomed, and always a delight to see with blooming plants.

The Straubs purchased the property only two-and-a-half years ago. In the short time since then, she has transformed the neglected yard into a showplace. In the interim, she broke first one wrist and then the other, making the work doubly difficult. But she has had help. Neighbor Jack Crawford has been instrumental with assistance, as a source of seeds for many of the plants that grace the garden, and for design consultation with Kelly. Jane Hardgrove of Bearclaw Services designed the back garden which is also gorgeous if somewhat more utilitarian with patios and raised beds for produce. Until recently when City of Ashland crews finally solved the problem, the Straubs also had to cope with flooding following serious rain storms.

A special quality of this property is that the “parking strip” (the area between the sidewalk and the street) is especially wide, making the sidewalk appear to go right through the heart of the front and side yards. This does two things: It makes the parking strip more versatile as a desirable planting space and it also makes pedestrians feel a part of the garden. Being a block from a popular coffee shop also increases foot traffic, and Kelly enjoys interacting with passersby as she works in the garden. Understandably, she gets a lot of positive feedback.

The stunning display of coreopsis is just coming to an end this year, but the rudbeckia, echinacea, and gaillardia are still going strong and their similar flower form makes an interesting combination. Earlier in the year, foxglove put on a fabulous show, and hellebores star in the winter. Zinnias are a standout in the back yard, where they are protected from deer.

Other favorites include daphne, euphorbia, catmint, erysium, and bee balm. A vibrant purple, walkable verbena stands out in and around the walkway from C Street. Even the small area around the fire hydrant on the corner is lush with low succulents.

The street tree on the C side is mimosa which is blooming now. Other especially large trees on the property include cedar and ponderosa pine. A dogwood is one of the few smaller holdovers from previous owners, and the Straubs recently added a crepe myrtle.

Article by: AGC Member Ruth Sloan Photos by: Larry Rosengren

Garden on the Month: August 2019

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Ashland Garden Club

333 Harrison Street

Check out the eye-catching garden at the corner of Harrison and Holly. Becky and Will Sherman’s beautiful property at 333 Harrison Street is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for August. Becky is the primary gardener and stone-wrangler. Will built the handsome fences and deck, and manages the irrigation system. When they purchased the home in 2010, the yard was a blank slate. It is anything but that now.

The dahlias and zinnias are sensational. Golden bamboo, controlled by constant monitoring and a deep barrier, provides privacy and a graceful background to smaller plants. Nandina is a favorite “filler” for its year-round interest. Vegetables are interspersed with flowers. The southwest edge of the property is dominated by a small pine and cedar forest.

Becky says the one piece of advice she likes to give to novice gardeners is that it’s OK to cut plants back radically. Her love of blooming plants is a way to fondly remember her late mother who also loved flowers. She averages eight hours a week in the garden, but enjoys the work which she says is better for her than a gym membership. She is constantly adding and changing the plantings.

Becky credits neighbor Jennifer Loizeaux for giving early garden advice, and friend Tom Bradley for building wood deck furniture and planter box projects.

Garden of the Month: June 2019

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Ashland Garden Club

265 Ohio Street

There are several nice garden surprises at the unpaved end of Ohio Street, northwest of Laurel. One is the fabulous garden and fence at 265 Ohio Street. This garden, designed and maintained by Gene Leyden, is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for June. This is a naturally wet parcel (note the giant pond next door) where dampness- and shade-loving plants thrive and carefully placed sun-loving plants also flourish. Gene planted the willow tree, now enormous (14 feet in circumference!), when she moved in with her family in 1987, transporting it to the site from the nursery in the back of the Volkswagon bus. Garden observers can walk or drive down the alley to the right of the house to get more views.

In addition to the prospering plant life, there are remarkably beautiful constructions by Gene’s friend, the artist and carpenter Nathan Sharples. Look carefully at the gorgeous fence, installed only three years ago. Note the unusual wooden screen door. Now catch a glimpse of the fabulous gazebo in what appears to be the back yard but is actually the front of the house which was moved to this location shortly before Gene moved in. Sharples built the gazebo of many species of wood, rarely using straight planks, but fitting curved pieces together with exquisite workmanship. Multicolor glass in clerestory windows adds light to the interior.

Also salted throughout the garden are sculptures by Gene’s friend Cheryl Garcia, as well as other items of interest.

Gene has the advantage of access to Helman ditch water. She has had to amend the soil over the years because the site was ill-used before she (and the house) arrived. She refers to it as a “wild garden” that reseeds itself each year and “does its own thing.”. She insists that she doesn’t spend as much time working on it as its beauty suggests, and she does have help now with weeding and mowing. Gene says she has a special fondness for fragrance in the garden and chooses many plants on that basis, including roses, jasmine and nicotiana.

Among the many highlights in the garden are a selection of huge hostas loving their location under the willow, Lady Banks and Cecile Brunner roses climbing through the vegetation, and a smoke tree and smoke bush lending their rich dark foliage as contrast to the riot of greens plus colorful blossoms. There’s a little bit of everything here. This is clearly the work of people of great imagination, especially the primary gardener.

Article by: Ruth Sloan

Garden of the Month: July 2018

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Ashland Garden Club

995 Park Street-

The selection committee for the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month program has had its eye on D’Anne and Steve Shaw’s charming garden at 955 Park Street for a very long time. The first time we approached them, they said that the back yard was not ready for prime time. The next year, the giant incense cedar in the front yard was felled. The year after that, they were remodeling the house. Every year something happened because these homeowners are never idle. Finally, the time has come: This is the July 2018 Garden of the Month.

The wedge-shaped garden is gorgeous, both front and back. D’Anne and Steve both love color and work hard, each averaging ten hours per week despite their busy careers. They share responsibility for design and maintenance. They consider it a work in progress, continually making changes. The garden is entirely organic and is a designated pollinator garden. Don’t miss the Pollinator Garden tour on July 15 (https://www.ashland.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=17460). The Shaws were part of the tour last year but have made way for new gardens this year.

Steve reports that he was introduced to gardening as a child by his father who taught him the value of hard work from an early age and gave him a deep appreciation for gardens. Three pretty Gingko trees were given to D’Anne in one-gallon pots a long time ago and she cared for them in the pots for years until settling on this property.

You will see how much they have grown and thrived in the 18 years since being planted in the ground. The unusual round metal arbor in the corner of the front yard was made for them for their wedding.

Among the many beautiful flowering plants are roses, hydrangea, peonies, lilies, foxglove, columbine, ground orchids and dahlias. Walk or drive by to see how prettily these things and many others look together.

Article by: Ruth Sloan

Photos by Larry Rosengren

SOU Botanical Tour

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Ashland Garden Club

Southern Oregon University Botanical Tour features 107 trees, pollinator gardens, and the SOU Farm. Some trees on the tour are older than the school itself.

In 2014, the Arbor Day Foundation accredited SOU with its Tree Campus award, and in 2015 the University became the first Bee Campus in the nation by providing pollinator beds and bee habitats throughout the campus. SOU has pledged with the Friends of the Earth Bee Cause Campaign to stop the use of all neonicotinoids on campus in an effort to help protect pollinators . Neonicotinoids are harmful systemic insecticides.

SOU offers guided tours and self-guided tours. Brochures can be picked up at the SOU Landscape Services located at 351 Walker Avenue. Tel: 541-552-6117