AGC’s Heirloom gardeners worked today in the North Mountain Park Heirloom Garden. The garden is looking good, but there’s always more weeds to pull! Today was perfect weather for gardening. ~Lynn ~photos by Lynn McDonald
59 Sixth Street
The front yard at 59 Sixth Street delights all who see it. The home of Sarah and Dennis Jeske is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for May 2023. The cheerful paint on the buildings, the art in the garden, the charming fence and gate, and the prolific flowers mix all together to create an enchanting display.
The garden design and installation were done by previous owners, Zelpha and Harry Hudson, who owned the property until 2017. Zelpha, especially, is credited with much of the creativity now on view. The Jeskes have made their mark, however, with the addition of the glass flowers as well as the fence and gate designed and built by Dennis.
Daisies of three kinds dominate the garden in May; shasta, marguerite, and erigeron. Also on view now and through much of the summer are nepeta, lavender, and wooly lambs ear. Pomegranate, pieris, rhododendron, and a gorgeous camellia surround the welcoming front porch.
Sarah calls herself the chief weeder in the back yard and veggie garden, Moises and his crew from Reyes Property Management provide routine maintenance.
This is a garden meant to be enjoyed by all who pass by.
Article by Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Coordinator
All Photos by Larry Rosengren
Photos by AGC Members: Lisa Force, Amy Lepon, & Carlotta Lucas
Ashland Garden Club member’s cleaned out loads of debris at North Mountain Park’s Heirloom Garden Today. AGC member’s meet monthly to tend this lovely garden. Photos by: Lynn McDonald, AGC Member
Ashland Garden Club member, Peter Finkle, has been walking Ashland neighborhoods and writing about Ashland’s history, architecture, gardens, yard art and people. Alida Street was his recent trekking adventure where he discovered:
Ghost stories at 92 Alida
A beautiful mural at 107 Alida
Dramatic flowering trumpet vine at 66 Alida
Writer of Westerns at 81 Alida
“Lord of the Rings” connection at 180 Alida
Follow the link below to read Peter’s article in full; it’s fascinating!
https://walkashland.com/2020/08/09/alida-street-flowers-ghosts-and-art/
Submitted by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member
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.