Ten members arrived early at the community center to create holiday garlands for the Ashland Community Center and Pioneer Hall. There were many scheduling challenges this year, but against all odds these garden club members got tall the garland made and installed on time!
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
Thank you Ashlanders for making AGC’s plant sale a huge success!
Save the Date!
Saturday, May 19, 2018
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
16th Annual Garden Tour
View six beautiful, unique gardens in the
Jacksonville/Central Point area – become inspired!
Tickets $20.00
Purchase tickets at the following locations from
April 16th – May 18th
Judy’s Central Point Florist
337 East Pine, Central Point
Southern Oregon Nursery
2922 S. Pacific Highway, Medford
Blue Door Garden Store
130 W. California Street, Jacksonville
Penny & Lulu Studio Florist
18 Stewart Avenue, Medford
Eufloria Flowers
449 E Main St, Ashland
On the day of the tour, tickets may be purchased only at:
The Schoolhaus Brewhaus
525 Bigham Knoll Dr, Jacksonville
All proceeds support community service projects of SI North Valley
Questions: email: gardentoursinv@gmail.com
Tika Squires says that “the garden is my child,” meaning that she had to persuade her husband to have professionals design and maintain it. The beautiful garden she shares with husband Chuck at 195 Van Ness St. is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for May. Tika says she is “a gardener in my imagination.” She clearly has a flair and style that is reflected in the house and garden.
The Squires purchased the property in 1999. The previous owner had developed a lovely garden, too, but it was labor-intensive. As part of the award-winning process of rebuilding the garage (with living-space over it) five years ago, they had Kerry KenCairn redesign the surrounding hardscape and garden to the left of the driveway. Installation, including the spectacular stone walls, was done by Solid Ground Landscape. Later, Solid Ground replanted the parking strip with drought-tolerant vegetation, adding to the double-blooming non-bearing cherry trees planted by the previous owner; rebuilt the front stairs and terrace; and changed the plantings in front of those stairs and terrace. Ultimately, Solid Ground also installed a graceful patio in back, edged by yews on one side and English laurel on the other to create a private retreat. The Squires always specified low-maintenance gardens and Tika says that the “only fussing we do in the garden is the fussing we choose to do.”
In front on the left, an almond tree was spared and a fig tree has been allowed to sprout. On the south side of the garage, an espaliered apple tree thrives. A heritage butterfly bush graces the south side of the house.
Among other notable plants on the property include Japanese maple, magnolia, red oak, euphorbia, camellia, flowering plum, barberry, iris, rosemary, lilac, lily of the valley, tulips, clematis, and honeysuckle. The overall effect is very inviting.
The gardens at 170 Logan Drive are the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for October. Chris Eberhardt and Gene Miller bought the property in 2008, and the gardens then were nice enough. But in 2013, they decided to re-landscape to update and unify the property, and to make it deer resistant. They refer to certain sections of the garden, and the adjacent v-shaped plot at the corner of Logan and Scenic, held by the property owners’ association, as the “deer highway.” They hired Solid Ground Landscape Inc. to develop a comprehensive plan and provide regular maintenance. Solid Ground included a pathway for the deer to encourage a certain route.
The back is on a steep grade, dotted with tall oaks, from a lovely balustrade terrace, with rhododendrons and daisies providing seasonal color. A charming and private outdoor “room” featuring Japanese maples, was created just outside the hexagonal dining room that was previously exposed to the street. A yew hedge provides much of the privacy. This room has a more formal look than the rest of the garden, with its manicured boxwood border. In addition to specimen plants, the front features drought-tolerant grasses and large boulders, some of which are indigenous to the property. Enormous pots, filled with gorgeous plants, flank the front door.
Photos by Larry Rosengren
