Tag Archives: Garden of the Month

June 2022: Garden of the Month

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780 Walker Street

Lorraine Vail’s and Ed Smith’s garden at 780 Walker Street is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for June 2022.  It is a very special garden in many ways, not least of which is the couple’s desire to share the beauty and knowledge they have gained through creating this garden.

They started with a nearly blank slate in the Fall of 2013.  Lorraine took an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) course at nearby SOU, taught by professional landscape designer Fran Adams, during which she submitted a design for the OLLI courtyard garden.  Completing that assignment earned the homeowners complimentary consultations on their home garden from Adams and from Seth Barnard of Solid Ground Landscape.  Ultimately, Solid Ground installed the hardscape and did the initial planting, working from Lorraine’s design.  Solid Ground continues to consult on design and provides seasonal assistance although Ed and Lorraine take care of it day-to-day, averaging ten hours a week.

A second phase began during the pandemic when the couple had time on their hands.  During this phase, Ed, a talented woodworker, completed the attractive fence and added gorgeous gates in 2020.  This allowed them to plant without worrying about deer preferences.  They have had problems with bears trying to climb the fence (and doing significant damage in the process).  The side garden provides a more intimate space for relaxation and contemplation, and is very colorful at this time of year.

A unique and charming feature of this Japanese-inspired garden is “The Garden Box;” a display case that they installed to inform passersby about the garden.  Changing the contents frequently allows them to describe specific plants, share photos, and enchant with poetry about the garden.

Both Lorraine and Ed enjoy the many changes in the garden throughout the year and look forward to seeing changes between years as plants change and mature.  An important aspect of their design is contrast in color and texture.  Among the couple’s favorite plants are horny goat weed, the variegated leaves of which stay beautiful all year; spirea in its many forms; brunnera; and weeping redbud.

Peruse the Garden Box and peek through the gate to enjoy this special place.

Last photo by Lorraine Vail, taken in the Fall.  All other photos by Larry Rosengren, taken this Spring.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Chairman

Garden of the Month: September 2021

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85 Winburn Way

Stephanie and Bryan DeBoer have an unusual degree of interest in the spectacular garden of their home at 85 Winburn Way, as well they should.  This is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for September.

The DeBoers see their property as a visual extension of Lithia Park which sits across the street.  Bryan has a special affinity for the park:  His maternal grandfather was a gardener there and, as a boy, Bryan would help him and be rewarded with ice cream from the shop that once sat where the DeBoer home sits now.

Meant to look long-established and thus better to complement the park, the garden was actually installed in stages over 2018-19.  The initial planting took 11 days and required a large crane.  One tree weighed 7000 lbs.  Using mature plants was the key to making the garden look as if it had been there a long time. 

Bryan & Stephanie were very much involved in carefully planning the garden and selecting plants.  Bryan and Stephanie went from room to room inside the house while plants were being placed outside, to assure spectacular views from every vantage point.  Laurie Sager & Associates of Jacksonville were the landscape architects and steered the DeBoers through a fun and creative process.  One of Laurie’s many ideas was creating a beautifully landscaped light well to brighten a lower level bedroom, and created an amazing overall result.  The building’s architect, Carlos Delgado, took an active interest.  Dieter Trost, of Southern Oregon Nursery in Medford—and a family friend, aided in procuring the specimen trees, all grown right here in Oregon.

Mostly the garden is in the Japanese tradition and has many conifers and maples.  Bryan has a special fondness DeBoer5.jpegfor the Chief Joseph pines, “Lovers” Japanese maple, and the ice breaker firs.  It’s a good thing Japanese maples are among Stephanie’s favorite plants because there are 29 Japanese maples on the property comprised of 25 varieties including red filigree lace, green cascade, and contorta weeping.  A full list of plants, with pictures, is available on PlantsMap (www.plantsmap.com – search on Winburn).  Bryan has installed PlantsMap tags at the foot of many of the plants.

Unique sources were found for many of the treasures in the landscape.  The Iseli Nursery in Boring, Oregon provided many of the special trees and is world renown for mature specimens found in their Gallery.  The gorgeous rocks placed strategically throughout the garden were imported from the Netherlands where a Japanese garden was being dismantled.  The giant mid-century modern urn on a pedestal near the front door came from a Frank Lloyd Wright building. 

Both Bryan and Stephanie work in the garden and Bryan, especially, has been mistaken as a professional gardener by passersby while he was working outside.  He can identify every plant from memory.

Article by: Ruth Sloan

Photos by Bryan DeBoer

July 2021; Garden of the Month

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1023 Linda Avenue:

The fascinating garden at 1023 Linda Avenue is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for July.  Owner Sandra Archibald is completely responsible for this garden, including design and maintenance.  She does have a guy who mows the shrinking lawn in the back and helps with cleanup in the Fall.

The most remarkable feature of this garden is the living fence of weeping blue atlas cedar that Sandra planted in the northeast corner of the property a year or two after moving in late in 2007 and has trained along the deer fence since then, protecting her raised planting beds and the rest of the yard.  She designed the curving paver paths and trellis along the front of the house.  There are more curved paths and walls she designed in back as well as a charming gate and peaceful Japanese garden section.

This is her favorite time of year in the garden with coreopsis and poppies putting on a grand display.  In Spring, large established iberris plants make a nice show against the conifers.  Other times echinacea is a standout.  As the back garden has become shadier over the years, she has added mini-hostas and plans to add more conifers since discovering the fabulous variety at the Oregon Garden in Silverton.  She loves the Japanese forest grass she has in pots because it’s always beautiful, even when it dries out annually.

Sandra urges persistence in the garden.  She adapts readily to the changing environment, trying things and sometimes moving and replacing plants that don’t thrive.  She averages at least ten hours per week working in her garden all seasons except Winter.  Her hard work and creativity are evident.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Chairman. (Thanks Kaaren Anderson for bringing this garden to my attention years ago.)

All photos by Larry Rosengren

Garden(s) of the Month: June 2021

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The Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for June 2021 is unusual.  It’s unusual because it is three gardens and unusual because they are back gardens.  Gardens selected for GotM honors must be substantially visible from the public right-of-way (street or sidewalk ordinarily) so that usually means front gardens.  These three back gardens qualify because they are visible from Ashland Creek Park (on Hersey near Oak) and these three are all in a row. 

Directions: From Hersey Street, walk along the right (east) side of the park about half way from front to back and watch for signs.  Please stay in the park.  You will see some gorgeous gardens.

The first (geographically) of the selected gardens is the furthest south of the three; the back garden of Deborah and Jeff Wihtol of 589 Oak Street.  They started their garden with a rounded patio and gently winding path that Jeff designed.  Then in 2017 the Wihtols had Solid Ground Landscaping plan and install most of the plants.  Since then, they’ve made changes on their own.  The recent loss of a large box elder tree brought more sun to the south side of the garden than it had in the past, to which they are adjusting.  And most recently they arranged for Jane Hardgrove to refresh the landscape and accommodate the new sun situation.  Among Deb’s favorite plants are hydrangeas, daphne odora, cape fuchsia, and orange sedge.  Routine maintenance is by Juan Guerrero.

Wihtol Garden
Wihtol Garden

The second selected garden belongs to Ursula and Marvin Webster of 603 Oak Street whose historic 1897 home influenced plant selections.  Sage Hill Landscape installed the hardscape and initial plantings in back following guidance from the Websters.  As Ursula put it, “What would grandma do?” was her guiding principle.  A massive trumpet vine, stone walls, ivy, and treasured perennials survive from the house’s earliest days.  Among her favorites are plants that she considers “romantically old fashioned” such as hydrangea, peonies, erigeron, and catmint.  The hillside setting dictated stairs, and aspen trees thrive in the lowest parts of the garden, nearest the park.  Their quaking leaves add movement to the garden.  Ursula handles routine maintenance with assistance from Juan Guerrero.  The small building at the back of the garden is a straw-bale office built by EcoNest.

Webster Garden
Webster Garden

The third selected garden belongs to Susan McKennon of 615 Oak Street.  The yard is dominated by a huge old oak that some believe is the tree for which Oak Street was named.  That mighty tree is a picture of health thanks to Susan’s care and Canopy’s regular maintenance.  Her dazzling stand of iris stems from an early gift from Schreiners, friends of the family—well known for iris cultivation. Susan brought the iris starts from a previous home.  Solid Ground designed the landscape in 2013, bringing in tons of boulders to stabilize the steep terrain and installing stairs to help people negotiate the hill between the house and the park.  Solid Ground brought in many trees except the old oak, including Japanese maples and a dwarf gingko.  A friend’s gift of an elderberry bush draws attention at this time of year with its dark purple foliage and pale pink flowers.  Rudolpho Ramirez and his crew maintain this garden.

McKennon Garden
McKennon Garden
McKennon’s Tree viewed from Webster’s Garden

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Director

All photos by Larry Rosengren

Garden of the Month: May 2021

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The Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for May is Sue and Tim Cate’s at 471 Parkside Drive.  As the neighbor who nominated the garden wrote, “It shows nicely from the street, but when looked at more closely the artistry of ground cover is evident, as is the balance.  Without symmetry yet with plant forms and different species, there is a very graceful balance to the whole place. “

The Cates had their home built in 1995.  They developed the garden themselves, beginning shortly after the house was completed.  While Sue contributes ideas, Tim does all the work, spending four to five hours a week on average.  He suggests that every gardener should maintain a garden diary for at least one year, to remind themselves what chores need to be done and when it is best to add new plantings.  From his garden diary, Tim was able to create a comprehensive list of when each plant is at its peak.  They have constructed arbors to create outdoor rooms and provide shade as well as trellises for trumpet vine, akebia, and honeysuckle.

Among Sue’s favorite plants is the crabapple tree, which she especially likes when the blooms are at the bud stage as they are now.    Both Cates love the mature redbud that dominates the front yard and was recently pruned.

With thanks to Myrl Bishop for the suggestion.

Article by: Ruth Sloan

Photos by Larry Rosengren

Garden of the Month: April 2021

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198 N. Wightman Street

As most Garden Club members know, their gardens are not eligible to be AGC Garden of the Month. This is an exception.  Carolyn Gale was invited to be April Garden of the month in 2020, before she had even considered joining. She declined for 2020, but said she would be willing for April of 2021. In the interim, she joined the Club!

When Carolyn Gale bought the house at 198 N. Wightman Street in the summer of 2014, the yard had been neglected. After spending the first year remodeling the interior, she has turned the property into a colorful and interesting site. Now her garden is the April Garden of the Month for the Ashland Garden Club.

Such is Carolyn’s attention to detail that she painted the exterior of the house to match the branches of a stunning magnolia that stars in the garden in April. She planned very carefully to assure that plants are in bloom twelve months of the year, using the book The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden:  A Blueprint for Continuous Color as her guide. She spent nearly a year developing a comprehensive plan that features meandering pathways connecting the side and front gardens

Augustin Herrera and his crew installed the initial plants, irrigation system, and hardscape according to Carolyn’s thoughtful plan, and continue to do the heavy-lifting and some routine maintenance. But Carolyn spends a lot of time maintaining and improving her garden and it shows.

Plants that are not deer-resistant are confined to the fenced back yard. The back was also designed to accommodate her dog who likes to dig and eat green things. She devised clever ways of protecting her plants, such as elevating potted plants on shelves. She has had to resort to pots in some places in the front yard where tree roots interfered with the development of smaller plants.

Among Carolyn’s favorite plants are rhododendrons, heathers, camellias, hellebores, and irises. She planted 500 bulbs just last year. If you look carefully, you will see rainbow patterns and themed planting beds in the landscape, such as a recently added succulent garden with a seaside theme. This is a garden to revisit throughout the year to see the ever-changing display.

Photos by Carolyn Gale, except the photo of the new succulent garden which is by Larry Rosengren.  Some of the pictures here are from previous years and months other than April.

Report by Ruth Sloan, AGC Member/GOM Chairperson