Tag Archives: Garden of the Month

Garden of the Month: May 2021

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Garden of the Month: Sept. 2020

Posted on by

Several times recently the selection committee was asked why the wonderful property at 100/120 Sixth Street has not been a Garden of the Month.  It’s because we thought it already had been.  We started noticing it as soon as the owners started planting.  But they were going along deliberately slowly and, at first, many of the plantings seemed much the same size.  Although it was wonderful, we thought we’d wait until more things matured.  Then, the next thing we knew, it was an established part of the neighborhood and we just assumed it had already been acknowledged.  Now that is corrected.  Cory Ross and Greg Conaway’s delightful garden is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for September.

September 2020 photo by Larry Rosengren

The couple never involved a professional landscape designer and really never drew up their own comprehensive plan.  But they did have a family history of gardening; the help and advice of friends and neighbors (most consistently Edward Madson); sensible ideas for how to make the landscape work (such as cooling south walls on buildings); and, most importantly, artistic tendencies.September 2020 photo by Larry Rosengren

Conaway and Ross purchased the church, its outbuildings and parking lot at the corner of Sixth and C in late 2013, then proceeded to convert the church into their home and build a secondary living unit next door, now occupied by friends.  Before the construction was complete they started to garden in the parking strip with low water-use plants after removing the thirsty grass that was there—utilizing the City of Ashland’s Lawn Replacement Program.  They have in all a third of an acre in the heart of the railroad district.September 2020 photo by Larry Rosengren

In 2017 they installed a deer fence and started in earnest planting what was essentially a blank slate with nothing but three trees inside the fence.   They started by adding favorite shade and fruit trees.  Then added roses with sentimental attachment such as Jacob’s Coat, Mr. Lincoln, and Double Delight.  Since then they’ve been given Lady Banks and Cecile Bruner roses that they also love, as well as many other plants that generous gardeners shared.September 2020 photo by Larry Rosengren

They plant to encourage birds and insect pollinators.  Sunflowers abound in season, growing up to 7’ tall in berms and 2’ tall in the flats that still have much gravel from days it was the church parking lot.  Raised beds now support edibles.September 2020 photo by Larry Rosengren

They’ve had success with kiwis, Japanese maples, a smoke tree, trident maple, lots of berries and apples as well as many natives.  Cory says that California poppies are their “cover crop” but that she would like to try a wildflower variety in the future.  She calls it a “survival of the fittest” garden:  When something works, they plant more; if it doesn’t, they try something else.Spring 2020 photo by Cory Ross

Both Cory and Greg average several hours per week working in the yard.  They have occasional help with major digging projects and seasonal cleanup.  They find the work peaceful and relaxing.  Here’s a link to a gorgeous video they produced for the virtual pollinator garden tour this year:  https://youtu.be/qALT2GMi8Rg.  Looking at it now, it’s hard to recognize that this garden has been here such a short time.September 2020 photo by LarryRosengren

Spring 2020 photo by Cory Ross

With thanks to Kristina LeFever for the nudge.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, Garden of the Month Coordinator

July 2020: Garden of the Month

Posted on by

139 N. 2nd Street, Ashland, OR

Local artist and educator Judith Ginsburg developed and maintains the lovely garden at 139 N. 2nd Street which has been selected as the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for July 2020.  The property was purchased as a rental in 1988 and completely remodeled in 1996.   The existing garage was converted to Ginsburg’s artist studio in 2001.  Although living elsewhere in Ashland, she comes to the studio most days and has done the regular maintenance in the garden since then.  She is currently planning a move into the front cottage.

In the 1990s, Judith had Landscape Architect Steve Potter create a plan for the garden.  Much of the hardscape remains from that plan, but only a few plants.  In 2016, Solid Ground Landscape redesigned the front yard, and in 2018, they did the back, always accommodating Judith’s preferences for plants and color.  Since then, she has personally added to and subtracted from the plan.  Solid Ground workers come twice a month to do standard maintenance.  Ginsburg averages about an hour a day on garden care.  It is truly an artist’s garden.

There is a gorgeous fountain, the sound of which does its’ best to mask the noise from the Post Office, the back of which is across the alley from the studio.  To encourage birds, there are many bird baths and bird feeders.  There are a lot of places to sit and relax throughout the back and a raised bed for veggies in the side yard.

On the back fence, there is a thriving climbing hydrangea, which is notoriously difficult to establish.  There is a large and healthy wisteria shading the back porch and an old but still glorious lilac in the parking strip.  Several Hypercium inodorum are stellar additions to the front garden.  Ginsburg often has passersby ask or leave notes asking for identification of those plants.  They are a shrub (a relative of St. John’s Wort—a common groundcover with yellow flowers) that has berries that range from white through pink and orange to red.  Among Judith’s favorite plants are peonies, hellebores, and tulips.

There is a little bit of everything here and well worth strolling by.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, Ashland Garden Club

Photos by Larry Rosengren

Garden of the Month: June 2020

Posted on by

Near Hunter Park

There is a spectacular garden near Hunter Park that is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for June.  The residents have lived there for 40 years, and had done smaller renovations in the past.

The owners re-landscaped about three years ago after they incorporated the back of another property nearby.  The property boundary was legally redrawn at that time.  The result is a very large garden, especially for the neighborhood.

Laurie Sager, Solid Ground Landscaping, and Tim Ferguson did the work in 2017.  The workmanship throughout the property is exquisite:  The metal and wood work of fencing and gates, the concrete retaining walls, and the gorgeous stone walkways and patios are impeccable.  The deep red color of the metal is unexpected and just right.

An unusual feature is a geometric pattern of concrete pavers beneath a Japanese maple tree surrounded by “Brass Buttons” ground cover.  A charming blue star creeper surrounds stone pavers in the front.

A large Liriodendron (tulip tree) dominates the front yard and a Douglas fir shades portions of the back.  Most of the mature rhododendrons are holdovers from earlier gardens here.  Ornamental grasses are placed judiciously, particularly in front.  Peonies are featured in front and back.  A wonderfully diverse selection of plants are perfectly placed throughout the yard.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Member

Photos by: Larry Rosengren.

May 2020: Garden of the Month

Posted on by

720 Forest Street

The wonderful garden at 720 Forest St. is a labor of love for homeowners Vicky Sturtevant and Alan Armstrong and is The Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for May. They have deftly combined edibles with ornamentals in this space they have gardened since 1983.

It is a heavily shaded lot, particularly the upper, forested quarter-acre parcel that they purchased separately. In all, they have a half-acre that they manage beautifully. The hardscape was designed by Covey-Pardee Landscape Architects in 2009. Eric Cislo welded the gates and Ted Loftus constructed the stone walls. The deer are kept out.

The couple enjoys being outside and are inveterate hikers, so they also love gardening. They devote a lot of time to it and it shows. Nothing is neglected. They follow the sun throughout the yard and throughout the year.

Grandparents of both instilled in them a love of plants and a tradition of gardening. Alan’s grandparents were farmers. Vicky’s had a large lot and grew all kinds of things, especially roses. There is a vigorous peony in the yard that came from Vicky’s grandparents. She speaks fondly of how much certain plants remind us of certain people. Happily, their adult son loves gardening, too.

Both Alan and Vicky are very knowledgeable about plants and have noticed that plants native to the Pacific Northwest, in which they have specialized, are beginning to struggle to survive and that now plants native to Northern California are more likely to thrive in Ashland. So it is to them they are turning their attention.

Visitors who walk or drive by will notice the great diversity of plant life in this garden. Among favorites of the couple are species rhododendrons (includes azaleas), Penstemons, Salvia, Agastache, and Marionberry. In May, dogwood, lilac, and rhododendrons make a stunning display.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Committee Chair

Photos by: Larry Rosengren