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- Rosaceae Hulthemia: Raspberry Kiss
AGC member Carlotta Lucas’ garden.
Tag Archives: Gardens of the World
Garden of the Month: May 2017
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.
Garden of the Month: April 2017
Garden on the Month: 310 Kent Street
April may not be the very best month for the garden at 310 Kent St., but it’s still remarkably good and, more importantly, it is the last full month in the care of homeowner/gardener Cyd Smith who has sold the property and plans to relocate to Seattle. Realtor Pattie Millen attributes the very quick sale of the home (four days) to the beautiful yard.
Smith has been gardening here since 2009 and, with the initial help of garden designer Jane Hardgrove, has transformed the landscape from bare to luscious. At the height of the growing season, Cyd has spent eight hours per week working in the yard, on average.
The pretty front yard is anchored by a picket fence and arbor. The latter features a trumpet vine in season. Two redbud trees flank the path leading to the front door. Four varieties of euphorbia, along with several sedum and thyme, weave throughout the yard. Barberry, spirea, privet, honeysuckle, daphne, irises, and gaura are among the many plants that create such an inviting entrance.
There are 25 to 30 roses in both the front and back. Fair Bianca is one of Smith’s favorites. Peonies also abound.
The back of the irregularly-shaped nearly quarter-acre property has a large section, or “room,” defined by a lush photinia hedge, with raised beds for vegetables. Also in back, there are apple, cherry, fig, and pear trees. The largest tree on the property is a golden locust. A Japanese maple frames the view to the back through the study window. Favorite plants include oakleaf hydrangea, black-lace elderberry, and gold-thread cypress.
Smith, a professional musician, thoroughly enjoys the many benefits of gardening and hopes to create an equally relaxing retreat at her new home.
Article By: Ruth Sloan
~Photos throughout the year by Larry Rosengren and Cyd Smith
Horticulture Report: Wall Germander
Plant Name: Teucrium chamaedrys
Common Name: Wall Germander
Plant type: Broadleaf Evergreen
Height: 1 foot
Spread: 1-2 feet
Bloom Time: July
Flower Color: Rosy lavender to pinkish purple
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well drained soil
Water Needs: Dry to Medium
Attributes: Showy Fragrant Flower, Winter Interest, Drought Tolerate, Deer Resistant
Note: Shrubby, woody-base, clump forming, attractive dark shiny leaves.
Uses: Edging, Mass plantings for groundcover, Old world knots and herbal gardens.
USDA Zone: 5-9
Horticulture Report: Angel’s Blush Hydrangea
Plant Name: Hydrangea paniculata
Cultivar: Angel’s Blush® Hydrangea
Plant type: Deciduous shrub
Height: 8 to 12 ft. tall, 6 to 10 ft. wide
Bloom Time: Summer into Fall
Flower Color: 10 inch-long white flower clusters begin in summer, then turn rosy-red as they age in late summer into fall.
Exposure: Part sun /dappled shade
Soil Requirements: No particular to soil or pH needed.
Highly tolerant of urban pollution.
Water Needs: Moist
Attributes: Long-lasting flowers, Showy colors
Uses: Urban Garden, Woodland Garden, Garden Accent, Container, Cut Garden, Hedge, Mass Planting,
USDA Zone: 4-8
Submitted by: Carlotta Lucas
Garden of the Month: September 2016
Garden of the Month: 448 Clinton Street
Carolyn and Donald Hunsaker purchased their house at 448 Clinton Stre
et five years ago and immediately set about reworking the small garden spaces. Two years ago, they were among the first to take advantage of the City of Ashland’s lawn replacement program. Throughout the process of developing the wonderful garden that they have today, they have had assistance from Regenesis Ecological Design of Ashland.
Most recently theirs was designated an official Pollinator Garden by Bee City USA of Ashland, and they have a pretty, new sign to prove it. The Hunsakers commissioned Nick David of Jefferson Woodwright to make a very nice frame for the sign, to coordinate with the craftsman architecture of their home. They have colorful Monarch caterpillars in residence, happily munching on various kinds of milkweed that they introduced to a side yard. Carolyn and Don, together, spend about five hours a week maintaining this beautiful garden.
This is a modest-size garden, with a front of 800 square feet, side yards of about 250 square feet each, and natural areas off the alley adding about 200 square feet more, but they have capitalized on the efficient use of space, with plants on trellises for height that also provide privacy. On one side, the garden opens out to reveal an inviting patio, just off the kitchen, complete with a refreshing water feature. On the other side, outdoor rooms were created with arbors and a variety of vines, including star jasmine and honeysuckle. On this side, a garden shed has a living roof, comprised of sedum, small primroses, bitterroot, and other small plants. A tiny solar panel provides power for the light inside the shed.
In front, the sword ferns, azaleas, and rhododendrons close to the front porch plus a pink dogwood on the left are pretty much all that remains of the landscape as it existed when they bought the place. They have added a paperbark maple as well as heathers, yarrow, blue fescue, and other low-growing plants to replace the front lawn. Creeping thyme fills in the between the stepping-stones. Kinnikinnick fills the parking strip, since parking is not permitted on their side of the street. All the low plants in front are deer resistant.
Near the patio in back, there is a concrete raised bed that has primarily edible plants such as cucumber, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers, with mint, basil, rosemary, and marigolds to discourage unwelcome creatures. Larger, non-edible plants in this area include a Japanese maple, buddleja, anemone, Sochi Tea camellia, and euphorbia.
Throughout the garden, there are many roses, mostly climbers, including Portlandia, Westerland, Polka, Gold Badge, Night Light, Golden Gate, Abraham Darby, Joseph’s Coat, and Royal Pageant (Carolyn’s favorite).
This is a delightful garden full of pleasant surprises.
Submitted by:
Ruth Sloan