Ashland Garden Club hosted the Siskiyou District spring meeting yesterday and it was a success!
Kudos to Jeanne Aargo, Viki Ashford, Carlotta Lucas, Gena Goddard, Joanie Kitchener, Melody Jones, Darlene, Fenwick, Marilyn love and Susan Zane for all their hard work towards making this event a wonderful gathering for the six garden clubs in the district.
AGC President Susan Zane
Before the Crowd Arrives
Floor Arrangement
Photo Contest
Country Store
Karen McClintock says she’s lucky her husband, Mick Smith,never saw a 
weed he wouldn’t stop to pull out. Indeed! Mick also plants and prunes, and last year brought a photinia hedge back to good health from disease. Their garden at 2790 Diane Street to the left of the walkway reflects the hard work they both put into it. Right now the Spring blooms and colors are spectacular.
They purchased the house eight years ago. The previous owner did the bulk of the hardscape and some of the basic planting. Karen and Mick, without any formal training, frequently add and rearrange. 
This fall Karen moved all of the iris around to mix, rather than bunch, the colors, and she’s eager to see what emerges in the next few weeks. They get occasional help (quarterly) from a handyman gardener for the biggest jobs such as pruning the grape vines that fill the side yard. Among the challenges of gardening on
this property are deer, of course, a street light lamp post and three (count ‘em!) utility boxes in the front garden. They use bone meal to discourage deer and it also fertilizes the tulips. To keep everything green they use organic fertilizers sparely. In the fall they purchased and covered the front garden with wonderful organic mulch from Plant Oregon. In front of the house, in addition to the tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinth currently putting on a show, are Japanese maple, forsythia (the one to the left of the driveway is currently at the peak of its color, the one to the right of the driveway has gone from yellow to green leaves), manzanita, bayberry, variegated pittosporum, blue fescue, shasta daisies, euphorbia, rosemary, oregano, and sedum.
In the back yard a small garden provides privacy and beauty. It includes a crepe myrtle tree, roses, lilac, lavender, huge red oriental poppies, sweet woodruff, lupine, strawberries, wall flower, azalea, nandina, day lilies, foxglove, and hellebore. They use oyster shells in back to thwart snails–with limited success. Along the back wall of the property a lovely backdrop of photinia provides the frame for this picture perfect garden.
The first major change was to move the driveway to the far right of the front yard from its former location closer to the house and entry way. This gave a much broader area to reconstruct the garden. The entrance to the garage, which originally faced the street, was reoriented to create a turnaround at the end of the new driveway. Broken concrete pieces from the driveway were used to form walkways leading to the entry and around the house to the garage.
One challenge with the design involved mitigating a seepage problem located at the right rear of the front yard. This was done by lowering the grade to create a gravel and rock lined dry creekbed, directing water through the front yard to a gated front vegetable garden. As you will see, it is this creekbed that is beautifully lined with boulders and various tall grasses. Winding back through these grasses one can find a Triflora maple, Zelkova and palm along with lila
c and wild currant.
Original rhubarb, quince and raspberries were kept and moved to various locations throughout the property. Blueberries, Asian pear, persimmon and other fruit trees share the backyard with many of the original camellias.
The homeowners have been serious about their gardens for 15 of the 17 years they have been in the house. Initially, they had design and installation help in the back garden from Carol’s Colors. In 2003 they met landscape designer Sharon Creek Siewert, whose practical and creative design ideas have transformed both the front and back. Sharon ’s husband, Steve Siewert, also offers a variety of horticultural services. Dubbed the “Tree Whisperer,” he saved the blue spruce in the front yard after it was blown over in a windstorm–among other significant contributions. Kai Van Aken oversees garden management and weekly maintenance.
cypress, deodar cedars, and a giant sequoia, all of which are thriving, in a back area they call “the woods.” Also in the back garden adjacent to the wood deck is a charming corner known as the Japanese garden with specimen rocks, a tiny stone bridge, azalea, and lacy Japanese maple.
gaura, penstemon, and salvia. Other times of year, peonies, Dutch and Japanese iris, and lavender abound. A crepe myrtle is on the verge of bursting forth. When they moved in 17 years ago, the front garden was largely juniper.
In addition to the woods and Japanese garden in back, there is a lovely terraced area anchored by a large locust that shades the back deck and patio, plus dogwood, fig and apple trees. Also rhododendrons, more roses, fuchsias, rosemary, gladiolas, erigeron, crocosmia, barberry, hostas, yarrow, photinia, and many more beautiful plants. Annuals impatiens and snapdragons provide seasonal color.
As you walk along the Bear Creek Bike Path that goes between Walker Street and Normal Street, you will be intrigued by the cyclone fence that has many locks and keys attached to it. Further along there is a memorial made of shovels. Then you can peek into a lovely, serene and peaceful garden for meditation. Next, pass by a wooden fence covered in old snow skis. Now, if you are like me, you wonder who lives here?
Be sure to notice her personalized window boxes, many ceramic and clay masks, and the large mosaic on the back fence that has a story that Wendy will tell you about.
Her garden has many peonies, rhododendrons, wisteria and perennials such as Erysimum Bowle’s Mauve, alyssum and dahlias. Notice the planter barrels next to the house with cut metal vines and leaves. There is so much more for you to discover!
Wendy has been described by her daughter-in-law as “the most persistently creative person I have ever met. Creating for Wendy is like breathing for other people, and every inch of space reflects this.”
Wendy’s garden is a hidden treasure.
~Karen O’Rourke
*Wendy asked that we not put up our AGC sign honoring her garden.
Today, there’s no lawn, but there are 11 new trees (shantung maples and heritage birch, mugo pine, gingko, eucalyptus, yellowwood, perotia), shrubs (artemesia, lilac, elderberry, thimbleberry, smoke bush, cistus), flowers (helibore, peonies, wallflowers, gaura and gaillardia), many different ground covers, including mock strawberry, wild sunflowers, herbs, a small cactus garden, a small, deer-proof raised bed — even bonsai.
pavers and garden goddesses, a delightful water feature, bird bath, rocks from various trips around the West, driftwood sculptures accented by antique metal objects, a mini dry riverbed, and meandering pathways. The lawn was used as a medium for creating berms surrounding the dry creek. All this on a corner lot that’s just .15 acres.
trees that doubles as a dog run. The patio garden off the kitchen includes raised vegetable beds, canna lilies, large pots with abelia and jade, a maple tree, and various potted flowering plants.