Tag Archives: plants

Garden of the Month: July 2014

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At first glance, past the tastefully built fence, is a small front garden, struggling a bit as are all of our gardens at this time of year and in this weather. Many of the plants are drought resistant – lavender, rosemary, and ornamental grasses leading up to the front porch. The fence was originally built by the owners, Alan Steed and Jo Wayles. Later, probably as the deer multiplied, Dale Shostrom added an extension that looks like it has always been there.01-P1010141
The real treasure is the garden in the back of the home.
Originally a gravel driveway leading to the garage, the back was fenced off and the garden planning began. After a lovely remodel and addition, Ted Loftus, Landscaper, graded the area, adding terraced elevations, walls, walkways and an inviting private patio laid in a circular design – a trumpet creeper climbs above the bench.02_image[1] 2
Fruit trees, heavy with peaches, pears, plums and the first season of cherries, dot the garden. Blueberries and raspberries grow among a Japanese Maple, penstemon, dahlias and honeysuckle. And, much to my surprise, barely July and the earliest red ripe tomatoes I’ve ever seen. 
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In addition, from Leave Your Mark, a beautiful rock water feature stands at the top of the garden amid lilies and springtime tulips.
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Alan and Jo will open their garden for Ashland Garden Club members.
The date and time has been email to members.  Alan will be available to answer questions

05_P1010140by Kaaren Anderson

Garden of the Month: June 2014

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IMG_0151Pam Lucas works nearly every day in her beautiful garden at 420 Taylor Street and it shows! Her husband Sherm does some of the heavy work, but mostly this is Pam’s labor of love. They purchased the house in June of 2005, but Pam was still working then and didn’t have much time to devote to the yard. She did design and have constructed an interesting complex of decks, walkways, and arbors that look so good now with the garden she has established to replace the lawn, since retiring in 2008. Pam also designed the unusual deer fence. Interesting sculptures dot the property,IMG_1407 many of them metal art by Les and Diane Rasmussen of Steel My Art. Some are collaborations between the homeowner who found metal pieces and asked Diane to work with them, including a wonderful angel made from a bomb and other parts! There are actual headstones, purchased at a yard sale. Large boulders were brought in to add texture and background. The trees are tended by an arborist who visits every other year. Recently, they had the irrigation system improved by a professional.

In back, large Douglas firs create a backdrop and privacy with pin oak, English laurel and bamboo. In front, Japanese maples, thunder cloud plum, flowering cherry trees, and mountain ash provide a canopy. Pam has combined many ground covers to create a colorful and textured surface surrounding a river rock walkway to a deck. Gorgeous collections of artfully placed potted color adorn the decks.

IMG_0182Among the plants in pots are calibrachoa, bee balm, lobelia, mums, begonia, fuchsia and a rare oregano. A well-established wisteria climbs the arbor and provides shade for the largest deck. Trumpet vine and honeysuckle adorn the lattice that lines the driveway, with a little pyracantha to discourage deer nibbling. An incense cedar and yarrow thrive to the right of the driveway, but deer have feasted on most other things that Pam has tried there.

To the right of the front door is a specimenIMG_0189 yew. The front includes yucca, lavender, smoke tree, barberry, rosemary, daphne, sedum, mahonia, zebra and other grasses, gaura, manzanita, iris, lithodora, several kids of euphorbia, columbine, lupine, heuchera, crocosmia, agastache, eryngium (sea holly), spiderwort, Russian and other sages (including a wonderful blue flame sage), and many more ground covers

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Blue Flame Sage

It’s hard to believe that a retired accountant, not an artist, created this garden.

Submitted by:
Ruth Sloan

Ashland Pond Project – Helman School

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                   Thank you Ashland Garden Club
“Thank you so much for your generous donation to Helman School!!!”

WP_20140422_006“We have been using the binoculars down at the Pond.  They are highly effective and very user friendly.  Attached are some pictures of students using the binoculars to view birds in the bird houses that kindergarteners and 5th graders constructed together.  The bird houses were donated by the Siskiyou District Garden Club.WP_20140422_008

When classes went down to the Ashland Pond for our spring field trips the students were thrilled to see their bird houses hung on native trees.

The trWP_20140422_007ees are still waiting for the tree plaques, as we are constructing the wooden mounts.  We look forward to mounting those in the fall.

Thank you again for helping us grow our Pond Project.  We feel extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful community that supports the experiential learning that occurs in an outdoor classroom.”   Tia McLean WP_20140422_005

2014 – AGC Plant Sale

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IMG_5470The rain put a “damper” on our annual plant sale, but members and community members alike braved the rain to come out to buy plants and flowers. Sales were not as strong as they were in the past two years, but the Club managed to make enough to fund our SOU scholarship! Thank you to all those who participated.

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Garden of the Month: April 2014

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Karen McClintock says she’s lucky her husband, Mick Smith,never saw a Frontweed 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. front_0129This 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 onback_2 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.
back2_0138In 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.

5 W’s for Fertilizing

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                                                                    Article by Kelly Brainard, Owner Ashland Greenhouse

“There are always so many questions about fertilizing.  I would like to go over some of the basics, especially since early spring can be a key time for taking care of fertilizing needs. Always ask yourself:
The type of plant you are focusing on (perennials, annuals, vegetables, ect).
What type of fertilizer to use based on season and the plant(s) you’re fertilizing.
When do you apply fertilizer?  Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?
Where is the best place to apply fertilizers?  Topically or to the root zone?
Why is this necessary?  What are the benefits of fertilizing?

Since we could write a book on everything mentioned above let’s keep it brief and relevant to what we should focus on in early spring.  This is a great time of year to focus on perennials.  Most perennials prefer a well-balanced or all-purpose fertilizer (all three numbers on the packaging are identical, i.e. 3-3-3 or 16-16-16).  Perennials fed in early spring develop strong root systems which in turn produces larger, healthier plants.  Apply granular fertilizers to the soil around the root zone.

For annuals that are tough enough to be outside early and continue blooming throughout the summer, like petunias and verbena, apply well balanced or slightly higher nitrogen fertilizers. This gives them an extra boost, encouraging growth.  You can successfully use either a granular or foliar fertilizer.  Foliar fertilizers tend to react faster than granules since they are taken up by the plant through the leaves but need re-application more often.  For annuals I like to use granular fertilizer applications in the spring and start using weekly or biweekly applications of liquid fertilizer in the summer. Remember as a rule of thumb – ALWAYS apply fertilizers in the morning. It is less stressful for the plants.

Vegetables are a completely different beast when it comes to fertilizing.  There are numerous techniques when it comes to fertilizing your vegetables.  If it’s grown for leafy greens then apply fertilizers heavier in nitrogen. If it’s grown for the fruit apply fertilizers heavier in phosphorous.  Nitrogen promotes healthy, green foliage and too much of it can discourage fruit development while phosphorous promotes bud and flower growth which encourages more fruit.

When in doubt about fertilizing don’t hesitate to ask a fellow gardener. Some of the best advice is the advice that we share with each other!”

Source: http://AshlandGreenhouses_April2014Newsletter