Plant Name: Brodiaea coronaria Common name: Crown Brodiaea Plant type: Deciduous Perennial Herb Height: 10” – 24” Spread: 1’ Bloom Time: April – July Flower Color: Blue, Lavender, Purple Exposure: Full Sun Soil Requirements; Well-drained; Clay to Sandy Loam Water Needs: Low; Attributes: Attracts Butterflies; Nectar Source for Adult Butterflies; Bees & other Insect Pollinators Uses: Rock Garden; Meadowscapes Firewise: YES Native To: Western North America Oregon Native: YES USDA Hardiness Zone: 7a – 10a
Photo Credit: “Brodiaea coronaria” by davidbroadland is marked with CC0 1.0.
Oregon Native & Firewise Plant
Plant Name: Arbutus menziesii
Common name: Pacific madrone
Plant type: Broadleaf Evergreen Tree
Height: 20’ – 65’
Spread: 5’ – 25’
Bloom Time: Flowers in Spring; Berries in Fall
Flower Color: White
Exposure: Shade to Partial Shade; North Facing Slope
Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Soil Requirements: Fast to Medium Drainage; Tolerates Heavy Soil
Water Needs: Dry to Medium
Attributes: Peeling Bark; Red Berries; Robins, Starlings, Band-tailed Pigeons Feed on Berries; Supports Bats, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Moths; Host to Brown Elfin Butterfly; Nectar for Hummingbirds; Winter Interest; Drought Tolerant
Note: Slow Growing; Large Tree; Messy in the Garden due to Bark & Leaf Shedding; Pests are Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death), Madrone Canker, Aphids, Leaf Miners
Uses: Bank Stabilization; Hedge; Bird Gardens; Mixed Borders
Firewise: YES
Native to: Pacific Northwest & California
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 – 9
Plant Name: Asclepias fascicularis
Common name: Narrowleaf Milkweed
Plant type: Deciduous Flowering Perennial
Height: 3’
Spread: 8” – 10”
Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
Flower Color: Lavender, Pink, Greenish White
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Good Drainage; Dry to Moist Soil; Grows in Clay Soil
Water Needs: Low
Attributes: Attracts Monarch Butterflies; Host Caterpillars; Attracts Native Bees, Bumble Bees; Predatory Insects; Monarch Butterflies lay eggs & larvae feed & mature into chrysalis; Deer Resistant; Drought Tolerant
Note: Open Seed Pods spill Plentiful Silky Hairs; Somewhat Toxic; Spreads by Rhizomes
Uses: Native Gardens; Pollinator Gardens; Rock Gardens
Firewise: YES
Native to: Western United States
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6a – 10b
Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member
Photo Credit: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
At the end of a cul-de-sac in Mountain Meadows is a charming and whimsical garden. The sign out front says Donna’s garden, and in the Spring,it is full of flowers and the occasional bunny. Donna Ritchie moved to Ashland in 2000 with her husband Dean. Originally, their home was on the slope towards the North of town, but in 2012, after Dean’s death, Donna moved to her current home at 825 Creek Stone Way in the Mountain Meadows community.
Donna, a retired English teacher, has always loved “pretty things.” When she first moved in, the garden was quite bland, with just a few shrubs in the front. Over time, Donna, with Denise Moffat, her garden helper, has planted lots of colorful perennials and bulbs. Even after our major snowfall in February, the front garden in late February was full of color. Primroses, miniature daffodils, crocus and violas were blooming aside the path and in shiny blue pots near the front porch. One of the most interesting plants, a dwarf iris, is an early bloomer. These irises, called Iris reticulata, are dark purple, with designs on their falls.
Beside colorful flowering perennials, and lavenders that bloom later, Donna has added a collection of bunnies, which perch here and there in the garden and on the porch. Donna says these are “bunnies”, not rabbits, because rabbits are what folks eat! These charming bunnies range in size from as large as a small child to as small as a mouse. Folks coming by to view the flowers should see if they can find the smaller bunnies, hidden amongst the plants.
Donna’s garden is irrigated during the hot months by drip irrigation and micro sprays. Plants in pots need to be hand watered. Donna is grateful for the rain, and even the snow, which has kept her plants watered this Spring.
