Seeds to direct Sow in mid to late March: Peas, radishes, spinach, lettuce, kale, arugula, chard, carrots, beets, and parsnips. Also Plant: Onion sets, and perennial roots like asparagus, artichokes, and rhubarb.
Seeds to start indoors for May Transplanting:
Tomatoes & Peppers:Essential to start NOW for transplanting in mid-to-late May.
Brassicas:Broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.
Herbs:Basil, parsley and cilantro
Other vegetables :Celery, eggplants, and leeks
Potatoes:Buy seed potatoes, sprout (“chit”) them in a cool, dark place, then plant.
Fruit & Berry Crops
Planting:March is ideal for planting fruit trees, strawberries, and cane-berries (raspberries and blackberries).
Pruning:Finish pruning fruit trees (apples, pears, cherries, peaches) before buds swell.
Fertilizing:Feed raspberries and blueberries with organic, acidic fertilizer.
Flower Beds & Landscaping
Clean & Mulch:Clear away dead foliage, apply compost, and mulch beds to suppress weeds.
Divide Perennials:Divide and transplant summer-blooming perennials.
Bulbs:Plant dahlia, lily, and gladiola tubers.
Pruning:Prune winter-flowering shrubs after they bloom and ornamental grasses.
Maintenance & Pests
Slug Control:Actively monitor and manage slugs using baits like Sluggo or traps, as they love new spring growth.
Soil Care:Avoid walking on or tilling heavy, wet, or saturated soil to prevent compaction.
Fertilizing:Apply fertilizer to evergreen shrubs (rhododendrons, azaleas) and roses.
Lawns:Sharpen mower blades and set the mower height to 1.5–2.5 inches. Apply Lime to increase alkalinity, boost nutrient uptake. Treat lawn for moss with ferrous sulfate (iron sulfate).
Sacred Datura, planted from seed. Flowers open in a half hour window from bud stage to full bloom at dusk, they have a heavenly aroma and last for a day.
The amaranth, also started from seed, have tassels that are growing fast and getting longer every day. Amaranth is a great plant to let go to seed for wintering birds.
Canna lilies are putting on new shoots.
The Zinnia patch in doing well with some new Benary’s Giant varieties.
To the casual observer, someone driving past perhaps, the garden at 1044 Park Street might appear unkempt, even neglected. But upon closer inspection, more details emerge and the neighbor out for an evening stroll might pause to reflect and begin to appreciate how successful the owner, Denise Crosby , was in achieving her landscape objectives.
No mow Eco Grass vibrant after the winter rains. Photo by Louis Desprez
The reader may remember the familiar term of Xeriscape landscaping introduced in the early ‘80s when the Denver Water District promoted water conservation in their city. Handsome groupings of native and drought tolerant plants, drip irrigation and dry creek beds became popular features of many gardens. Over the past several decades climate warming has reinforced these principles and more recently our community has added pollinator friendly and deer resistant plants, defensible space, and fire-wise to the vocabulary.
When Denise purchased her new home three years ago, she wanted to leave behind the boxwood borders and expansive lawn of her large corner property and lean into the ancient Japanese philosophy and aesthetic of wabi-sabi that imphasizes finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the natural cycle of growth and decay. She also appreciated that Ashland was a mountain town, nestled in a bowl surrounded by forests and rolling hills and wanted her new-found residence to reflect these attributes.
Denise considers herself very fortunate in connecting with a landscaper who appreciated these same values and her conversations with Louis Desprez of Castle Landscape & Design led to a design that she quickly approved. It is minimalist in nature, encompassing drought tolerant grasses, specimen trees and colorful ground cover enhanced with an artful composition including a rusted iron water feature and cedar screen. The hardscape materials are rich in texture and color.
Water feature designed by Mike Kline, fabricated by Denny DeBay, Ashland Forge, Cedar screen crafted by Louis Desprez Photo by Elizabeth Essex
The existing sod lawn was replaced with Eco Grass to soften the harsh reality of a wide street and driveway. This dense, low growing, deep rooted, no mow grass reflects the changing seasons we so love in our surrounding hillsides. A soft breeze creates a living palette of greens, turning to golden, then to blonde. A cluster of ornamental grasses (‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass and Tufted Hairgrass) add screening to a small rise adjacent to a seating area. The blossoms of a Flowering Cherry announce that spring has arrived and a Lace Leaf Japanese Maple greets guests by the entry walk. A Japanese Black Pine anchors the intersection where the driveway meets Park Street. Creeping Phlox and Veronica add splashes of color during the seasons.
Mid-season transition Photo by Elizabeth Essex
It’s impossible to arrive at the front door without admiring the geometry of the walkways. Note the rhythm of bordo block embedded in the decomposed granite chosen to replace the traditional public sidewalk. The colored, stamped concrete of the primary walk is banded on either side with squares of concrete pavers alternating with planting pockets filled with Crocosmia and multi-hued Mexi Pebble Mix. A shorter, softly curved path of crushed Blue Ridge gravel edged with the same bordo block leads from the driveway to the door. In spring the visitor is greeted with the scent of Lilac; in summer, it is aromatic Calamintha. Various boulders of local heritage are included to add authenticity to this landscape, reminiscent of an alpine meadow, complete with scree.
Hummingbirds are attracted to the bright blooms of Crocosmia. Photo by Elizabeth Essex
Ultimately garden design is a subjective art, very much dependent on the viewer’s interpretation of harmony and balance, scale and proportion. The viewer may have developed a critical eye but the design will not resonate unless it is compatible with one’s true self. As introduced above, wabi-sabi is a philosophy that encourages a more mindful and accepting approach to life, embracing the present moment and finding beauty in the everyday. Altogether, this front garden at 1044 Park Street reflects the philosophy of the owner, Denise Crosby. Beauty truly can be found in the eye of the beholder,
Denise Crosby and Louis Desprez Photo by Elizabeth Essex
Article by Elizabeth Essex, AGC Garden of the Month Coordinator
The Ashland Garden Club has been selecting Gardens of the Month, from April through September, since 2000. Nominations are gratefully received at aogardenclub@gmail.com
At dawn the gardens at 837 Glendower lie in serene splendor, the curved pathways empty. But soon daybreak will bring the first ray of sunshine illuminating a water droplet suspended on a spider web, a petal unfurling in the warmth, a butterfly weaving between the flowers, a bumblebee tumbling in the pollen, a tabby strutting down the path. A virtual metropolis of activity.
Watch for Neena’s fluffy canine peering through the window keeping an eye out for deer. Photo by Elizabeth Essex1
It’s hard to imagine but when Neena Barreto purchased the property in 2021 the ground was choked with crab grass and a single row of maples bordered the street. Due to their invasive root system and because their limbs encroached upon the power lines, Neena decided to have them removed by the City providing her with multiple opportunities for garden design.
Slowly a vision took shape and berms were created sheltering the residence from street traffic and adding privacy for the small patio where hot chai might be served on a cool morning. Pathways wind their way through the beds and around the corner to include the side yard bordering Tudor Street. Large flat-topped boulders were thoughtfully sited to take advantage of their view lines. At sunset Neena enjoys a view of Mount Ashland.
The maples were replaced with trees of a smaller stature including dwarf, slow growing Bosnian Pine (Pinus leucodermis) and Weeping Norway Spruce (Picea abies ‘pendula’) which anchor the raised beds. These are interspersed with Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica). A pair of Japanese Maples mark the front entry and Sawtooth Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) stand on either side of the driveway. These deciduous selections ensure a spectacular display of fall color.
The Persian Parrotia’s intriguing form offers fabulous foliage from spring through fall. Photo by Elizabeth Essex
Neena had moved to Oregon in 2019 with virtually no plant background but as a hiker she started paying attention to what grew and thrived here. Manzanita had always been one of her favorites. She already knew that her goal was to incorporate as many native, fire-wise and low maintenance plants as possible. Hence it was only natural for Neena to seek out Plant Oregon. Working with David Bish and Jenny Black, Neena expanded her plant selection to include specimens that provided year-round nectar and pollen for butterflies, moths, bees, wasps and hummingbirds. She was also advised to have a range of flower colors, shapes and sizes.
Broad-leafed evergreen shrubs include Neena’s favorite Manzanita together with Mahonia and Garrya (both Coastal and Fremonts). A fig tree, flannel bush (Fremontodendron californicaum), a butterfly bush (Buddleia spp.) and a stunning Blue Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) are deciduous accents. Evergreen ground cover including Creeping Rosemary (Rosmarinus prostratus), Nandina, and Heather (Erica ‘King George) and several ornamental grasses are set out throughout the raised beds ensuring visual interest after the perennials have been pruned back for the winter.
Blue Elderberry showcases creamy white flowers in the spring and blue black berries in the fall.
On a recent visit it was evident from the industrious activity of butterflies and bees that the variety of perennials planted was to their liking! Purple and red salvias, blue rosemary, penstemon and calamintha, yellow Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum), orange and lavender hyssop (Agastache aurantiaca), California fuchsia (Zauschneria or Epilobium canum) all provide a virtual feast for pollinators on their journey. Their thirst satiated by a sip from a glass water dish.
Multiple Weeping Norway Spruce are featured in the garden. Photo by Elizabeth Essex
Altogether, the placement of trees, shrubs and perennials creates a pleasing rhythm of textures, colors and shapes. Even more significant perhaps is that already three generations have become integral to this story. Both Neena’s parents have added items of interest to the landscape and graduation pictures with her three sons were recently taken with the garden as a backdrop. Neena says that creating and maintaining her garden has brought her new found joy. It is a natural expression of who she is and her love of the natural world is evident for any passerby to enjoy.
Neena and her father enjoy a time-out together in the garden. Photo by Antonio Barreto
Those seeking out the July 2025 Garden of the Month are encouraged to drive a little further down Glendower to the trailhead leading to the Ashland Pond where an extensive restoration project took place following the Almeda Fire in 2020. Native and riparian plant material was contributed by many local organizations, including Ashland Garden Club, and planted by Lomakatsi’s crew and inter-tribal workforce through a contract with The Freshwater Trust.
The Ashland Garden Club has been selecting Gardens of the Month from April through September since 2000. Nominations are gratefully received at aogardenclub@gmail.com. Check out the club’s website at ashlandorgardenclub.org for information on meeting times and places.
From SOU News: “The Buzzway map helps visualize pollinator habitat connectivity – a vital element in helping native pollinators such as butterflies, bees and moths to navigate the urban landscape. The map also encourages people to create new gardens by showing areas with no certified pollinator habitat, and shares stories about how existing gardens were created.”
No mow Eco Grass vibrant after the winter rains. Photo by Louis Desprez
