Janie’s roses are lasting through the heat!
Photos and roses by: Janie Burcart, AGC Member
Roses in Ashland
Tag Archives: Rogue Valley Gardens
Today in the Garden
Member Goly Ostovar shares her summer flowers.
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.
Canna lilies are putting on new shoots.
Daffodils Galore!
AGC President, Carol Walker’s front yard is a profusion of color.
Did you know daffodils are deer proof?
You can see this flower display at the corner of Liberty Street and Holly Street during April.
AGC Garden of the Month: April 2025
Garden of the Month: 825 Creek Stone Way
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.
Mapping Pollinator Corridors in Southern Oregon
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.”
Garden of the Month: September 2024
2025 Green Meadows Way, Ashland Oregon
Miriam Weissberg’s creativity and love of color shows throughout her garden at 2025 Green Meadows Way. This is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for September 2024.
When Miriam and her late husband Rob first moved to the property in 2018, the front yard was mostly grass and the back yard was dominated by blank space for an above-ground pool that the previous owner removed. Miriam and Rob planned and gardened together until he passed away in 2023. Now Miriam does all the designing and fine-tuning in the garden.
Carlos and Pam Maya do much of the routine maintenance and larger projects. Miriam estimates that among herself, Carlos and Pam, they spend an average of about 18 hours per month on the garden.
Although she has access to TID water, she doesn’t use it very much because she didn’t want to design a landscape that would be reliant on water that is available such a small fraction of the year. She figures that, with added hardscape and drought tolerant plants, she uses less water than was the case when they moved in. The zoned irrigation system employs about two-thirds drip lines.
Miriam’s advice to other gardeners is to try different things and see what works best given the many factors in your garden. Also, to encourage maximum blooming, keep your plants well pruned.
Among her favorite plants are verbena and roses. In the recent past, she has planted many annuals, including beloved zinnias, to add color with the knowledge that her choices don’t require much water. This year, she didn’t have time to plant her usual annuals but the garden is still lovely.
Article by Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month
With thanks to Marilyn Love for bringing this garden to my attention.