Tag Archives: Southern Oregon Gardens

Garden of the Month: May 2021

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The Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for May is Sue and Tim Cate’s at 471 Parkside Drive.  As the neighbor who nominated the garden wrote, “It shows nicely from the street, but when looked at more closely the artistry of ground cover is evident, as is the balance.  Without symmetry yet with plant forms and different species, there is a very graceful balance to the whole place. “

The Cates had their home built in 1995.  They developed the garden themselves, beginning shortly after the house was completed.  While Sue contributes ideas, Tim does all the work, spending four to five hours a week on average.  He suggests that every gardener should maintain a garden diary for at least one year, to remind themselves what chores need to be done and when it is best to add new plantings.  From his garden diary, Tim was able to create a comprehensive list of when each plant is at its peak.  They have constructed arbors to create outdoor rooms and provide shade as well as trellises for trumpet vine, akebia, and honeysuckle.

Among Sue’s favorite plants is the crabapple tree, which she especially likes when the blooms are at the bud stage as they are now.    Both Cates love the mature redbud that dominates the front yard and was recently pruned.

With thanks to Myrl Bishop for the suggestion.

Article by: Ruth Sloan

Photos by Larry Rosengren

Garden of the Month: April 2021

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198 N. Wightman Street

As most Garden Club members know, their gardens are not eligible to be AGC Garden of the Month. This is an exception.  Carolyn Gale was invited to be April Garden of the month in 2020, before she had even considered joining. She declined for 2020, but said she would be willing for April of 2021. In the interim, she joined the Club!

When Carolyn Gale bought the house at 198 N. Wightman Street in the summer of 2014, the yard had been neglected. After spending the first year remodeling the interior, she has turned the property into a colorful and interesting site. Now her garden is the April Garden of the Month for the Ashland Garden Club.

Such is Carolyn’s attention to detail that she painted the exterior of the house to match the branches of a stunning magnolia that stars in the garden in April. She planned very carefully to assure that plants are in bloom twelve months of the year, using the book The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden:  A Blueprint for Continuous Color as her guide. She spent nearly a year developing a comprehensive plan that features meandering pathways connecting the side and front gardens

Augustin Herrera and his crew installed the initial plants, irrigation system, and hardscape according to Carolyn’s thoughtful plan, and continue to do the heavy-lifting and some routine maintenance. But Carolyn spends a lot of time maintaining and improving her garden and it shows.

Plants that are not deer-resistant are confined to the fenced back yard. The back was also designed to accommodate her dog who likes to dig and eat green things. She devised clever ways of protecting her plants, such as elevating potted plants on shelves. She has had to resort to pots in some places in the front yard where tree roots interfered with the development of smaller plants.

Among Carolyn’s favorite plants are rhododendrons, heathers, camellias, hellebores, and irises. She planted 500 bulbs just last year. If you look carefully, you will see rainbow patterns and themed planting beds in the landscape, such as a recently added succulent garden with a seaside theme. This is a garden to revisit throughout the year to see the ever-changing display.

Photos by Carolyn Gale, except the photo of the new succulent garden which is by Larry Rosengren.  Some of the pictures here are from previous years and months other than April.

Report by Ruth Sloan, AGC Member/GOM Chairperson

2020 Fall Colors

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  • Japanese Maple
  • @Mill Pond
  • Japanese Maple
  • Flowering Cherry
  • Raywood Ash & Maple
  • Sunset Maple
  • @Lithia Park – Japanese Garden
2020 Fall Colors in Ashland Oregon

Photos by AGC Members :

Barbara Bauer, Carlotta Lucas, Linda Thomas, Viki Ashford, Donna Rhee,

July 2020: Garden of the Month

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139 N. 2nd Street, Ashland, OR

Local artist and educator Judith Ginsburg developed and maintains the lovely garden at 139 N. 2nd Street which has been selected as the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for July 2020.  The property was purchased as a rental in 1988 and completely remodeled in 1996.   The existing garage was converted to Ginsburg’s artist studio in 2001.  Although living elsewhere in Ashland, she comes to the studio most days and has done the regular maintenance in the garden since then.  She is currently planning a move into the front cottage.

In the 1990s, Judith had Landscape Architect Steve Potter create a plan for the garden.  Much of the hardscape remains from that plan, but only a few plants.  In 2016, Solid Ground Landscape redesigned the front yard, and in 2018, they did the back, always accommodating Judith’s preferences for plants and color.  Since then, she has personally added to and subtracted from the plan.  Solid Ground workers come twice a month to do standard maintenance.  Ginsburg averages about an hour a day on garden care.  It is truly an artist’s garden.

There is a gorgeous fountain, the sound of which does its’ best to mask the noise from the Post Office, the back of which is across the alley from the studio.  To encourage birds, there are many bird baths and bird feeders.  There are a lot of places to sit and relax throughout the back and a raised bed for veggies in the side yard.

On the back fence, there is a thriving climbing hydrangea, which is notoriously difficult to establish.  There is a large and healthy wisteria shading the back porch and an old but still glorious lilac in the parking strip.  Several Hypercium inodorum are stellar additions to the front garden.  Ginsburg often has passersby ask or leave notes asking for identification of those plants.  They are a shrub (a relative of St. John’s Wort—a common groundcover with yellow flowers) that has berries that range from white through pink and orange to red.  Among Judith’s favorite plants are peonies, hellebores, and tulips.

There is a little bit of everything here and well worth strolling by.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, Ashland Garden Club

Photos by Larry Rosengren

Garden of the Month: June 2020

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Near Hunter Park

There is a spectacular garden near Hunter Park that is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for June.  The residents have lived there for 40 years, and had done smaller renovations in the past.

The owners re-landscaped about three years ago after they incorporated the back of another property nearby.  The property boundary was legally redrawn at that time.  The result is a very large garden, especially for the neighborhood.

Laurie Sager, Solid Ground Landscaping, and Tim Ferguson did the work in 2017.  The workmanship throughout the property is exquisite:  The metal and wood work of fencing and gates, the concrete retaining walls, and the gorgeous stone walkways and patios are impeccable.  The deep red color of the metal is unexpected and just right.

An unusual feature is a geometric pattern of concrete pavers beneath a Japanese maple tree surrounded by “Brass Buttons” ground cover.  A charming blue star creeper surrounds stone pavers in the front.

A large Liriodendron (tulip tree) dominates the front yard and a Douglas fir shades portions of the back.  Most of the mature rhododendrons are holdovers from earlier gardens here.  Ornamental grasses are placed judiciously, particularly in front.  Peonies are featured in front and back.  A wonderfully diverse selection of plants are perfectly placed throughout the yard.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Member

Photos by: Larry Rosengren.

May 2020: Garden of the Month

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720 Forest Street

The wonderful garden at 720 Forest St. is a labor of love for homeowners Vicky Sturtevant and Alan Armstrong and is The Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for May. They have deftly combined edibles with ornamentals in this space they have gardened since 1983.

It is a heavily shaded lot, particularly the upper, forested quarter-acre parcel that they purchased separately. In all, they have a half-acre that they manage beautifully. The hardscape was designed by Covey-Pardee Landscape Architects in 2009. Eric Cislo welded the gates and Ted Loftus constructed the stone walls. The deer are kept out.

The couple enjoys being outside and are inveterate hikers, so they also love gardening. They devote a lot of time to it and it shows. Nothing is neglected. They follow the sun throughout the yard and throughout the year.

Grandparents of both instilled in them a love of plants and a tradition of gardening. Alan’s grandparents were farmers. Vicky’s had a large lot and grew all kinds of things, especially roses. There is a vigorous peony in the yard that came from Vicky’s grandparents. She speaks fondly of how much certain plants remind us of certain people. Happily, their adult son loves gardening, too.

Both Alan and Vicky are very knowledgeable about plants and have noticed that plants native to the Pacific Northwest, in which they have specialized, are beginning to struggle to survive and that now plants native to Northern California are more likely to thrive in Ashland. So it is to them they are turning their attention.

Visitors who walk or drive by will notice the great diversity of plant life in this garden. Among favorites of the couple are species rhododendrons (includes azaleas), Penstemons, Salvia, Agastache, and Marionberry. In May, dogwood, lilac, and rhododendrons make a stunning display.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Committee Chair

Photos by: Larry Rosengren