The First United Methodist Church of Ashland, at 175 N. Main Street, is especially lovely at this time of year when the dogwood is in bloom.
The gardens surrounding the church are lovingly tended by church members, notably Brad Inman, Beth Hite, Toby Deller, and Evelyn Moore. Last year, we caught pictures of Brad Inman and Charlie Brown manicuring the boxwood hedges out front. Volunteers from the congregation attend work parties at the church the last Saturday of each month, tending the facilities inside and outside.
The sanctuary of the church was built in 1908, but when more modern structures were added in 2008, a formal landscape plan was formulated by John Galbraith and Byron Williams of Galbraith & Associates and implemented by Seth Barnard of Solid Ground Landscaping.
The front of the church features Japanese maples, rhododendrons, maple and magnolia trees, in addition to the boxwood and dogwood. A courtyard on the Laurel street side has a lawn for people to gather on, a low wall, many Japanese maples and crepe myrtles. Also viburnum, azaleas, daylilllies, dogwood, iris, and hydrangeas. Annuals are added for color each year by the volunteers.
The garden on Laurel nearest the street is called the Memorial Garden, where church members’ ashes can be interred. Included there are more Japanese maples, mugo pine, false cypress, mock orange, kinnikinnick, barberry, nandina and sedum. Even the parking lot has been landscaped.
Submitted by Ruth Sloan
With thanks to Sherri Morgan for plant identification.