Ohio Street + Garden of the Month for June 2019

Ohio Street + Garden of the Month for June 2019

I walked two-blocks-long Ohio Street in order to visit Ashland’s beautiful Garden of the Month for June 2019 (chosen by the Ashland Garden Club).

The Garden of the Month address is 265 Ohio Street. If you visit the garden, please respect the privacy of the homeowner. Please view the garden through the artistic fence from either Ohio Street or the alley along the side of the house.

For this walk, my wife and I started at the Helman Street end of Ohio Street, and finished the walk at Gene’s lovely Garden of the Month.

108 Ohio Street

The yellow house at the corner of Helman and Ohio was built about 1905. The Oregon Historic Sites Database lists it as Frank Jordan house. On the Ashland City Band website, I found the photo below of Ashland’s “Woodmen of the World” band taken April 30, 1905. It lists Frank Jordan (back row, third from left) as a clarinet player. Could that be the same Frank Jordan?

Woodmen of the World band in Ashland, Oregon 1905 (photo from ashlandband..org, courtesy of Southern Oregon Historical Society)

Gates of Ohio Street

I found many quirky and artistic gates on Ohio Street.  Here are photos of the gates, in order from lower house numbers to higher house numbers.

110 Ohio Street…Yes, there is the gate, but where is the fence so that you would need to enter through the gate? I like the sense of humor.
132 Ohio Street. I like the simple lines of this gate, as well as the welcoming sign on the gate. 132 Ohio Street was built about 1910, and was called the E.O. Rease house.  
140 Ohio Street. The yard art and details make this a whimsical gate. Built around 1950, 140 Ohio Street has a World War II cottage style of architecture.
265 Ohio Street, gate at the Garden of the Month yard. The gate and fence were built by woodworker Nathan Sharples (photo by Larry Rosengren or Ruth Sloan)
275 Ohio Street has beautiful artwork on the gate. See the butterfly detail below.
275 Ohio St gate

Mrs. Anna McCarthy in 1914

Now let’s turn from gate photos to the rest of our walk along Ohio Street, starting with a quick historical detour. Built in 1905, 147 Ohio Street is another historic house, called the Anna G. McCarthy house.  This is a vernacular style hipped cottage with a wrapped hipped porch.   

147 Ohio Street, the Anna G. McCarthy house

I found a photo of Anna G. McCarthy in the Ashland Tidings of December 31, 1914. As President of the Chautauqua Park Club, she was one of the female “movers and shakers” of early Ashland. In 1893, the City of Ashland had purchased eight acres for the Chautauqua dome (where meetings were held) and nearby park land for people to gather. By 1916, Chautauqua Park had grown into the much larger and more elaborate Lithia Park. Now in 2019, the original eight acres is the site of the Shakespeare Festival’s Elizabethan Theater and the current entrance to Lithia Park.

Anna G. McCarthy, President of the Chautauqua Park Club in 1914

Thanks to the Ashland Tidings of December 28, 1914, I can provide you with a list of Mrs. McCarthy’s 1914 Christmas guests: “…Miss Carrie Foster of Klamath Falls, Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Moore of Eugene, Mrs. Agnes Jury of Seattle and Mrs. McCarthy’s son H.G. McCarthy. As dinner guests on Christmas day Mr. and Mrs. S.J. Evans and son and daughter were present.”

Back to Ohio Street in 2019

167 Ohio Street

This tree at 167 Ohio Street seems unusually large and lush for a flowering plum tree. I would love to see it when it’s covered with blossoms! The house was built about 1914 and still retains its original bungalow style.

211 Ohio Street

A friend I play tennis with was out in front at 211 Ohio Street when I walked by, so now I know where he lives. He built this lovely raised walkway that accommodates the roots of his huge maple tree.His house dates back to 1930 and was moved to this location.

Garden of the Month for June 2019

265 Ohio Street, interior view of the Garden of the Month (photo by Larry Rosengren or Ruth Sloan)

Ruth Sloan of the Ashland Garden Club wrote: “This garden, designed and maintained by Gene Leyden, is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Monthfor June 2019.  This is a naturally wet parcel (note the giant pond next door) where dampness- and shade-loving plants thrive and carefully placed sun-loving plants also flourish.  Gene planted the willow tree, now enormous (14 feet in circumference!), when she moved in with her family in 1987, transporting it to the site from the nursery in the back of the Volkswagon bus.  Garden observers can walk or drive down the alley to the right of the house to get more views.”

I was fortunate that my wife Kathy was with me as I walked Ohio Street and visited the Garden of the Month, because she had known Gene about 25 years ago. When Gene saw us outside the gate, she recognized Kathy and invited us in. What a treat!

Gene showed us the Curly Willow tree she “stuck in the ground as a stick” back in 1987. It now rises high, with both curly leaves and branches.

265 Ohio Street, Curly Willow tree in 2019.

“In addition to the prospering plant life, there are remarkably beautiful constructions by Gene’s friend, the artist and carpenter Nathan Sharples. Look carefully at the gorgeous fence, installed only three years ago. Note the unusual wooden screen door. Also salted throughout the garden are sculptures by Gene’s friend Cheryl Garcia, as well as other items of interest.”

265 Ohio Street. Here is detail of the beautiful fence, as well as a small part of the lush garden. (photo by Larry Rosengren or Ruth Sloan)

“Gene says she has a special fondness for fragrance in the garden and chooses many plants on that basis, including roses, jasmine and nicotiana. Among the many highlights in the garden are a selection of huge hostas loving their location under the willow, Lady Banks and Cecile Brunner roses climbing through the vegetation, and a smoke tree and smoke bush lending their rich dark foliage as contrast to the riot of greens plus colorful blossoms. There’s a little bit of everything here. This is clearly the work of people of great imagination, especially the primary gardener.”

265 Ohio Street. These are gorgeous and fragrant Abraham Darby roses.

The garden is the star of the show, but the house has an interesting history. Built around 1890, perhaps as a parsonage for the historic Methodist Church, its original location was on South Laurel Street. The house was moved here to Ohio Street in 1987.

265 Ohio Street, climbing rose and rhododendron (photo by Larry Rosengren or Ruth Sloan)

If you love gardens #1: Since this article features a beautiful garden, I will end it with a photo of wise words from a poem by Dorothy Frances Gurney.

“The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.”

If you love gardens #2I would encourage you to join me as a member of the Ashland Garden Club. You can find the link to their membership form here at the club home page.     

Notes: All descriptions of the Garden of the Month in quotation marks are from the Ashland Garden Club article by Ruth Sloan. Photos are by Peter Finkle, except when marked otherwise.  

11 Comments
  • Wendy Eppinger
    Posted at 18:09h, 20 July Reply

    so much to tour and walk: thank you

  • Kristina Lefever
    Posted at 21:35h, 09 June Reply

    Beautiful and thoughtful article about an amazing garden. Thank you for all the insights you shared with the reader to really bring it to life. I look forward to reading about other gardens you share through your writings and photos.

    • Peter Finkle
      Posted at 09:14h, 10 June Reply

      Kristina,
      I am glad my article brought the garden to life for you. Have you seen the amazing daffodil garden at Holly Street and Liberty Street? I wrote about it in my article called “Holly Street Part 2.”
      Peter

  • Richard Stanley
    Posted at 12:05h, 03 October Reply

    Peter, Thanks so much for your insights and great photography. As long time residents just outside of town (since ’83), and as prospective immigrants to a downsized life within its boundaries, the ris so much to learn about the town, from folks like yourself. Its much appreciated

    • Peter Finkle
      Posted at 17:20h, 03 October Reply

      Richard, I am glad you are enjoying the articles. I try to pack a lot of information (and hopefully some fun) into each article. Peter

  • Janie Chandler
    Posted at 17:10h, 26 June Reply

    Lovely! So fun to see Gene’s garden in fine form – I am inspired, especially by that fencing!

    • Peter Finkle
      Posted at 17:17h, 26 June Reply

      Yes…it’s also inspiring that she planted those huge trees. We can make a difference in one lifetime.

  • Rick Kirschner
    Posted at 09:29h, 24 June Reply

    Peter, I love every one of your photo tours!

    • Peter Finkle
      Posted at 10:18h, 24 June Reply

      Thanks so much, Rick. I enjoy both learning and sharing what I learn.

  • Donna Wright
    Posted at 14:40h, 22 June Reply

    Thank you so much for taking me on a tour of Ohio Street. I loved it! Am anxious to ride bk down past all the houses you pointed out!

    • Peter Finkle
      Posted at 18:35h, 23 June Reply

      I’m glad you loved it. My hope through my writing is that people will see each street and neighborhood with new eyes.

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