Mickey Mouse. Mosaic rock designs. “Science is Real” signs.
I found Mickey on Old Willow Lane
Here’s Mickey, next to the sidewalk on Old Willow Lane. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
This lawn art was a fun surprise on my short walk. I almost walked right by it, because I wasn’t looking down at the grass. I have learned: When I am “walking Ashland,” look everywhere! You never know what you will find.
What I did not find was an “old willow.” If I missed it, someone please tell me where it is.
First impressions
To find Old Willow Lane, take East Main Street to Fordyce Street. Heading north on Fordyce, Old Willow Lane will be the fifth street on your left. Here’s what it looks like from Fordyce Street. I was happy to find it filled with interesting sights in its one block length. At the end of the street is a large open field. I expect Old Willow Lane will be much longer someday when that field is developed for housing.
Old Willow Lane ends in this large field. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Big truck on small street
Here is the roof truss delivery truck that caught my eye. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
As I walked the street in October 2020, the first thing that caught my eye was a truck filled with prefab roof trusses. The truck was delivering to a house under construction near the end of the street.
On the right is the house being constructed, waiting for a roof. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
As you can see from the photos, Old Willow Lane is lined with street trees. The truck driver faced a challenge – how to lift the trusses to the house construction site without damaging any street trees. Before I finished walking the street, he had figured it out. His first roof truss lift is shown in the photo below.
An impressive lift, on a smoky day. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)A week later, the roof trusses are on the house – and the sky is blue. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Signs of the times
I keep my eye out for yard signs as I walk Ashland’s neighborhoods. Many are copies of the same popular signs. Sometimes I find a sign that is home made and unique. This house has a combination of both kinds of “Science is Real” signs.
“Science is Real.” (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)Purchased sign and home made sign make the same point. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Yard art variety
Ashland is full of creative people. Some show and share their creativity in front yard art. This is a good reason to have a camera at the ready on your walks. Old Willow Lane is especially rich in yard art for being only one block long.
Overview of the rock art mosaics. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
You won’t miss this one if you are walking on the sidewalk. It is mosaic art, all done with colored pebbles. Each of the three designs is subtle, balanced and beautiful. Below are close-up photos of the three designs.
I did a double-take as I approached 1269 Old Willow Lane. I have seen many Canada geese flying over town and I was momentarily fooled.
Are Canada geese visiting this neighborhood? (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
I love this metal art and stone front yard at the end of the street.
Yard art on Old Willow Lane. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Gate and tree
I found one unique and interesting gate on Old Willow Lane. I haven’t noticed a metal gate like this before.
Unique gate on Old Willow Lane. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
One massive tree caught my eye and seemed worth sharing with you.
This is a beautifully proportioned tree. (photo by Peter Finkle)
End of street
There is a large field at the end of Old Willow Lane. All I see there is an unusual small barn (pictured). It will be interesting to see what kind of housing develops here in the future.
This is the barn visible at the end of Old Willow Lane. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
I noticed a short path at the end of the street, so of course I followed it to see where it leads. It is a pedestrian shortcut to Village Park Drive and another neighborhood.
Path between Old Willow Lane and Village Park Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Photographic highlight
Walking the short path, one sight caught my eye. Rough, wavy, golden wood grain, black knothole, delicate pink flower on a slender stem, all adds up to a photographer’s dream. Here it is for you.
My artistic photo for the day. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Old Willow Lane is one of many short, quiet streets off Fordyce Street. I will have an exciting article about Fordyce Street for you soon.
For people who love gardens and gardening. Many photos of flowers and native plants.
For people who love gardens and gardening. Photos of trees, flowers and gates.
720 Forest Street. (photo by Larry Rosengren, 2020)
I began my Forest Street walk at the intersection with Liberty Street, one block uphill from Ashland Street.
One end of Forest Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Deodar Cedar tree
A Deodar cedar tree on the uphill side provided my first uplifting moment and photo opportunity (photos on the left and top right, below). This is a young Deodar cedar. If you want to see an elder, go to the Safeway supermarket on Siskiyou Boulevard. There you will find Ashland’s 2002 Tree of the Year, a pair of majestic Deodar cedar trees (photo on bottom right, below).
This “gate with a heart” at 796 Forest Street next caught my eye. It doesn’t take much to transform a simple gate into something special.
A gate with a heart. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
The Japanese maples and rhododendrons at 776 Forest Street provide contrasting shapes and colors.
Japanese maple trees and rhododendron. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Ashland Garden Club “Garden of the Month” for May 2020
These dazzling yellow flowers in the side yard are Rhododendron luteum, commonly known as Yellow azalea or Pontic azalea. (photo by Larry Rosengren, 2020)
The highlight of my walk along Forest Street was the May 2020 Garden of the Month. Each month, the Ashland Garden Club chooses one garden in Ashland to feature. This is how Ruth Sloan of the Garden Club introduced the garden:
“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.”
Viewing the garden from the street, you can only see a small part of what makes this labor of love special. So I will take you behind the scenes for highlights of the garden, some history of the garden, and share several of Vicky and Alan’s delightful family stories.
Garden in 1983 and 2020
The house was built in 1951. Alan and Vicky purchased it in 1983. When they bought the house, the yard consisted of lots of lawn, lots of concrete and not much else. In a story many of us can relate to, Vicky explained to me it was their choice. When they were looking for a home to buy, the couple had small children who were always outside riding tricycles, bicycles and other wheeled vehicles. “When we bought the house,” Vicky told me, “our real estate agent asked what we wanted, and I said ‘a lot of concrete.’” She got what she wanted…but…Vicky went on, “We spent the next 30 years getting rid of concrete!”
Here’s a visual for you. The first photo shows the house and front yard in 1983, when it had lots of lawn and lots of concrete.
720 Forest Street, front yard in 1983. (photo by Alan Armstrong or Vicky Sturtevant, 1983)
The second photo shows the complete transformation. Taken in early May 2020, the front yard is now lush with blooming flowers and trees, a grape arbor, and a dozen varieties of vegetables not visible in this photo.
720 Forest Street, front yard in 2020. (photo by Larry Rosengren, 2020)
The white flowering tree on the right is a dogwood. The small plant to the left of the path with intense magenta blooms is a native penstemon. This beautiful slate pathway extends around to the back of the house.
My wife and I visited Vicky and Alan’s garden later in the month of May, so we saw different plants in bloom than Ruth and Larry saw during their early May visit for the Ashland Garden Club article.
More Larry Rosengren photos for the Ashland Garden Club
Larry took a photo of the Redbud tree at peak bloom in early May. By the time I toured the garden in late May, the tree was filled with green leaves rather than magenta blossoms.
720 Forest Street, Redbud tree in side yard. (photo by Larry Rosengren, 2020)
In this back yard photo, Larry caught three species of rhododendron blooming at the same time, right next to each other. The rainbow of lavender, magenta and white flowers side by side is a treat.
720 Forest Street, Rhododendron flowering in back yard. (photo by Larry Rosengren, 2020)
Native plants
Vicky and Alan love to discover and nurture plants native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. I took photos of seven native plants. The first one is special. I’ll tell you why.
Alice’s Fleabane
Alice’s fleabane wildflower. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
You might be wondering, as I did, why this wildflower is called “Alice’s fleabane.” I have two explanations for you, so you can take your pick.
Number 1: When Vicky and Alan’s five year old granddaughter was introduced to this wildflower during a walk around the garden, she said, “This is my plant.” Now eight years old, every time she comes to visit her grandparents, she looks for Alice’s fleabane and loves to claim it: “This is my plant.” Why would she say this? I expect you already figured it out — her name is Alice.
Number 2: Born in 1859, Alice Eastwood was a pioneering botanist, a passion that began when she was very young. Here are the two books she received as high school graduation gifts: Porter and Coulter’s Synopsis of the Flora of Colorado (1874) and Gray’s Manual of the botany of the northern United States (1878).
After graduation, she lived in Colorado for 14 years, where she taught high school for income and spent every spare hour collecting plant specimens in the mountains. Her scholarly articles brought her attention, and she was asked to become the Curator of Botany for the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. She held this position from 1893 until 1949, a total of 57 years! “By the end of her tenure, she had added a total of 340,000 specimens to its collection and had built up a fine botanical library with her own funds.” [Mathrani]
Alice Eastwood c1910 (photo from wikimedia commons)
A number of plants were named after Eastwood, including Alice’s fleabane (botanical name Erigeron aliceae), which is a wildflower native to the meadows and woodlands of the Pacific Northwest. If you walk the slopes of Mt. Ashland, you might see this wildflower.
Shrub tan oak
Shrub tan oak. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Shrub tan oak is native to the Oregon coast. It has abundant small acorns that are food for birds, squirrels, chipmunks, deer and other animals. The tan oak in this garden is a dwarf variety.
Oso berry
Oso berry. If you look closely, you may see one small berry on the plant. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Now we go from small acorns to small berries. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, “Birds and a variety of animals (e.g., squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, skunk, deer) love the fruit. Bears also eat the fruit as suggested by the common name of oso berry (oso from Spanish means bear).”
Western azalea
Western azalea. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
The large white fragrant flowers make the Western azalea (botanical name Rhododendron occidentale) a pleasure to have in the garden. This azalea is native to Oregon and the Pacific coast.
High bush cranberry
High bush cranberry. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
I visited the garden when white flowers were blooming on the High bush cranberry. Don’t confuse this plant with juice and cranberry sauce cranberries grown in bogs in the Northeastern U.S. and along the Oregon coast. High bush cranberries tend to be so bitter that even birds don’t readily eat them until winter, when they freeze and thaw several times and become a little sweeter.
Salal
Salal. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Native to the Oregon coast, Salal is widely used to add greenery in floral arrangements. You can see how bright and shiny the leaves are.
Azure penstemon
Azure penstemon wildflower. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Here is another wildflower that grows on the slopes of Mt. Ashland.
Wintergreen (not native)
Wintergreen. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Wintergreen is not an Oregon native, but is native to woodlands of Eastern North America. I love wintergreen scent and flavor, so when Vicky told me to crush a leaf and smell it, I went right for it. Ah, it was wonderful.
The lovely pond
Alan and Vicky’s pond. (photo by Larry Rosengren, 2020)
The creation of the pond is another family story, starring their 11 year old twins. “Our kids dug the pond in 1993,” began Alan. “It started as a little hole to fill with water to put their frogs and salamanders in.”
My first observation – the “little hole” turned into a big project! My second observation – the parents must have done a lot of the digging.
Creating the back yard pond was a family project. After 20 years, the pond was leaking too much water, so they had the pond liner, pump system and waterfall professionally replaced in 2013. Bright yellow iris were blooming at the edge of the pond the day my wife and I visited.
Yellow iris on right edge of pond. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
The pond became a family project in another way. During the 1990s, as they made trips to the coast, the family would stop along the Smith River to collect round river rocks. You can see these around the bench, a relaxing place from which to enjoy the pond, koi and yard.
River rocks behind the bench. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
I asked Alan if they had problems with bears visiting the pond. He surprised me by replying that local bears were much more interested in their large compost pile up the hill than in the pond.
The forested “up the hill” yard
Forested lot in 1986. (photo by Alan Armstrong or Vicky Sturtevant, 1986)
In 1986, Vicky and Alan were able to purchase the forested lot next door, up the hill from their house and yard. As you can see in the 1986 photo, the lot was thick with trees and brush. Vicky told me, “The back yard (cement and lawn) was dark and dank until we thinned the trees,” which they did gradually through the years. She explained, “Most of the manzanita, mountain mahogany, oaks and mountain laurel are gone – partly because of the shade but also the understory serves as ladder fuels.” As you can see from my 2020 photos, the forested slope is quite open now.
Forested lot in 2020. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Berries, berries and berries
We had one more stop on our garden tour – the berry patch. They are not ready to eat in May, but here’s the order in which Vicky and Alan will be harvesting them.
Strawberries, planted along the driveway, come first. Rhubarb is growing behind the strawberries.
Strawberries and rhubarb. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Blueberries are next, followed by marionberries. Note that these two varieties are under a netting to protect them from the birds.
Blueberries in front, marionberries trellised behind. Both are under netting. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
The raspberries ripen later in the summer. Alan prunes them vigorously during the winter to slow their maturation, so they don’t have quite so many berries ripening and needing to be processed simultaneously.
Raspberries are on a tall trellis. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Purple
Purple! (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
My final photo in Vicky and Alan’s beautiful garden was a quirky one. I spotted a dramatic, deep purple bearded iris near the berry patch. Then I saw the purple garden hose on the ground behind it. I couldn’t resist the color combination. So this photo is offered for people who love purple.
The rest of Forest Street
Moving on along the street, I spotted an unusual garden gate at 682 Forest Street.
Gate at 682 Forest Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Then Forest Street ends at a fence in front of a large open field. Or does it? A sign by a narrow pedestrian opening in the fence says it’s private property, but walking through is okay.
From the opening, the path takes off in two directions. I can see that one way leads to Ashland Street. I follow the other path, and come to a street with three houses. But there is no street sign. I follow the street around a bend, up a steep hill, to the intersection with another street. Still no street sign. Frustrated with my inability to find the street name the old-fashioned, “shoe-leather” way, I go high tech.
Using my camera/phone/calendar/map, I zero in to my exact location on earth and learn that I am at the other end of Forest Street! I can imagine confused delivery drivers and guests trying to find these three Forest Street houses separated from the rest of the street by a large field.
Here is a view down the “west” section of Forest Street, taken at the intersection with Weller Lane.
Forest Street from Weller Lane. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Here, Forest Street looks more like “forest” Street than on the “east” section of the street.
Along the “west” section of Forest Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Of the three newer houses in this section, this Japanese maple tree and the nearby front door stopped me with their beauty. Japanese maple trees are often lovely, but the leaves are usually either all green or all red. I tried to capture the variety of colors in this Japanese maple, but my camera was not able to do it justice.
Forest Street Japanese maple. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
Ashland oddity
The three house numbers on this isolated block of Forest Street are 615, 611 and 607 Forest Street. Right next door, I came to a house with big numbers 610 on the gate.
Forest Street or … ? (photo by Peter Finkle)
This must be 610 Forest Street, right? No, wrong. This is 610 Ashland Street, built on a flag lot three houses away from Ashland Street. I almost feel like I stepped into Ashland’s version of the Oregon Vortex.
Here is the path back to the east section of Forest Street and regular life.
Forest Street path. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)
If you liked this article, you might enjoy my article about the Garden of the Month on Ohio Street.
Mathrani, Varsha. “Alice Eastwood: Pioneering botanist, explorer & naturalist, lifelong lover of flowers & plants, California Academy of Sciences Curator of Botany,” Living and Working with Nature website. (accessed 5/27/2020)
Tulips so bright, I could hardly believe my eyes! Walkable neighborhood, with trees, flowers and paths “New urbanism” is the model
Takelma Way winds its way between Tolman Creek Road and Clay Street. It is a quiet neighborhood, with the houses built in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I walked Takelma Way once in February, when deciduous trees were bare and front yards were low key. I walked the street again in April and found the neighborhood ablaze with bright colors, both the street trees and the yards. I captured a bit of that colorfulness for you in my photo essay of Takelma Way.
Takelma Way meets Clay Creek Way. There is a neighborhood pocket park here.Here is the attractive pocket park at the corner of Takelma Way and Clay Creek Way.Several Takelma Way houses have wisteria vines. This one with a south-facing front yard was filled with blooms in mid-April, while wisteria on north-facing house-fronts lagged behind.It takes a close look to see how amazing wisteria flowers can be.
There are 61 houses in the Clay Creek Gardens HOA (homeowners association), which encompasses Takelma Way, Clay Creek Way and Mickelson Way. The neighborhood was built following the principles of “new urbanism.” The HOA website describes new urbanism as “a concept that encourages walkable communities, compact design with a focus on smaller lots, extensive shared community spaces and homes that encourage neighbors to interact with each other.” Practically speaking, the houses have covered front porches that face the sidewalk to encourage communication with neighbors who are out for a walk. There are narrow streets with wide sidewalks, so it doesn’t feel like cars dominate the space. The architecture of the houses is not “cookie-cutter,” but encompasses a variety of styles. There is even a neighborhood community garden where people can have a plot for growing vegetables.
A variety of house styles
This one-story house has a large front porch near the sidewalk. Here’s a two-story house with a full front porch and garage around the back.The narrow streets, parkrows and sidewalks make it a pedestrian friendly neighborhood.This simple front porch still encourages conversations with the neighbors.A fancy looking, large two-story house is part of the same planned neighborhood.
Takelma Way paths
Two ways to encourage community are with walking paths and with Little Free Libraries. This is an unofficial Little Free Library on one of the walking paths that connects with Clay Street. Here is another walking path to Clay Street, lined with colorful flowering trees in April. What a pleasure to walk this path!
Siskiyou School is across Clay Street at the end of one path (left photo). The pathway bridge over Clay Creek is shown in the right photo. Here is a 30-second video I took as I walked a path from Clay Street back to Takelma Way.
Let’s look at unique yard art
Someone loves seashells and peace on earth.Who remembers Jack LaLanne?I can’t figure out if this yard art is a celebration of camping, of snow and winter sports, or both. Whatever it is, it’s cute.The guardians are watching at the door.Sometimes you have to look closely to find hidden gems.
Tulip time (and other bright colors)
Maybe I arrived at this front yard at just the right day (April 20) at just the right time (5:24 p.m.). It doesn’t require a full field of flowers to take my breath away. Something about the brilliance of the colors of these four tulips, and the variety of the colors side by side, stopped me in my tracks in wonder. Wonder and appreciation for Mother Nature, for the Creator of Life, and for the Gardener of this humble front yard. Here is my second-favorite photo I took of the four tulips. (I won’t bore you with all the others I took and reluctantly let go.)Different colors, beautiful composition of the tulips, azalea and camellia flowers.Here is a dramatic white flowering fruit tree.I love the contours of this gate, framed by greenery and backed by a bounteous pink flowering fruit tree.
“Enchantment Grows Here”
A small but enchanting corner of one yard.
This small, beautiful, carefully planned space was created by Kim Knoll. I love the way she has combined a variety of shapes and sizes of plants with rocks, yard art, colorful pots, and that stone bench to anchor it all. Though her house address is on Michelson Way, this section of her side yard is on Takelma Way, so I am including it in this article.
Here is an overview of her “enchanting” space.Here is another detail from Kim’s unique garden.Clay Creek flows along the side of the neighborhood, and is accessed by several paths between Takelma Way and Clay Street.