Variety of flowering plants put on dazzling display
By Ruth Sloan
Jill Weston’s lovely garden at 994 Kestral Parkway is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for August 2022. She has been gardening here for about three years, starting from the nearly blank slate of bare dirt and dead trees of a previously neglected property.
In late July and early August, black-eyed Susans dominate the front yard, putting on a dazzling display. Climbing roses, transplanted from a stunning five-acre spread east of Ashland that Jill and her late husband shared before downsizing, thrive against fences surrounding a small patio in back. The north side of the property, on the Stoneridge Avenue side of this corner lot, holds rhododendrons, clematis vines and small fig trees.
Daffodils enliven the front yard before the black-eyed Susans pop up from the ground each year. Jill refers to the latter as “hardy, determined girls.” They share the space at this time of year — somewhat unwillingly — with echinacea, rose campion and many other plants.
Jill spends a lot of time in the garden, loving every minute. And she thinks about the garden much of the time even when she’s not in it. She has an eye for design that enhances the overall display. Of plants not already mentioned, Jill loves cosmos, coreopsis, tithonia and zinnias, among many others.
Jill has had guidance over the years from Tom Scales of the garden department of the Grange Co-op in Ashland. And her friend Silvino has been helping her in this garden and the previous one for 15 years.
Jill has only recently learned the benefits of feeding her plants. She says she’s been slow to adapt to new gardening conditions, and terrible at being practical.. But none those flaws show in the current result.
Jill recommends that, if you want to see the black-eyed Susans in their full glory, you visit very soon because the extreme heat is taking its toll. This is a neighborhood of many fine gardens.. Nearby, check out 305 Stoneridge, across the street from Jill on Kestral and 336 Stoneridge, across the alley from Jill.
Ruth Sloan is a member of the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month Committee. The Ashland Garden Club has been selecting Gardens of the Month, from spring through early fall, since 2000. Nominations are gratefully received at aogardenclub@gmail.com. Check out the club’s website at ashlandorgardenclub.org for information about meetings.
