Lithia Park

One of my favorite places in the entire world is Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon, so of course Cindy and I had to take a stroll through the park while we were in Southern Oregon.  We had to postpone it initially because it was a bit too cool for us California weather wimps, so we decided to go raid Bloomsbury Books because, well, we always go there and we always find great books to lug home with us, so, why not go there until the chill was off?  Cindy bought a couple of (what else?) gardening books and I bought Alexander McCall Smith's "44 Scotland Street" and Peter Mayle's "Vintage Caper".

And by then it was warm enough to enjoy the park, so on we went, shooting pictures all the way.

The park was designed by John McLaren, who also designed Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and it's on the National Register of Historic Places, but that didn't mean much to my sibs and me when we were kids.  We just enjoyed scrambling around on the rocks in Ashland Creek and scampering up and down in the decomposed granite of the steep hillside.  We undoubtedly contributed to the erosion of the hillside, which is probably why there are now fences intended to keep people on the trails, instead.

I was glad to see that kids still enjoy the wading pool below the bridge and the playground, but the park itself is now the main attraction for Cindy and me.  The variety of trees is amazing.  The fabulous Rhododendrons and Azaleas were long past blooming.  A few trees had leaves beginning to turn, but in the early Fall the native Madrones and Manzanitas provide most of the interest with their red, green and tan peeling bark.

The park has always informed my ideas of what a garden should be:  a peaceful place that incorporates natural elements of rocks and native trees and shrubs.  Lithia includes many non-native plants and trees that have been introduced over the years, but to my mind, it's the native plants that really make the park what it is.

I was also glad to see that the effects of the major flood that ripped through the park in 1997 are no longer as evident as they were in the first years immediately after the flood.  The force of the water straightened out the course of Ashland Creek in some places, toppling many big old trees and ripping away part of the trail that goes up along the creek, as well as tearing out a couple of bridges that crossed the creek.

Now the raw scars of the flood are gone.  The bridges and parts of the trail that were taken out have been restored.  It's a peaceful, quiet place for walking or meditating once again.  We saw two people sitting on park benches reading books.  My favorite thing for many years was sitting on a rock in the middle of the creek, letting the creek flow around me, listening to the gentle ripple of the water over the granite rocks.  It's always been a place to restore calmness in the middle of the chaos of everyday life.  I was happy to feel its calming effect again.




And then, as we were leaving, Cindy noticed the moon between the trees.  Wonderful.