The Dalles, Oregon — The Beautification & Tree Committee proudly honors Kelsey and Tayler Alsheimer with the June Beautification Award for their outstanding garden at 505 W 3rd Place.
Kelsey Alsheimer said, “I’m honored to receive the City of The Dalles’ June Beautification Award. This recognition means so much to me, not just as a master gardener, but as someone who has learned, grown, and bloomed right alongside the landscape I’ve helped shape.
Our front yard began as a nearly barren stretch of bark chips and tough soil. Today, it’s a vibrant, ever-changing garden that my family and I have poured years of love, labor, and learning into. Every inch of it has been thoughtfully planned and planted, by hand, by heart, and without the help of a landscaping service. It’s truly been a grassroots (and grass-stained!) effort.
The transformation started with my husband, my green-thumbed partner-in-crime, who installed our irrigation system as the foundation for what would become our shared project. Over the next few years, we built up the beds together, layering in compost (thanks Dirt Hugger!), trial-and-error, and a whole lot of hope. Last year, we focused on establishing perennials, and this spring marked the beginning of a new adventure: starting annuals from seed.
My garden is filled with plants that have their own stories: starts gifted by friends, swapped with neighbors, nurtured from seeds, or lovingly selected at Good News Gardening or the Wasco County Master Gardeners plant sales over the years. It’s also been shaped by the invaluable wisdom and support I’ve received from my fellow Master Gardeners. My mentor, Nancy Lingo, along with so many others in our community, has offered tips, encouragement, and the kind of camaraderie that makes digging in the dirt even more meaningful.
Gardens, as many of you know, are never finished. They’re forgiving and hopeful places where every mistake is just a lesson for next season, and each year brings new ideas, new growth, and a new sense of wonder. My garden is also deeply personal: it’s where my son plays (and occasionally uproots plants with great enthusiasm), where our cats nap in shady corners, our elderly dog suns herself on the hot walkway stones, and where my husband and I wind down in the evenings with a glass of wine, breathing in the scent of honeysuckle and roses.
I work in the garden nearly every day, deadheading roses, weeding, dividing, observing. It’s my sanctuary, my classroom, my creative outlet, and a reflection of everything I love about this community. The friendships, the knowledge-sharing, the spirit of generosity and care- all of it has taken root here.
Thank you to the City of The Dalles for this honor, and to everyone who’s been a part of this ongoing, blooming journey.”
Photos can be found on The Dalles City Hall Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16khCkbyUh/