The Garden of the Late Kathy Allen

First time visitors to the garden of the late Kathy Allen were always in for a big surprise when they approached the modest entrance to her world class rock garden off of a country road in Southern Oregon. Little did they know what a magical experience awaited them at the end of the long gravel driveway.

Kathy was a self taught gardener, one who propagated a lot of plants, and she grew them beautifully both in containers and in the ground.

*Kathy in her garden working during my last visit with her. I lingered longer than usual that day, knowing it might be the last time I saw her.*

It fills me with happiness to think back on my visits with Kathy in her garden. I enjoyed buying perfectly grown plants from her. I never knew what to expect when I arrived. After the initial excitement ceased, and I’d grabbed my potted treasures, I could calm down and better observe and listen to the conversations of others as I shopped on Saturdays. As expected, they were often like me, and had travelled from outside of the area to come see the work of a master plantswoman.

I never once heard a complaint, or saw an unhappy or dissatisfied customer.

All were in awe of Kathy’s talents. I admired her humility, and still think fondly of my visits at her home.

In the North American Rock Garden Society Winter 2025 Quarterly there was a piece written by Kathy’s friend, Gail Klodzinski, ‘A Botanical Treasure in Oregon’s Rogue Valley.’ If you’re a member of NARGS you can access it through their site. (Click the photo above and it should take you to their site.) It’s a lovely homage to a dear friend.

During my visits with Kathy, Gail was often there too, and the friendship they shared reminded me of so many other gardeners I’ve known over the years. Plants bring so many of us together—and keep us together. We often are there to help one another out, in our own communities.

Sadly I killed many of Kathy’s plants. As I’ve said before, I still don’t feel like I fit in with rock gardeners, but I have propagated a few plants for many of them over the years. Maybe someday I’ll figure this out. I suspect I will.

My friend Baldassare knew Kathy for many years, and while Evan and I were there in December, Baldassare made sure to get one of the Siskiyou NARGS chapter’s books about her for me. It was beautifully put together with photos, captions, and quotes from those who knew her well.

In his old nursery office—where we packed seeds—I also enjoyed the photo below of the two of them.

So let’s just do a quick photo roundup from my visits, ending with the last visit in December of 2025, after Kathy was gone.

Time spent in the garden space of one who is no longer there is always emotionally challenging—at least for me. Their spirit has left this world, and to me, what remains feels like fragments of them, maybe memories of them, but they’re just not there anymore.

But that is all I will say on that for now…

Thank you Kathy for bringing so many gardeners so much pleasure with your beautifully grown plants.

October 19, 2019