Friday, December 2, 2016

Lan Su, in Autumn

My "Mumvember" visit to Lan Su (our Chinese Garden here in Portland) has already produced two blog posts: one a love letter to the voluptuous Chrysanthemum flower and one a look at professional floral design. But there's no way I could visit the garden and not take several "just garden" type photos too, so here we go...

This visit I spent a lot of time looking down, at the hardscape. It's all sorts of fabulous...

Pomegranates! Blooms...

Cracked fruit...

And beautiful whole fruit.

Daphniphyllum macropodum

A little tree-fire...

My visit was on November 4th, lots of fabulous color and a dry day too!

Poncirus trifoliata

Camellia japonica 'Drama Girl'

Iris confusa

The star of this image (for me) is the plant between the green and black grasses, it's Lysimachia paridiformis var. stenophylla...

A palm image framed by roof tiles.

Naturally there were ferns.

Cryptomeria japonica 'Cristata'

Peony foliage...

Rhododendron sinogrande

Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’

And again...

Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida’ — fallen leaves.

Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida’ — bare branches.

More roof ferns...

And their fabulous Persimmon tree...it was a very good visit indeed.

If you're in the area and haven't visited in awhile you might want to take advantage of their "9 Free Days" food-drive program which starts tomorrow, December 3rd and runs through Sunday December 11th. They're offering "a free admission for each donation of a non-perishable food item" — click on the above link to see a list of the Oregon Food Bank's most needed items.

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

21 comments:

  1. The pebble and moss hardscape there is the best. You got some great shots, thanks for sharing them.

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    1. I love how many different patterns they've incorporated, and yet it feels cohesive.

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  2. Nice to see the autumn color there. Your garden has a greater emphasis on plants than does the Huntington's--at this point, anyway. Sometimes more space isn't necessarily better. Of course your climate is more appropriate for many of those plants. The paving and tiles look identical to the Huntington's, I think the same people did the work.

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    1. Indeed, ours is very plant-focused -- which is why I love it. Of course the person doing the photo taking can make it appear that way even when it's not. But since you've been there yourself you know!

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  3. Brings back memories of the Portland fling. What amazing hardscape & the plants are pretty darned cool too. Great pictures. Wish I had the patience to do rock mosaics.

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  4. Great photos, great garden, great hardscaping. Maybe it is the bias of this set of photos, but it feels like without the amazing hardscaping, the plants wouldn't shine like they do. I loved everything, but my heart stops when I see their stand of Iris confusa. One day it will be mine.......

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    1. When you make it out to Portland for a visit you'll have to make sure this is on your list!

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  5. Loved this place in summer -- glad to have a look at it in autumn too! You really loved the pebbled walkways! (With good reason!)

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    1. I did not set out to take so many walkway photos. I wonder if the moss between the rocks was just extra gorgeous that day?

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  6. Beautiful photos. Looks like moss is starting to hide the pebble patterns.

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    1. Luckily the feet beating it down will keep it in its place.

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  7. It's an impressive garden. I keep thinking that, someday, I might find the patience to try creating one of those pebble mosaics.

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  8. It's been years since my sole visit to Lan Su. Such an amazing garden. The pebble pathways and moss are simply stunning. And of course the plants! I imagine those roof ferns were probably planted, but I like the idea of them springing up on their own, even in the middle of the city. Great photos, Loree. Thanks for the virtual visit.

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    1. Whaaa? Get yourself back there! Maybe during the free days? It's always good wander.

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    2. Free days? I'll have to look into that. Wasn't aware.

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    3. I included the info right up there at the end of the blog post...

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  9. It is one of my favorite places in Portland. Love it!

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    1. You don't waste any time in finding the good spots, do you?

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  10. I always appreciate the way the architecture frames perfect vignettes and your camera does the same.

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