Friday, November 23, 2018

Visiting Portland's Japanese Garden

All during the month of November members of Portland's Chinese garden have free, reciprocal, membership at the Japanese Garden. I love this program! I never think about visiting the Japanese Garden—it's across town and not as plant-driven as the Chinese Garden. But when you tell me that I should visit because I can get in for free, well, then somehow my brain manages to remember to make time for that...

I hadn't been to the Japanese Garden since they closed for a huge over-haul a few years ago. Now you pay admission (or in my case flash your Lan Su membership card) at the bottom of the hill. That didn't used to happen until the top. And there's new landscaping too, by the admissions building (shown above and below).

My visit took place last Thursday, November 15th. It was a sunny, 55 degree day, pretty much heaven.

Most of the leaves had already fallen, but there were still a few on the trees.

These buildings are all new (since the re-do). There's an expanded gift-shop, a restaurant, and other spaces that I didn't bother to read up on.

The garden proper is pretty much as I remember it.

Simple, immaculate, beautiful.

The same tree as the photo above, only looking back at it, rather than ahead.

This little cement marker seemed out of place. Everything is so well thought out here and it was rather random (which of course made me love it all the more).

It's a moss wonderland up here...

The shoe-box gravel garden (as I think of it).

I was done with the garden, and heading back down to the parking lot, when this view stopped me. Nice work! It's the day-light, PNW, forested version of this.

Since I had a little more time on my parking meter, and I hadn't walked the rose-garden area for a good, what, 6-years? I decided to check it out.

Not that I had any intention of looking at the roses, although there were a few in bloom.

November 15th. I think this November might be one for the record books.

Weather Diary, Nov 22: Hi 51, Low 42/ Precip .43"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

12 comments:

  1. I love Japanese gardens. The maples, the ferns, the PNW conifers. I especially appreciate the spaces that aren't overly manicured. The large moss carpet is fabulous as are the no-rose vignettes in the rose garden. (I don't get the water feature in the first picture).

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    1. Interesting word choice, manicured. I feel that Japanese gardens are extremely manicured, overly. I do LOVE the moss...and the water feature is excellent in person, although quite modern.

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  2. Looks very Zen/peaceful. Love the Acers, with or without leaves, they are beautiful.

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    1. The garden is FULL of Acers, you'd be in heaven.

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  3. As much as I love flowers and color, I've always had a fondness for Japanese gardens as well. The Huntington version is one of my favorite areas there. The out-of-place cement marker looks like some form of memorial but, if that's the case, I like that they didn't post an obtrusive sign advertising the fact. I love that you drew a comparison between the new glass structure in the garden and the iconic LA Case Study House too.

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    1. I still haven't ever been to the Huntington version. Can't tear myself away from the things I love there. I thought the same about the memorial, and a possible sign. Glad you appreciated the comparison!

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  4. Oh gosh, thanks for the tour of the Japanese Garden. Even though I left Portland in 2007 it's been decades since I've been to the Japanese Garden there. And even more thanks for the link to the story about the photo of the Stahl house. Your picture was a worthy cousin to it.

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    1. Glad you followed the link and enjoyed it.

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  5. What a gorgeous day! Your photos illustrate it beautifully.

    I suppose its grey, gloomy, and raining now?

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    1. Not today, another lovely sunny day, book-ended by fog.

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  6. One of these days, I'll make it to see the renovations at the Japanese Garden. I'm not a fan of shearing azaleas, but I love the moss, maples, and other plants. Looks like we have another rain system coming in this week, but I think we'll still be close to the record for driest November.

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    1. Have you ever visited in the summer? I wonder what the moss looks like in August.

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