Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Touring the plants at the Oregon Zoo

As a member of Portland's Lan Su Chinese Garden I enjoy reciprocal admission to other local organizations throughout the year, it's a great program. For January this meant Andrew and I could visit the Oregon Zoo for free.

We've learned to stay away from zoos because we end up depressed after seeing animals that are slowly going out of their minds in tiny enclosures. However it was a rare sunny day in January and my curiosity about the plantings got the better of me, I wondered how the plants would compare to what I've seen at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium up in Tacoma?

I have no idea who gets to play on this, but doesn't it look fun?

Dangerous Animals! (says the sign)

Neither one of us had the slightest idea what this sculpture represented.

Some interpretive signage would have been appreciated.

If there were animals in this part of the zoo I don't remember them. It was all about the moss...

Am I right? Amazing!

I think this is Helleborus 'Ice 'n Roses'

There was a lot of construction happening at the zoo.

A huge chunk of the middle was torn up and behind temporary walls.

So while I admit I found the plantings at the Oregon Zoo disappointing, I also need to acknowledge I was not seeing things at their best. Plus it was January, so things like this ginkgo were nearly invisible in their dormancy.

This lushness hinted at what I was missing with the construction mess. There were some very friendly chimpanzees here, but seeing them behind glass made me very sad, so I didn't snap any photos.

There be bananas there...you know, in the summer.

The facilities for the Asian elephants at the zoo are supposed to be "world class"...this guy seemed pretty entertained making his rounds.

The Euphorbia rigida were among the rigidest.

Arctostaphylos columbiana

I was happy to see phormium, until I saw they were just pots sunk into the ground. Ugh, at least sink them all the way!

Grevillea 'Neil Bell' from Xera Plants, tag still attached.

To my eye the dark cordylines never really look healthy, but I loved these paired with the bright chartreuse grass (not sure of the name).

Schefflera taiwaniana

WOW! Love this combo, Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress' with a super dark loropetalum. Hot!

I wish my loropetalum looked this good.

This ivy was just adjcent to the giraffe enclosure, it looks great on the mossy tree.

Araucaria araucana, monkey puzzle tree, on the left.

I was shocked to see we have flamingos at our zoo. I was cold looking at them. Shouldn't flamingos be somewhere warmer?

They were much lighter pink than the ones we saw at the San Diego Zoo.

The Trachycarpus fortunei look good.

It was interesting to see the old inflorescence structure laying flat against the trunk. I wonder if they somehow "break" them. Mine remain sticking out at a 90 degree angle to the trunk and I eventually have to cut them off. This is a good look.

Finally, inside the insectarium, I saw a couple desert plants. Do beetles eat opuntia pads?

And you've probably heard me say "there's always an agave, if you look hard enough", well that's true here too, I just didn't expect it to be fake.

Weather Diary, Feb 3: Hi 46, Low 30/ Precip .01

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. That mossy tree trunk was impressive! I know it was January, so you probably weren't seeing it at its best, but it does look like Agave-wise, it doesn't compare to Point Defiance. I tried a Loropetalum, but it just didn't thrive, I've seen others that look big and lush like the ones in your post (at Anderson School) and I'm so jealous, cause they are pretty shrubs.

    It IS sad to see elephants in the zoo. The last two at Point Defiance are geriatric and the zoo plans to phase out the exhibit once they die. I think they've tried moving them to other facilities but they have behavior problems. Seattle's Woodland Park no longer has any. They're such social animals that are happier in big herds in the wild.

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    1. My first loropetalum crush was at Lan Su and I quickly bought one for my own garden. It's like they're not even the same plant! Although mine would definitely be happier with more water.

      The hardest animal for me to see were the apes, I wanted to set them free.

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  2. You do moss right up in the PNW! I'm gratified to see that more zoos are making an effort with their landscapes. I haven't been to either the LA or San Diego zoos in a decade or more but I recall San Diego did a great job there. I understand your reservations about zoos and share them but, thinking about what's happened in Australia, I'm glad to know there are some safe, if confined, places for animals subject to near-extinction conditions. On some future visit, you may want to check out San Diego Safari Park near Escondido - I haven't been there in a long time either but it's known for giving animals much larger, more natural spaces to roam.

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    1. Ya the pants at the San Diego so were lovely, and we did want to make it to the safari park but ran out of time. We hope to get back to San Diego someday.

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  3. This time of year is my least favourite. Dark days with everything looking winterworn. However, the moss is looking gorgeous. The sculpture reminds me of kelp with ancient crinoid-like squid. Looking forward to the NWFGS to get out of the winter blahs.

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    1. Ya the NWFGF can't come soon enough for me!

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  4. Your area definitely has some of the best moss in the world. Only the UK and Japan may rival it. If I lived there, I'd probably create a mossy grotto, complete with dripping water feature. My winter fantasy of the day, ha!

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    1. I like the picture your winter fantasy paints. Of course you'd have to irrigate pretty heavily to keep the grotto looking good through our dry summers.

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  5. Hmm. The San Diego zoo has fabulous plants, but I also find zoos profoundly depressing. Last time I visited a Chimpanzee pooped in his hand and threw it at the assembled humans. Couldn't blame him.

    The dark Cordylines look fabulous here--I guess they like lots of warm sun. The moss is lovely.

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    1. Ya the cordylines are definitely more in their element in SoCal. They look kind of sickly up here most of the time.

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  6. I credit the Oregon Zoo (It was the Portland Zoo back in the 1980s) with introducing me to Fatsia japonica, despite being wrongly identified as "False Aralia." I know it is a common plant but its ubiquity doesn't bother me a bit. I love it. ... Lots of nice plants at the zoo, thank you for sharing. I think that one weird sculpture is turned upside down to keep a birdbath from collecting water and freezing. That's my guess anyway. I can't stand to see captured animals either. It's just sad. To answer your question on my blog, most of the moss goes dormant but by my ponds where it stays wet the moss will keep its green color. Thank you for visiting.

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    1. I too love the fatsia, who cares if it's common?

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  7. This ivy (adjacent to the giraffe enclosure) has a most fabulous leaf pattern and looks great with the moss on the tree. Thankfully, not all ivy has the same detrimental effect on the tree they attache to.

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    1. Isn't it just gorgeous? I should try and find out what it is.

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  8. I like that the zoos and amusement parks have stepped up their plantings and designs. Love that mossy trees.

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    1. It certainly makes for a more well rounded experience. Something for every member of the family!

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  9. Oh yes, the moss, and the Hellebores, and the Mahonia/Loropetalum combination! The sculptural pieces are attractive and interesting, but yes, having interpretive signage would be helpful. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Ah, the moss is fantastic. Good to see at least some plants at the zoo. That ivy is quite beautiful, and I love the palms. And of course I love any sighting of bamboo! Hm, me thinks their Arctostaphylos label is incorrect, though. Definitely looks more like one of the densiflora cultivars, not columbiana.

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