My husband and I went for a mini-vacation to Portland, Oregon last week and, besides other things, visited the Japanese Garden there. I have to say that this was quite a memorable experience. We were very lucky with the weather that day, actually during our whole stay in Portland, and the light and the shadows were just so remarkable beautiful when we toured the garden.
It is said that the Japanese Garden in Portland is one of the most authentic outside of Japan. I don't know if that is true or not, but for sure this garden is of extraordinary beauty. My husband and I just felt instantly calm, peaceful and a strong connection to nature, in short, a sense of happiness. I think it is wonderful when a garden can affect a person that way and I am sure, we are not the only ones.
It was created by Professor Takuma Tono in 1963, who is obviously a master of this art, on 5.5 acres and contains five different gardens/garden styles: Strolling Pond Garden, Tea Garden, Natural Garden, Sand and Stone Garden, Flat Garden. To me this garden felt way bigger than it actually is, probably because it is surrounded by a typical Pacific Northwest forest, so you don't perceive where the designed Japanese Garden ends and the natural woods begins.
I turned back to the entrance gate and spotted this beautiful simple bell.
Also close to the entrance to the right and left side were two Fu Dogs watching over the garden.
When I spotted this gardener hard at work, I assumed that she would pinch off spent azaleas blooms and was impressed that they paid so much attention to detail in this garden.
I asked, if I could take a picture of her and we started talking, and I was more than surprised to find out that she wasn't just pinching off spent blooms from the bush, but pinching off all flowers. That was of course a startling discovery, so she was quick to explain that this was a decision made by the "higher level" of the garden management. The reasoning behind it is, that azalea blooms are out of season by now and therefore didn't go with the authentic look that a Japanese Garden should have at this time of the year.
Anyway, I loved these mossy stones with the white sparse azalea blooms.
An especially beautiful pagoda.
I don't think that it is coincidence that the pagoda mimics the tall needle trees behind her.
This area is the Strolling Pond Garden.
I was fascinated by the moss hanging from the branches of this tree. So beautiful with the sunlight shining on it.
One of the many Japanese lanterns, scattered, or better said carefully placed throughout the garden.
Another gardener doing very detailed pruning on a shrub. I wonder how many people are working in this place.
Light dancing on this azalea bush.
The gardeners used what looked to me like traditional Japanese garden tools. They are beautiful by themselves.
One last look at the Strolling Pond Garden, which was one of the most harmonious areas in my perception.
Mossy lantern, so pretty!
There were many Japanese Maples in the garden. This one had very delicate leaves that were glowing in a bronze color in the sunlight.
The area around the Zig Zag Bridge was planted with one kind of a blue flowering iris. Unfortunately, the variety is unknown to me.
It was lovely to see the fish eating algae at the egdes of the Koi pond. They made slurping gurgling sounds by doing so, which somehow was entertaining and calming at the same time. I found the yellow golden Koi especially attractive.
I took many more photos of the Portland Japanese Garden, that I think are worth showing. So there will be a part II soon. Hope you come back to see more of this stunningly beautiful garden!
Christina
It is said that the Japanese Garden in Portland is one of the most authentic outside of Japan. I don't know if that is true or not, but for sure this garden is of extraordinary beauty. My husband and I just felt instantly calm, peaceful and a strong connection to nature, in short, a sense of happiness. I think it is wonderful when a garden can affect a person that way and I am sure, we are not the only ones.
It was created by Professor Takuma Tono in 1963, who is obviously a master of this art, on 5.5 acres and contains five different gardens/garden styles: Strolling Pond Garden, Tea Garden, Natural Garden, Sand and Stone Garden, Flat Garden. To me this garden felt way bigger than it actually is, probably because it is surrounded by a typical Pacific Northwest forest, so you don't perceive where the designed Japanese Garden ends and the natural woods begins.
When we entered the Portland Japanese Garden this is one of the first scenes that we saw and I immediately knew that we were in for something very special.
I turned back to the entrance gate and spotted this beautiful simple bell.
Also close to the entrance to the right and left side were two Fu Dogs watching over the garden.
I was surprised to find some azaleas still blooming so profusely at this time of the year.
When I spotted this gardener hard at work, I assumed that she would pinch off spent azaleas blooms and was impressed that they paid so much attention to detail in this garden.
I asked, if I could take a picture of her and we started talking, and I was more than surprised to find out that she wasn't just pinching off spent blooms from the bush, but pinching off all flowers. That was of course a startling discovery, so she was quick to explain that this was a decision made by the "higher level" of the garden management. The reasoning behind it is, that azalea blooms are out of season by now and therefore didn't go with the authentic look that a Japanese Garden should have at this time of the year.
Anyway, I loved these mossy stones with the white sparse azalea blooms.
An especially beautiful pagoda.
I don't think that it is coincidence that the pagoda mimics the tall needle trees behind her.
This area is the Strolling Pond Garden.
I was fascinated by the moss hanging from the branches of this tree. So beautiful with the sunlight shining on it.
One of the many Japanese lanterns, scattered, or better said carefully placed throughout the garden.
Another gardener doing very detailed pruning on a shrub. I wonder how many people are working in this place.
Light dancing on this azalea bush.
A traditional Japanese Tea House, striking in its simplicity. Sorry for the bad photo quality, but I wasn't able take a better shot with the strong contrasts of bright and dark in this area and didn't want to skip showing you this beautiful traditional building.
Moon Bridge in the Strolling Pond Garden.
The gardeners used what looked to me like traditional Japanese garden tools. They are beautiful by themselves.
One last look at the Strolling Pond Garden, which was one of the most harmonious areas in my perception.
Mossy lantern, so pretty!
There were many Japanese Maples in the garden. This one had very delicate leaves that were glowing in a bronze color in the sunlight.
Scene that seems to come right out of a Japanese fairy tale.
The Zig Zag Bridge.
The area around the Zig Zag Bridge was planted with one kind of a blue flowering iris. Unfortunately, the variety is unknown to me.
Close-up of the lovely iris blooms.
In this area was a nice Koi pond, filled with many differently colored Koi.
It was lovely to see the fish eating algae at the egdes of the Koi pond. They made slurping gurgling sounds by doing so, which somehow was entertaining and calming at the same time. I found the yellow golden Koi especially attractive.
I took many more photos of the Portland Japanese Garden, that I think are worth showing. So there will be a part II soon. Hope you come back to see more of this stunningly beautiful garden!
Christina
