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Vegetative contemplation
Metro area's year-round
gardens offer inspiration
for your backyard
March 9,
2007
By Brett Oppegaard of
The Columbian
Tulips and daffodils
are starting to
spike through
soil. Frost and
ice are fading.
Winter is near
its end, and Celeste
Lindsay has begun
strolling around
her home's landscape
and making plans
for the coming
months.
The coordinator
for the local
Washington State
University Master
Gardener program
says there are
distinct advantages
to inspecting
gardens in winter.
"I can see
the form of the
trees and the
shrubs that I
can't necessarily
look at when the
foliage is on.
... This is a
really good time
to build a stepping
stone path or
to put in brick.
It can be muddy,
but it's easier
to work when the
ground is softer.
This time of year
also is the best
to plant trees
and roses and
perennials."
One of the most
fruitful ways
to get inspiration
and ideas for
spring, she says,
is to tour public
gardens in March.
The gardens can
serve as examples
to generate checklists
of potential plants
and features as
well as illustrate
ways professionals
construct their
amenities and
bring order to
nature.
Two of Lindsay's
favorite spots
in the metropolitan
area are The Japanese
Garden and Portland
Classical Chinese
Garden, which
offer contrasting
styles of Asian
influences.
At the Japanese
Garden this time
of year, Lindsay
says, "I
love to look at
the various types
of paving, wood
and stepping stones.
Those, to me,
are absolutely
charming."
In the Chinese
Garden in late
winter, she adds, "You
can see many more
of the decorations
and art objects.
The Chinese is
more colorful,
even when it's
not blooming,
because it has
murals and brightly
painted red walls
and decorations
throughout the
garden. The Japanese
Garden is more
natural and native
plants seem to
fit."
Other
public gardens
in the area:
The
International
Rose Test Garden,
the oldest public
garden of its
kind in the nation,
400 S.W. Kingston
St., Portland,
503-823-3636,
rosegardenstore.org/thegardensoverview.cfm.
Hoyt
Arboretum,
a 185-acre open
space that has
more than 1,000
tree species gathered
from around the
world, 4000 S.W.
Fairview Blvd.,
Portland, 503-865-8733,
hoytarboretum.org.
Leach
Botanical Gardens, a collection
of more than 2,000
special hybrids,
including Northwest
natives, 6704
S.E. 122nd Ave.,
Portland, 503-823-9503,
leachgarden.org.
Elk
Rock, The
Garden of the
Bishop's Close,
6 acres of cultivated
English-style
gardens, 11800
S.W. Military
Lane, Portland,
503-636-5613,
diocese-oregon.org/theclose.
The
Grotto, a
62-acre Catholic
shrine and botanical
garden, 8840 N.E.
Skidmore St.,
Portland, 503-254-7371,
thegrotto.org.
The Japanese
Garden
 When: 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. through
March, 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m. April
through September.
Where: 611 S.W.
Kingston Ave.,
Portland.
Cost: $8, $6.25
for senior citizens
and students 18
and older, $5.25
for students 17
and younger, free
to children 5
and younger.
Information:
503-223-1321.
On
the Web: japanesegarden.com.
Portland Classical
Chinese Garden
 When: 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. through
March, 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. April
through October.
Where: 239 N.W.
Everett St., Portland.
Cost: $7, $6
for senior citizens,
$5.50 for students,
free to children
4 and younger.
Information:
503-228-8131.
On
the Web:
portlandchinesegarden.org.
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