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| Portland's Chinatown gate, the official entrance to the Chinatown district, which unfortunately is quite a disappointment if you're looking for a good Chinese restaurant or market |
In the middle of Portland's Chinatown sits Lan Su Garden, an authentic Chinese garden meant to represent the private garden of a 16th century wealthy Chinese family. It takes up one entire city block, and was built in 2000 by artisans from Suzhou, China, who lived in Portland for 10 months while they assembled the structures that had been crafted in China and shipped across the Pacific Ocean. Most of the materials -- more than 500 tons of rock -- came from China. Suzhou is Portland's sister city in China's Jiangsu province, a city famous for its beautiful gardens. From the 14th through the 19th century, Suzhou was considered the wealthiest and most sophisticated city in China, a city where the rich and powerful sought to retire and build elaborate gardens.
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| A lovely planting of Begonia grandis in the courtyard where you buy a ticket to enter |
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| Step through into the past |
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| The rocks in the garden are Lake Tai rocks, formed underwater, the flow of which formed their unique shapes. |
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| The garden has some wonderful layering effects going on |
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| The pond in the center of the garden is meant to evoke a vast lake, with the rocks in the distance serving as mountains with waterfalls and streams. |
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| Koi swim languidly in the lake |
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| These interesting tiles are bat-shaped drip tiles, each adorned with five bats, representing each of the five blessings -- long life, good fortune, good health, a love of virtue, and a painless passing. |
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| A shower passed over while I was there, and everyone scurried under the trees and into the pavilions surrounding the pond |
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| Every little corner of the city block is used |
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| A pretty orchid |
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| Hypericum |
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| Arisaema |
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| Cutleaf Oak |
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| At times it's hard to believe you're in the middle of Portland |
According to the booklet that was handed out with my ticket, "Lan Su is a special place in the midst of the city where we can escape traffic, calm our senses and reconnect with nature."
So true!
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For a few more words about Lan Su, as well as gorgeous photos with lots of plant IDs, see the following posts from local Portland garden bloggers:
Scott at Rhone Street Gardens: Portland Chinese Garden Plant Sale
Loree at danger garden: Plant Sale! And Portland’s Lan Su Classical Chinese Garden...
And danger garden again: A quick stop at Lan Su...
That's it for gardens that I saw in Portland. Now I'm back home in my own garden, still planting like a maniac, trying to catch up with all the plant shopping I did this spring. But, don't worry -- there are more plant tours in my future.
