Portland

Portland's South Waterfront Park

Portland South Waterfront Park Photo © Alice Joyce

South Waterfront Park Pond © Alice Joyce

Lush Plantings in a Formal Framework distinguish Portland’s South Waterfront Park.

On a summer night in the glowing light of dusk, it’s pure bliss to walk among the lush perennial plantings that enliven the formal gardens adjacent to the Willamette River; below the southern point of Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Naito Parkway. Below: Brilliant callas consort with hardy geraniums, and Eucomis ‘Oakhurst.’

Portland

Continue reading Portland: South Waterfront Park

Portland

Iconic Ira Keller Fountain: Portland

Keller Fountain Photo © Copyright Alice Joyce

In the book, 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die …there’s an entry for an iconic 20th Century Modern public space in Portland, Oregon: Ira Keller Fountain Park. In this city that celebrates fountains, the Ira Keller fountain reprises in all its contemporary angularity the wondrous power of the natural world, encountered an hour or so outside the urban environment. Designed by Angela Danadjieva, associate of renowned American landscape architect, Lawrence Halprin, the interactive water feature achieved the goal of providing access to water so that people might revel in its sensory pleasures. The city of Portland clearly appreciates the many ways that fountains enliven a neighborhood, offering pleasurable spots for families and friends to gather.

Continue reading Iconic Ira Keller Fountain: Portland

Horticulture

Portland Interlude: Cistus Nursery

Cistus (Photo:

Plant shopping while in Portland? You’ll want to plan a stopover at one of the Portland area’s most enticing plant emporiums: Cistus Nursery, operated by plantsman extraordinaire, Sean Hogan; author of Trees For All Seasons & Flora: The Gardener’s Bible. Make your way 20 minutes north of Portland to Cistus on Sauvie Island, a bucolic landscape of you-pick organic farms to delight foodies, beach camping, and a marina situated along the Multnomah Channel.

Continue reading Portland Interlude: Cistus Nursery