Lan Su, a beautiful distraction when I needed it most

I wish it weren't the case, but my mood is heavily influenced by the weather. A grey cloudy day has me feeling down and lethargic. When the sun shines and the sky is blue, I am upbeat and full of positive energy. Last Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day here in Portland and I set out for Lan Su (our Chinese Garden) and the Chrysanthemum Festival.

Begonia grandis

I used to be a regular visitor to Lan Su and the festival, I think it was probably COVID that broke the pattern. I also used to be a member at the garden, but let it expire when I felt like the plants were no longer the focus. 

This sign board was one of the first things I saw at the garden during my visit. Since I was feeling extra sensitive that morning the first sentence hit me hard. The key to staying sane will be to do exactly this, in whatever form you are able.

The garden was a beautiful place to be that day...

The Floral Design Showcase is a big part of the festival and I found it shocking how different the entries were from the last time I visited, less theatre, more natural floral arranging. This is Perennial Heritage, by Lauren Say.

Sonnet 73 by, Kefira LaValley.

So many of my old favorite plants were missing. Winter deaths? Maintenance issues in the garden? This podocarpus was looking good however.

As was the Poncirus trifoliata.

Golden Longevity: a Chrysanthemum and Dried Flower Celebration, by Jen Rich.

Long Live the Queen of Fall Flowers, by Peggy Donovan.

This arrangement was not signed, maybe created by the garden staff? I suppose I should also note that I didn't photograph all the arrangements in the garden that day. I only focused on the ones that I liked.

Mums in Moonlight, by Rachel Galloway.

Forest Bathing, by Ellen Hansen.

It had been so long since I'd visited that I'd completely forgotten about this luxurious patch of Pyrrosia sheareri in the garden.

It's happy and healthy!

I'd not forgotten about the Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' however...

Those small green balls, after the petals fall, they're fantastic.

As I walked into the far SW corner of the garden I was thinking there was a plant there that I used to love to visit. Was it the edgeworthia? No, I mean it was always nice to see, but there was something else, something more "special"... ah! That leaf! Yes. Look up dummy...

Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida’, the cutleaf Emperor Oak. It's so tall now.

There was no signage to say if these bonsai were part of the garden's collection or perhaps on loan?

The one in the middle appealed to me, with it's green layers.

Pinus bungeana (lacebark pine)

A rhododendron (left) that I can't ID, and the sexy legs of a what I assume is a crepe myrtle.

I spent about an hour wandering this city-block sized garden. I chatted with a few other visitors and managed to forget my worries for a while. Gardens (especially ones where we aren't responsible for the upkeep) are good for that.

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BC, briefly

This feels odd, like it's too soon, I'm still in mourning. However, I am going to continue to write about plants, gardens, and gardeners. I will—as a coping and endurance strategy—continue to celebrate these things that I hold to be extremely important in this world, or at least in my world. I have no choice, stopping means they've stolen my joy, and we need to guard our joy in the coming months. Make no mistake, my doing so is not because I've moved on from the incredibly vulgar decision that was made by my fellow Americans in the election earlier this week. 

—   —   —

Last Friday I hopped on a plane and took off for Vancouver, BC—I'd been invited to speak at the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group Study Day on November 2nd. Co-chair of the group Dana Cromie picked me up at the airport and whisked me off to an afternoon of garden visits. On the way to the car I admired this green-wall planting on the airport parking garage.

I'll be posting photos of those gardens in the coming weeks, but today I'm sharing a quick overview of things I saw, like these two buildings I saw on our walk to dinner that night. My eyes were first drawn to the silver building on the right that looks like someone twisted it off center. Then Dana pointed out the missing pieces of the pink building.

There was a fire. Can you imagine? Scary.

He mentioned the twisty building had some interesting landscaping at the base, and we planned to walk by after dinner.

These photos aren't the best, since they were taken after dark, but I'm sharing them anyway. 

It's a mossy amphitheater!

With bamboo...

The Study Day events were held at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, very Jetsons!

The day was a fun one, a fantastic event that I was proud to be a part of, great people all around. My fellow speakers (Tony Spencer and Philip MacDougall) were top notch and the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group was extremely welcoming. 

The cool crab sculpture is the work of a man named George Norris.

I stepped outside at lunch to take a couple photos.

And shot a couple others through the windows...

I also managed a quick stroll around the interior courtyard garden.

Where there were cool fungi.

On Sunday I took a quick walk through a community garden just down the street from the hotel where I stayed. 

Temporary community garden space (their website is here) seems like a huge positive to me, but someone mentioned the city loses out on taxes the developers would otherwise be paying, so perhaps it's not all positive. 

Still, seeing garden plots like these always makes my heart happy. I know what having something like this would have meant to me when I was living in an urban apartment with no soil to plant in.

The garden's website is here: Robson St Community Garden.

Someone lost a stubby carrot.

Wow, that's a happy nasturtium.

Flamingos!

And dahlias...

I love the personality of these small planting spaces.

Time to head home! Because I was flying on a small prop plane we boarded out on the tarmac, where there were ferns! 

Polypodium glycyrrhiza I believe. It was a great weekend and I look forward to sharing more soon.

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note; these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.