Wandering Wednesday - Portland Japanese Garden

 I made another visit to Portland last week, this time with my DH, and after enjoying showing him around the recently visited beautiful Rose Garden, we went across the street and visited the Japanese Garden.

It's a completely different experience of course, and it is a whole lot shadier thankfully as it got pretty warm. After you walk up a fairly steep hill on a well done shady trail you cross a glass bridge over to the garden proper.

The paper lantern display in the central courtyard was beautiful. There was a great exhibit of embroidered works Painting With Thread - The Art & Culture of Fukusa. Tremendously detailed textiles that are draped over gifts but then end up being precious gifts in and of themselves.

I was excited to see some great examples of bonsai in a courtyard off the main building. Some of them were hundreds of years old! I'm trying to get DH to take this up as a hobby for retirement.

The view of Mt. Hood was pretty clear.

The shoji pavilion was gorgeous, and I loved the peaceful raked gravel garden off of the deck. There was a sale of Japanese goods inside which were fun to briefly peruse, but it was very crowded.

There were a lot of great details like this metal top of a wooden bridge entrance post.

The reflection in this pond was quite striking.

I was enchanted by this arrangement of stone and cement pieces in this walkway. I think a wall hanging with this design would be really effective.

There were a whole lot of koi in one of the larger ponds, they are always so fun to watch.

Another similar pathway arrangement. I like those edging tile with the slight curve.

And here's another interesting one, with those same tiles stacked together on edge. This would be a cool quilt design.

And so would the shapes and colors of the bark of this tree.

I was really taken by the separateness of the leaves of the Japanese Maples when seen against the sun. Each leaf has so much space.