Gardening Wisdom » Uncategorized

Removing a Red Cedar

Portland Japanese Garden — Tue, 25 May 2010 22:26:46 +0000

The gardeners are in the process of removing a Western Red Cedar tree that, some years ago, had forked and then begun to split.

Iyo Blue Stone

Portland Japanese Garden — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:12:20 +0000

Iyo blue stone (called Iyo Aoishi in Japanese) is one of most sought-after garden stones in Japan. It is no longer harvested from the river beds in the Iyo region—the best specimens we have today in Japan are already placed in gardens (the most famous Iyo stone open to public view is in a Tokyo garden). Iyo stone belongs to the Chlorite group of minerals and is known for its distinctive white stripes in the light-blue body, which turns into dark, deep blue once wet.

David M Cobb

Iyo blue stone originates from Ehime Prefecture, on the western corner of Shikoku Island, however there are other blue garden stones in other parts of Japan. Japanese gardeners name each stone based on the region of its origin: Iyo stone, Awa-ishi, Tanba, etc. There are over one hundred such regional stone types that are favored for gardens.

The Portland Japanese Garden’s Flat Garden features one exceptionally large Iyo stone, flanked to the front and left by two smaller Iyo stones. The arrangement commemorates Philip Englehart, the first President of the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon.

Iyo Blue Stone at Kiyosumi-en, Tokyo

Sadafumi Uchiyama

Welcoming Spring

Portland Japanese Garden — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:27:11 +0000

Nothing so represents the poetic sense of springtime renewal as fresh greenery, midori みどり. As always, gardeners keep busy in this season. The Garden’s fixtures are renewed in time with the leaves and blossoms—fresh, green bamboo is cut and wooden structures are made to look new again. As spring is the first seasonal change of the new year, preparing for its arrival—spring cleaning, in a sense—has a feeling similar to welcoming a guest.

On this occasion, we also welcomed two world-renowned guest speakers to the Garden, Dr. Makoto Suzuki and Mr. Shiro Nakane. With the Garden looking its best, black twine topknots were retied on several bamboo fences in honor of our distinguished guests.

A fresh green bamboo spout, or kakehi 筧, at the Garden entrance crouching basin arrangement (tsukubai 蹲踞).

Jasmine Blue

Gardeners scrubbed the railing above the Sand & Stone Garden to remove lichens and algae, restoring a fresh look to the wood. Burrs from the scrubbing will be polished away for a smooth, sealed finish before a coat of oil is reapplied.

Harvest Time in the Flat Garden

Portland Japanese Garden — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:27:51 +0000

In time for the Garden’s Moonviewing celebration, our gardeners have raked the familiar “rice paddy” design in the sand of the Flat Garden—this year choosing a dynamic angle that directs the eye toward the symbolic stone bridge arrangement.

photo: Jan Vreeland