Portland's Chinese Garden - Early Fall

JW and I timed our Fall visit for the Autumn Moon Festival.  It was a lovely clear, cool night and the garden was decorated with red lanterns. No sign of the full moon until later. There are a couple of skyscrapers that will have to go to improve the view.

Some plants still flowered and only a few trees were tinged with yellow. Green persimmons hid among still green leaves. We'll just have to go back in November. :)

Portland's Chinese Garden - Summer

Summer took a long time to arrive in Portland. So JW and I quickly took advantage of a lovely summer evening, and the garden's policy of closing late on Monday nights.

It was a special treat for me because I've never been there in summer.  Perhaps I was expecting the austerity of a Japanese garden, but it was all lush, life, and color. Gardenia, dragonflies, and rainbow koi.

And no kids!

Portland's Chinese Garden - Spring

JW and I hurried to Portland's Classical Chinese Garden -- which seems to have been quietly renamed the Lan Su Chinese Garden -- for our Spring visit this weekend. With Portland's very early warm weather, we might have missed real Spring if we waited for calendar Spring.

Nearly all the plants that can were blooming: daphne, quince, cherry, edgewothia, camellia, and more. The Lunar New Year celebratory red lanterns added more color.

The garden seemed excessively crowded today. Winter's quiet emptiness was more a treat than we realized, and have decided to plan our Summer and Fall visits at times when we can hope for more solitude -- which is really a polite way of saying times when swarms of screaming, running children will be less likely.

Portland's Chinese Garden - Winter

In preparation for the trip to China, I plan to visit Portland's own Classical Chinese Garden once during each season -- also known as another excuse to look at plants and drink tea because I am an old lady librarian.

JW (my boyfriend) and I braved rare bitter winter weather for a Sunday visit. A strong wind pushed ripples across the part of the pond not yet frozen over. A persimmon added color to the dormant garden, and I sipped a Strong Fire Oolong in the teahouse.