Gardens in Portland

 

Chinese Classical Gardens

Tower of Cosmic Reflections

The upper floor was where the unmarried women of the family were cloistered. In Chinese society, it is improper for a lady to be seen, unmarried women especially. Now this building serves as the garden's tea house.

Bamboo

This was the first time I had seen real bamboo. I have had "Lucky Bamboo" before, but that isn't the same type. This kind was growing from the ground, something that seems unimaginable to me.

Limestone from Lake Tai

The garden featured seval impressive stones of limestone taken from a lake in China. The limestone is easily eroded away, and acquires a distinct personality from its surroundings.

Boat-shaped Pavilion

Scholar/Officials didn't always have the money or the time for a yacht. Instead, they built a pavilion made to resemble a boat on the lake.

Punchout

This was a little room a found while wondering around the garden. The opening struck me as unique. This image also displays the attention given to the flooring. Craftsmen hand-laid the stones sidesways in many intricate patterns as seen in this image.

Knowing the Fish Pavilion

This Pavilion sits on the edge of Zither Lake. In early spring, this is one of the best places to watch the goldfish.

Moon-locking Pavilion

A few weeks ago I had the fortune of traveling to Portland, OR for work. While I was there, I visited both the Classical Chinese and Japanese Gardens. I made sure to take a few pictures while I was there. ^_~

The "Moon-locking Pavilion" is at the center of the Classical Chinese Garden in Portland, OR. While this image was taken during the day, it's said that if you were to stand in the same spot on a clear night, the moon appears to be "locked" in the pavilion's roof. Pity they aren't open to the public that late...

Japanese Garden

Walkway

The walkway at the Japenese Garden in Portland, OR captured my interest. It was flat and square, rather than diagonal.

Fountain

Another bamboo fountain in the Classical Japanese Garden in Portland, OR. This one was kinda neat because it looked more in-tune with it's surroundings.

Tea House

This tea house in the Japenese Gardens overlooked the skyline of Portland, OR. I tried to take a snap of the city, but the air was too moist and everything was washed out. Still, it was an amazing vista.

Steps
Path

There are two ways to the entrance of the Japanese Garden. You can either take a shuttle directly to the entrance, or walk up a meandering path through the trees. Along the path was a short stone wall engraved with markers of the major contributors. The trees, like all the trees seem to be in the pasific northwest, were so unimaginably tall. I couldn't help but snap a picture.

Lightpost, River, and Bridge

Across from the lake and near the koi, there's a small path buried between some shrubbery. From the outside, it looked more like a shortcut through the garden path. When you were actually on it, however, you find this.

Walkway and Patio

A few weeks ago I had the fortune of traveling to Portland, OR for work. While I was there, I visited both the Classical Chinese and Japanese Gardens. I made sure to take a few pictures while I was there. ^_~

This one was taken at the Japanese Gardens next to the Zen Stone Garden. It didn't seem that special to most people, but the textures and orientation of the landscape and fencing caught my eye.

Zen Sand

A Japenese stone garden.

Lake

This is the lake at the center of the Portland Classical Japanese Gardens. I spent almost 10 mintues trying to get a good shot of the duck in the image, and in the end it's so small it doesn't matter.

Purple Flowers

A few weeks ago I had the fortune of traveling to Portland, OR for work. While I was there, I visited both the Classical Chinese and Japanese Gardens. I made sure to take a few pictures while I was there. ^_~

The Classical Chinese Gardens had a lot of wonderful plant life. One of them was this abundant bush of purple flowers.

Waterfall

The pond with the walkway and the Koi ended in a spectacular waterfall. Combined with the tall pacific northwest trees, it was the tallest most amazing thing I've seen.

Koi

I had never seen real Koi before either. When I went to the Portland Chinese Garden's earlier that week, the lake at the center of the complex only had goldfish. The Japanese Garden, however, had the large fish you see in the picture. I actually felt sorry for them, since they were all crowded around the only sorce of running water in the pond.

Bowl

This was one of the many fountains around the Classical Japanese Gardens in Portland, OR. I had always seen these kind of things in anime and manga, but to see them in person was quite a different expereince.