The Lan Su Chinese Garden (poetically “Garden of Awakening Orchids”) in Portland was completed in 2000, and I’ve long wanted to go for a visit.  R noticed this year that our Oregon Historical Society memberships gave us free entrance to the garden in March so it became the birthday excursion last Thursday, my birthday AND Sidney Day.  The three of us did a little fern trimming at Fernridge and then headed downtown…where Sidney petted a fierce Foo dog before we went in…

The booklet given to visitors told us that “The Lan Su garden is considered the most authentic Suzhou-style Chinese garden outside of China.  The more than 500 tons of rock in the garden are from China.  65 artisans for Suzchou (Portland’s sister city) lived in Portland for 10 months while they assembled and completed the structures that were crafted in China.  The garden features more than 300 plant species and cultivars found in traditional Chinese gardens.”  The “LAN” in Lan Su represents PortLANd and the Su from SUzchou…hence the combining of the two sister cities.

If you go on a Thursday morning you might want to take advantage of the free tai chi group…on the terrace of the Hall of Brocade Clouds…

But my delightful first encounter was with a beautiful Edgeworthia…

which took my breath away.  There were tree peonies in evidence everywhere, though not in bloom until May.  Around the grounds in various of the buildings was a temporary show of botanical drawings which were beautiful and I delighted to find several by my neighbor Aislinn Adams, including this one (sorry about the photo Aislinn)…

Sidney, however, had found the koi and we did lots of running the paths as the fish swam back and forth…

and the paths are also beautiful…

and all of the traveling revealed MORE Edgeworthia…hooray…

Mine has a ways to go…

there were waterfalls…

and many gorgeous wooden details on the buildings themselves.  Really, put this on your calendar for May and go see the garden in Spring bloom…I know I will, and you won’t be sorry.

Then on to lunch with the dinosaurs and a little drawing…

Back to Fernridge for some birthday action…

and then the lovely day had to end…