Notes from the West Coast

Oregon’s Lan Su Chinese Garden is oasis of calm in centre of busy city

It’s Easter weekend, traditionally a time for renewal and new life — new lambs, baby chicks, and the first of the spring flowers. I am penning this report from a beach house in coastal Oregon, it’s just before sunrise and the air is silver, white caps are keeping a rhythmic pace as they roll up the beach.

I’ve spent the last few days in Portland, a bustling city with bridges that crisscross the river (and themselves), unique shops, restaurants and beautiful gardens. Spring arrives early in Portland, with Japanese cherries, daffodils, euphorbias and foamy white candytuft announcing its arrival. The leaves have yet to sprout, but the coastal forests are dripping with chartreuse and silver-green moss and lichens. The air may still be cold, but it feels rich and full of energy.

After a busy day of touring, we decided to walk back to the hotel, rather than take the car. My daughter-in-law Sara, suggested we head toward the Chinese Garden to get our bearings — that was all of the encouragement I needed — and we stopped in for a visit.

Just a few short steps from the busy street, the Lan Su Chinese Garden is an oasis of calm in the centre of a busy city. The name Lan Su represents the partnership between the cities of Portland and Suzhou, their sister city in China’s Jiangsu province (famous for beautiful, historic gardens). The cities names were blended for the garden’s name, it is interesting to note that ‘lan’ is the Chinese word for ‘orchid’ and ‘su’ is the word for ‘arise’ or ‘awaken’ and Lan Su is poetically interpreted as ‘Garden of Awakening Orchids,’ according to their brochure.

Completed in 2000, the garden is considered the most authentic Suzhou-style Chinese garden outside of China. Most of the building materials, including more than 500 tons of rock, came from China, and 65 artisans from Suzhou lived in Portland for 10 months while they assembled and completed the structures that were crafted in China. The garden includes over 300 plant species and cultivars found in traditional Chinese gardens.

Our hostess explained how she enjoyed spending time in the Courtyard of Tranquillity. “I’m not much of a gardener,” she said, “but I love to see the small changes that happen in this garden each day.” She has started to bring some of these ideas home by introducing plants that have caught her eye into her home garden.

Please join me for a stroll through the garden, I hope the images inspire you as we begin a new season in the garden.

THERESA FORTE Doorways and windows throughout the garden frame views of the distant garden, creating the illusion of infinite space within a single city block. The inscription above the moon gate reminds us to use our senses in new ways: ‘Read the painting’ and...

Intricately carved wooden windows and doors of the Hall of Brocade Clouds frame the view of the inner garden. The carvings depict plum, bamboo and pine, known as the Three Friends of Winter. In a traditional Chinese garden, this area was used to meet...

The upturned corners of the Moon Locking Pavilion are softened by the red and green foliage of neighbouring trees. When the moon is full, you can see its reflection in the the middle of the lake, locked in by the shadow of the pavilion. This garden...

Contrasting textures are carefully arranged to represent the theme of yin and yang, nature’s harmony in the garden. Gentle foliage caresses the rocks along the shoreline of the garden’s lake, soft green moss blankets the roof tiles. The large Lake Tai...

Detail of the intricate stone pattern on the courtyard floor.