I had the pleasure of traveling to Portland, Oregon last week, where my husband attended a business seminar. One of my favorite sights was the Portland Japanese Garden in Washington Park. The subtle colors throughout the garden - shades of greens, browns, grays and pale yellow - produce a feeling of calm, and the quiet colors allow one to focus on the small details that add richness to the park.
One thing that particularly intrigued me was the great variety of shapes, sizes and textures of ground cover and paving - chiseled stone, stone fragments, exposed-aggregate concrete, smooth rocks, sharp gravel, moss, rectangular pavers, foliage, natural rocks - and the many different ways that they were combined throughout the park.
I don't know what to call the squiggly things in the picture above, but I like them!
Below are additional pictures of the park that don't involve paving.
Most of the views within the Japanese Garden are medium-distance views, highly curated and visually confined by hills or foliage, which helps to create a sense of serenity and introspection. However, the Mount Hood Overlook in front of the Pavilion Gallery has a stunning long-distance view of the mountains beyond Portland.
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