For my Art of the Mosaic class our teacher had us go down to Portland for the day to take a tour of the Classical Chinese Garden in the city. It was a lovely day, warm and a little overcast but it didn't rain so even that was just fine. The gardens were a little tricky to find, but once I realized they were in the Chinatown part of the city (DUHHHH, but hey, I never claimed to be a genius), the rest was easy.
The garden was formed as a result of Portland's sister-city relationship with Suzhou, China. We gave them a rose garden, they gave us a traditional housing compound. Makes sense.
This was a bit of rock, one of many, that was hauled out of a lake bed in China and imported into the United States for the purposes of being used in this garden. The currents of this lake are strong enough that they wear away the stones in these unique patterns. The stone is called Taihu stone , and is now illegal to export from China because it is considered a national treasure.
After looking at the plant map for the gardens, I haven't been able to figure out what this flower is. It was in the L/K area but it doesn't sound like one of the plants listed. Oh well, it was my favorite plant, I think.
Our tour guide, she did a wonderful job and I think that if you go, it'd be worth it to take the tour. It should take about 45 minutes (ours took 2 hours) and gives a nice history to the area that you wouldn't otherwise get. Since the gardens are pretty small (.8 acres), going through the gardens on their own is quick work, and the tour forces you to slow down and see everything. There's alot crammed into this small area.
The moon gate.
This tree was wrapped around a rock, the whole thing reminded me of the mandrake root on Pan's Labyrinth.
Plum blossoms.
Pretty purple thing.
Part of the stream that fed the pond. The pond had a couple schools of goldfish that seemed very happy floating around.
The water fall next to the tea house where you can have tea. Next time I think I'll stop in.
I DO remember what these were called. These are paper flowers and they smelled sooo pretty.
And here are the mosaics the class came to see. I'm not sure how relavent the field trip was for the class but the gardens themselves were beautiful enough to make the two hour drive worth it.
All of these mosaics paved the pathways between pavilions, courtyards and around the pond. I think I'd like to do some of these whenever I get a house. I always like having moss grow on things, especially on pathways like these.
All of these mosaics paved the pathways between pavilions, courtyards and around the pond. I think I'd like to do some of these whenever I get a house. I always like having moss grow on things, especially on pathways like these.
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1 comment:
i love that garden so much!!! the teahouse is worth a visit times ten. even if it's expensive, it is so nice to sit there and get a hot teapot of jasmine tea and some of the delicious little snacks like these dried mangoes that taste like tea and sugar and little mooncakes and other yummies. i heard once, i can't remember if it was from a tour-guide or a random person, that those mosaics are made to be walked on barefoot, so you can feel the different textures as you wander the garden. they feel very nice if you are bold enough to take off your shoes.
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