Japanese Gardens

Autumn has definitely arrived here in PDX! In Portland this does mean gray skies and rain... but through the veil of drear, believe it or not, one can actually enjoy some amazing autumn colors right now. And of course this also means my camera has been in overdrive.

We visited the Japanese Garden on Thursday, about a 30 minute walk from home (awesome) to see all the fall foliage. We just so happened to visit on what we're told was the peak day for color, before all the leaves started dropping off. Double awesome.

The five traditional gardens are maticulously tended to year round for all (well, all with $8) to enjoy. As you might imagine, these gardens are a very peaceful and zen place to be. Everyone is hush hush, kind of like a library. And of course, the gentle kachik-kachik-kachik of eight zillion cameras floated through the air as well. It was a very popular day for photographing. :)

On our way up to the gardens we strolled through the International Test Rose Garden. Surprisingly, some of the roses are still in full bloom or are just starting to bloom. I thought they would all be wilted away for sure. And after a fresh rainfall, I couldn't resist some close-ups.



From here on out are Japanese Garden pictures. I recommend clicking on any of them you find interesting, to enlarge them in a new window. There is not really much I need to say about them, as they pretty much speak for themselves, so I will probably shut up for most of the rest of this post. Most of it.

A floating leaf friend right in the middle

The Japanese Maples all looked like they were on fire

An upskirt shot of a maple

These little water bugs were so cool... they just skated across the water surface like it was ice

Quite possibly the most photographed tree in Portland

That's it, hope you enjoyed! Up next on the blog, a Mayo/Fischer/doggy trip to Sauvie Island for a day of beachcombing. But not til tomorrow, cause I'm sleepy.

Love,
Jenny