Learning from the Garden » Garden Clippings

O-Tsukimi, Moonviewing

September is one of the loveliest months in the Garden, bringing one of the Garden Gift Store’s favorite festivals, Otsukimi, or Moonviewing. Look for us all three evenings, September 14, 15, & 16, as we will have a special Moonviewing table in the Pavilion complete with Tsuen teas, books, music CDs, and more. This year’s event features a poetry reading by Peter Kendall and koto music by Mitsuki Dazai. We will have all three of Peter’s Japanese Garden haiku books available and Mitsuki’s beautiful Autumn CD.

The Garden Gift Store will be open late during Moonviewing, so please stop by and see the latest shipment of the symbolic Moonviewing rabbit on plates, bowls, and chopsticks. More music of the season will be available along with our latest books, calendars, and stationery.

New Books

We are now carrying the book 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die by Rae Spencer-Jones. This lovely book—complete with over 800 breathtaking photos and illustrations—highlights our own beautiful garden.

Our own Human Nature book is finally back in stock. This will be the last printing of this edition and if you don’t have your own copy yet or need the perfect gift for a garden enthusiast, please stop by. We’ll be glad to help you.

Tsuen Tea

As the weather changes and we transition to fall, nothing warms like a cup of tea. We are proud to carry Japan’s oldest tea, Tsuen tea. The Tsuen family has been providing the highest quality tea in Uji, Japan since 1160 CE. Whether you prefer the earthiness of Genmaicha or the special Organic Matcha, you’ll understand why Tsuen tea is the official tea of the Portland Japanese Garden. We also carry many tea accessories including tea pots, cups, whisks, and caddies.

Exclusively Ours

We know that when it comes to shopping you have lots of options, but where else are you going to find hats, t-shirts, umbrellas, and stainless steel water bottles all with the Portland Japanese Garden logo? Our 2009 calendars are also available along with our new accordion postcard books.

Incense is an important part of many Japanese celebrations, including Obon, the Lantern Festival (celebrated here at the Garden on Saturday, August 16). In the Garden Gift Store and on our store web site we have many different incense scents; both cone and stick varieties, and several styles of burners. For the traveling incense user, check out our travel tins complete with incense, special burning mat, and travel tin.

Jonathan Ley

Don’t forget the Garden’s new logo-wear when shopping for back-to-school clothes this year. Our all-cotton t-shirts are sized for pre-schoolers to college kids and everybody in between. Keep dry and warm while promoting your favorite Garden with our umbrellas, hooded sweatshirts, and adjustable hats.

A Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to announce that I have received an International Affairs Fellowship awarded by the Council on Foreign Relations and sponsored by Hitachi, Ltd. This is an exciting opportunity for the Portland Japanese Garden as well as for me personally.

This Fellowship will afford me the opportunity to conduct research in Japan in the area of cultural diplomacy, focusing on grassroots foreign relations through international cultural and artistic exchange—especially as it pertains to Sister City and Friendship Japanese Gardens.

The Portland Japanese Garden Board of Directors has approved a six-month sabbatical, allowing me to fulfill this fellowship and return to my position at the Garden upon completion of the appointment. During the fellowship period I will be in regular contact with the staff at the Garden to ensure the success of ongoing operations. Additionally, Cheryl Ching, our Director of Operations and a 25-year veteran of the Garden staff, will be appointed as Deputy Director to manage day-to-day activities. I have the fullest confidence in her abilities and judgment as well as in the entire staff.

I will begin residency in Japan in November 2008 and return the first of May 2009, and I look forward to keeping you updated about my experiences through emails and the Garden Clippings web blog. Please feel free to give me a call if you have any questions and as always, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Stephen D. Bloom
Executive Director

Thanks to the help of our partners at the Oregon Pottery Association and with the efforts of our many new Japanese friends from the Hokkaido Pottery Society, the Spring Art in the Garden exhibition drew more than 6,000 visitors over the ten short days we had the pleasure of showing their work in our Pavilion! Special thanks go to Mary and Blaine Dickson, who first met and introduced us to Mrs. Yuko Maeno of the Hokkaido Pottery Society, making the whole exhibition possible! Not only did they serve as a bridge between Portland and Hokkaido, but Blaine also helped us install the ceramics and Mary added a touch of elegance to the room with her lovely ikebana arrangements. Many thanks to them both! Thanks also go to Jan Waldemann and Masae Wright and all the members of Kashin-tei Kai for their beautiful presentations of tea ceremony during the exhibition. Finally, without the help of the many volunteers who served as Gallery Attendants throughout the exhibition, this special experience would not have been possible.

Thanks to all our wonderful sponsors, donors, vendors, volunteers, and Garden staff, this year’s Plant Sale was another major success. Once again we relied on the fearless guidance of our Plant Sale Committee Chair Ed McVicker and his fantastic team—Gert Bernstein, Mary Reece, Char Gray, and Faith Nagasawa—to lead us to our best-ever plant sale event.

Ed Geis

Special thanks to:

Sponsors

Oregon Decorative Rock

Al’s Garden Center of Sherwood

Donors

In Japan, Golden Week is celebrated the first week of May and Kodomo no Hi, or Children’s Day is a featured festival. We’ll celebrate Children’s Day here at the Garden on Sunday, May 4, and have fun things for boys and girls including stickers, action figures, books, toys, and of course koi nobori—the fish-shaped windsocks that fly all over Japan in honor of the festivities.

Sunday, May 11 is Mother’s Day and the Garden is a great place to celebrate. We have beautiful scarves, jewelry, bath essentials, incense, tea sets, and more to honor Mom. Please visit us on the east deck of the Pavilion on Mother’s Day from 11am-4pm to pick up the special gifts we’ve selected just for the occasion.

In celebration of the Garden’s 45th anniversary, we are launching a three-year
Cornerstone Program as a way to thank donors who make substantial investments
in our organization. Donors who make new gifts of $5,000 or $10,000 will have the
opportunity to be recognized on a stone that will be incorporated into a retaining
wall on the path from the Antique Gate to the Garden. This program is similar to the
former Pathway of Stones program.

The Garden will recognize 45 donors at each donor level; two-thirds of each gift
will be designated to the Garden’s endowment fund and one-third will support
operations. If you would like to receive information about this program, please
contact Nicola Sysyn at nsysyn@japanesegarden.com or (503) 595-5225.

2008 at the Garden is shaping up to be a wonderful year for Garden members and their guests. A number of exciting exhibitions, festivals, educational programs, and events will give you even more reasons to visit. Be sure to take advantage of special member hours, your Garden Gift Store discount, Member Tea & Tours, and all the wonderful information on our web site. And, as always, the Garden’s beauty and tranquility are here for you as an oasis of calm and green in the city.

The Portland Japanese Garden recently received a wonderful $20,000 grant from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund to underwrite capital improvements in the Garden. This generous grant will allow the Garden to complete several improvement projects, including replacing the koshi grills and sliding doors on the Main Gate, installing koshi grills on the Garden House, and replacing the roof and repairing the wall surrounding the Tea House. We are grateful to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund for its support.

“The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Spirit Mountain Community Fund are proud to support the revitalization efforts of the Portland Japanese Garden.” commented Director Shelley Hanson, “The Garden is a long-standing Portland landmark and it is an honor to ensure that it maintains its beauty and integrity for Oregon’s citizens and visitors.”

Starting Saturday, November 3, we will be offering guided tours of the Garden at 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. We invite you all to take advantage of this opportunity to tour the Garden in the quiet season.

• More information on tours at the Portland Japanese Garden