A Traveler’s Journey to Oregon with AHS
From August 19 to 23, a group of AHS travelers journeyed to Portland and the Willamette Valley with AHS Hosts Holly and Osamu Shimizu to explore the region’s iconic gardens, sustainable horticultural practices, and farm-to-table traditions. AHS traveler and Extension Master Gardener Amy Krafft shared the fascinating account below of some of the special experiences the AHS group enjoyed during the trip.
If you’d like to learn about AHS travel programs, visit www.ahsgardening.org/travel or contact Mercedes Bryant at travel@ahsgardening.org.
Exploring Gardens in Oregon
A Trip with AHS
By Amy Krafft, Extension Master Gardener
In late August, I went on my first American Horticultural Society member trip to Portland, Oregon and the Willamette Valley for 5 days. Led by AHS hosts Holly and Osamu Shimizu, we received a warm welcome everywhere we went, visiting a small family farm, a Pinot Noir vineyard, three beautiful botanical gardens, a Portland plant nursery, and the Annual Festival at Swan Island Dahlias. We also enjoyed the excellent Oregon farm-to-table scene eating our meals at a range of casual to fancy restaurants where seasonal dishes were made with locally grown ingredients from the surrounding Willamette Valley.
While visiting Marion Acres Farm in Hillsboro, I was excited to learn that this small pasture-based farm is successful in using the rotational grazing system pioneered by Joel Salatin, one of Virginia’s most famous farmers. The pasture grazing system is holistic and sustainable by mimicking nature in harmony, where wild animals arrive in herds, eat, and move on to new pastures. In this case the Black Angus cattle herd is followed by a mobile chicken coop to feed on the cow dung, leaving behind sufficient fertilizer to regrow the grassland to repeat the pasture grazing cycle again.
As a long-time conifer enthusiast, I was in conifer heaven seeing a tremendous variety of conifers growing in nearly perfect harmony at the Japanese Garden and the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland as well as at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. At the Oregon Garden, I was delighted to see the very large dwarf conifer collection maintained as the Conifer Reference Garden by members of the American Conifer Society.
At this time I am still trying to select a few dahlia tubers to plant next Spring from over 375 types grown at Swan Island Dahlias.
While I have taken quite a few group trips, this AHS trip was certainly one of my all-time favorites. Travelling with the Shimizus and a group of people who share a love of plants made for easy conversation and a very enjoyable trip.
Photos:
Right: Portland Japanese Garden
Middle: Oregon Garden, Silverton, OR
Left Top: Oregon Garden, Silverton, OR
Left Bottom: Lan Su Chinese Garden