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Preparing for El Niño: Portland Japanese Garden Gets Ready for a Wet Winter

Posted by Portland Japanese Garden on
Gardeners at Portland Japanese Garden preparing the Flat Garden for winter in 2024.

Winter is always a fantastic time to visit Portland Japanese Garden. Highlights include winter decorations being arranged throughout the landscape, the annual festival celebration O-Shogatsu (Japanese New Year), holiday shopping for hard-to-find Japanese goods in the Garden’s Gift Shop, hot teas at the Umami Café, and, new this winter, the art exhibition Weaving Time: Nuno – Textiles of Tradition and Transformation. However, this winter may see some disruption as experts are predicting that El Niño will be one of the strongest in recent memory.

Explaining El Niño and Predictions on its Impact on the Pacific Northwest

two people walk with umbrellas on a path in front of a wooden gate
A rainy walk through the Garden. Photo by Jonathan Ley.

El Niño, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), occurs “when temperatures in the equatorial Pacific are 0.5°C above average for several consecutive months” and the breakdown of the Walker Circulation, a “massive east-to-west air flow driven by the temperature and pressure differences between the warm western and cool eastern oceans.”

Larry O’Neill, State Climatologist for Oregon, told OPB’s Dave Miller on Think Out Loud that peak intensity for El Niño will reach us between December and February and that its impact in the Pacific Northwest will be different compared to other parts of the world, that this region will likely see warm temperatures and much more rain and longer periods of it.

Preparing Portland Japanese Garden for El Niño

Japanese wooden gate flanked by stucco walls in front of a chilly and bare winter hillside
The Garden in winter of 2025.

Hugo Torii, Garden Curator for Portland Japanese Garden, routinely and deeply considers the impacts of climate change and extreme weather—it’s a necessity for anyone tasked with the design, maintenance, and fostering of an outdoor space. Torii, who also serves as Director of the Japanese Garden Training Center, has been monitoring reports on El Niño and has had his team prepare the Garden’s grounds.

“Part of the historic success of Japanese gardens has been their ability to transform and evolve depending on the needs of the time,” says Torii. “While these needs have often been reflective of calls for spirituality, emotional healing, or finding peace within, it also includes the needs that occur at the intersection of the climate and humanity. To help serve our community and continue to provide a welcoming space that offers time in nature, cultural immersion, and community, Portland Japanese Garden will always anticipate what climate change may bring so it can continue to provide a world class experience for its guests.”

The Steps the Garden Has Taken

Hugo Torii, Garden Curator and Director of the Japanese Garden Training Center inspecting the Natural Garden in January 2026.

Alongside Torii is David Howlett, Senior Gardner for Portland Japanese Garden. Howlett shared what the Garden has been doing to get ready:

  • Improving Drainage: Throughout the summer, the Garden Department inspected and cleared its drainage system so it can handle heavier rainfall.
  • Erosion Mitigation: Since plant cover is among the most effective ways to reduce erosion, they introduced additional plants and moss where there was exposed soil. This will also help reduce the amount of sediment that washes into ponds and streams.
  • Tree Monitoring: Alongside expert arborists, the gardeners have been keeping an eye on trees across the landscape. If a tree shows signs of poor health or appears like it may fall, it is flagged for removal, so it doesn’t fall and harm people or the landscape around it.
  • Infrastructure Improvement: With expectations this winter will be wetter than normal, the gardeners have paid even closer attention to fixing small problems in its infrastructure, including paths and bridges. This will help prevent them from becoming larger problems as rain can hasten deterioration.
  • New Equipment: The Garden always seeks to improve and enhance the tools it has so it can continue to maintain the landscape, but it has been steadily improving its resources to ensure that the gardeners have what they need to deal with fallen trees, erosion, and blocked drainage, and most importantly, be able to do it safely.
  • Plant Selection: While not directly an action in anticipation of El Niño, but certainly related to it through the changing climate, the Garden is working with likeminded nurseries to incorporate plant varieties and species that are more likely to fare well in in the Pacific Northwest of tomorrow, which will see different weather patterns than what has happened historically.

Winter Weather Updates

Throughout winter, the Garden may close or delay opening due to ice and snow. Please check our website for information before visiting during periods of inclement weather and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook, where we will also share closure and delayed opening updates.