Visit Portland Japanese Garden to see the return of our beloved bonsai.
By Will Lerner On January 31, Living Traditions returned for a new installment in what has become an anticipated annual tradition of conversations and talks exploring the most iconic facets of Japanese culture and traditions. Launched in 2020 as a joint project of Japan Institute of Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Society, 2026 was the third year …
By Will Lerner As Portland Japanese Garden joins Lewis & Clark College in the beloved annual tradition they started, Moss Appreciation Week, we wanted to take some time to share some the facts we found most interesting about these tiny plants! Make sure you also read our deeper dive into the history of moss at …
By Will Lerner “When visiting some of the best moss gardens in Japan, expectations of the equivalent elsewhere are high, to say the least. Are there any gardens in other countries that can match these wonders? Portland Japanese Garden can do just that. When we visit the garden in late October, it is almost unbelievably …
Carol Frankel, a retired educator and generous patron of Portland Japanese Garden, chatted about her life and why she supports the organization.
At the beginning of 2026, and after a series of events that had created a sense of unease in its home city, Portland Japanese Garden made the decision to offer free admission from 1:30 to 3:30pm on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10 with the hopes that it might help bring calm and compassion to its community. We chatted with some of the people who were visiting us during this time to learn why they honored us with their presence.
By Will Lerner Portland Japanese Garden has earned a reputation for its excellence over its more than 60 years, but that excellence would remain an aspiration were it not for the quality that truly makes the Garden special: its people. It begins with its visitors: more than 400,000 folks annually from more than 90 nations …
Written by Will Lerner, Marketing and Communications Manager In October, Portland Japanese Garden refreshed its Kashintei Tea House by adding new tatami mats thanks to generous support from its volunteers. Floor coverings traditionally composed of woven grass and straw, tatami mats are often found in Japanese buildings, including but not limited to tea houses. Believed …
By Will Lerner, Communications Manager for Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute In September, the Japanese Garden Training Center, one of Japan Institute’s programming centers, saw the return of Waza to Kokoro. This flagship program helps Japanese gardens outside of Japan find authentic, locally-appropriate solutions in design, construction, maintenance, and preservation. It is designed for …
Portland Japanese Garden welcomed Anne Hunter, gardener and curator for Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s three-acre Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and Japanese Tree Peony Collection, to become the latest professional to participate in its guest gardener exchange program.