Last weekend my daughter Jenny treated me to a visit to Portland, Ore.,’s tranquil Japanese Garden. It was one of my Mother’s Day gifts, for both my girls know how much I enjoy gardens and the outdoors. Although I was born and raised in Portland and have visited frequently over the years when we lived out of state, I’d never been to the traditional gardens contained on five and a half acres. This is only one of the variety of attractions set within Washington Park, tucked into the West Hills overlooking downtown Portland and commanding gorgeous views of Mt. Hood (unfortunately, last Saturday the mountain was wreathed in heavy clouds). Visitors can enjoy the Oregon Zoo, the Hoyt Arboretum, a rose garden, a forestry center/museum, and a children’s museum all readily accessible by public transit or personal vehicle. The entire area is lushly forested, making it a great place to hang out on a hot summer day. Last week it was cool and showery, but our timing turned out to be perfect: The rain stopped as we pulled into the parking lot and stayed away until we left. The sun broke through occasionally, and there were few other visitors, making it possible to take plenty of photos of the grounds without a lot of strangers in the shots. There are several gardens or garden “rooms” within the complex, linked by gravel paths and several ponds and streams and waterfalls. One was never far from the peaceful sound of running water, whether dripping off the branches overhead, trickling down a bamboo trough into a stone bowl or running over rocks down a hillside. Because of the cool, wet spring Portland has been experiencing this year, many of the flowering azaleas and cherry trees were not yet in full bloom, but that made it easier to notice the enormous range of greens on display. Thick moss covered logs and rocks and entire hillsides, and fresh new leaves unfurled from carefully pruned and trained branches of Japanese maples. Darker greens of pine needles and dark, wet wood and stone brought the lighter shades into sharp relief. What a feast for the eyes! It is said that the gardens are beautiful any time of year, whether under a light fall of snow in winter, blazing with autumn color or lushly decked out in foliage at the height of summer. I’m glad my first visit was on this fresh, damp, promising spring day. You can be sure it won’t be my last! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor