Portland’s 10 Most Beautiful Gardens
One of my favorite things about summertime in Portland is seeing flowers everywhere. Oregon’s City of Roses lives up to its reputation when rosebushes start blooming in front of coffee shops, next to highway overpasses, and in my neighbors’ yards. The most impressive displays are in the city’s public flower gardens, especially if you time your visit around peak bloom. Here is everything you need to know about visiting Portland’s best gardens.
1. International Rose Test Garden
When to visit: Roses bloom in Portland from around late May through September, peaking in June.
Cost: Free (although parking is metered)
Accessibility: A sidewalk with a grade of 8.3% leads from the parking lot to the rose garden’s main promenade, which is flat and paved. Some of the other paths are unpaved or have barriers like stairs. Frequent benches. Accessible parking and restrooms.
About the garden
I don’t usually put the most famous destinations at the top of my best-of lists, but Portland’s International Rose Test Garden lives up to the hype. Over 10,000 rosebushes in more than 600 varieties fill the park’s terraced lawns. From dainty miniature roses twining up light poles to showstopping blooms the size of dinner plates, the rose garden blends elegance with extravagance. If you have any romantic declarations you’ve been meaning to make, come in the morning when dawn’s soft golden rays hit thousands of blooming roses. There you have it. How to resist waxing poetic about the rose garden even on a top 10 list?
The Portland Rose Garden gets crowded when the roses bloom, especially on the weekends. The atmosphere is cheerful and the roses are stunning regardless. The crowds are more of the issue if you’re parking or trying to get photos that aren’t full of other visitors. Even weekdays can be packed. Embrace the masses or arrive early.
Find details in my guide to the Portland Rose Garden.
2. Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
When to visit: April to June to see the rhododendrons blooming. Closed Wednesday mornings.
Cost: $9/adult, $6/student (ages 6-21), free for children under 6
Accessibility: The trails in Crystal Springs are unpaved but wide and even with gentle grades. Frequent benches. Accessible parking and restrooms. Find details from Disabled Hikers.
About the garden
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in southeast Portland is one of the city’s hidden gems. It has two major draws. The first are the hundreds of rhododendrons and azaleas that bloom in the spring starting around April. The garden’s different rhododendron varieties spread out the bloom season so that it lasts into early summer. The other highlight is bird-watching, which is some of the best you can find within city limits. Ducks and geese love the lake and the wetlands around Crystal Springs. Look for mallards, wood ducks, Canada geese, herons, grebes, buffleheads, lesser scaups, American coots, and many songbirds. As you walk along the rhododendron-lined garden paths and cross picturesque footbridges, listen for bald eagles. They often nest in the park.
Find details in my guide to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.
3. Portland Japanese Garden
When to visit: All year. Cherry blossoms usually bloom toward the end of March.
Cost: $21.95/adult, $18.95/Senior (65+), $17.95/Student (with ID), $15.95/Youth (6-17), free for ages 5 and under. Parking is metered.
Accessibility: Variable. Some paths have stairs and steep grades. Some are flat and even. Accessible parking, restrooms, exhibit spaces, cafe, and gift shop.
About the garden
Part botanical garden and part art museum, the Portland Japanese Garden is one of the most beautiful spaces in the city. Start by wandering along the paths through eight separate garden styles, where you’ll see mossy rocks, trees, flowers, sculptures, a waterfall, and sand gardens. The star of the Portland Japanese Garden is the 80-year-old weeping cherry tree that blooms outside the Pavilion Gallery in spring. After admiring the gardens, head inside to see art galleries and cultural exhibits. Before heading out, it’s worth stopping at the Umami Cafe for delicious Japanese tea and snacks.
4. Leach Botanical Garden
When to visit: All year. You’ll see the most blooms in spring and summer. Closed Mondays.
Cost: $5/person, children 5 and under are free
Accessibility: The upper areas of the garden have flat, wide, and even paths of crushed gravel. The Aerial Tree Walk is a flat metal platform. Some trails are uneven and narrow. Frequent benches. Accessible parking, including in the main lot and a couple of spots by the gift shop.
About the garden
The Leach Botanical Garden is my vote for Portland’s most underrated garden. The drive there doesn’t do it any favors, but don’t get discouraged. Once you reach your destination, you’ll be worlds away from fast-food restaurants and strip malls. The garden was once the home of botanist Lilla Leach and her husband, John. Lilla planted flowers, shrubs, and trees from around the world on their property with an eye for both variety and beauty.
Today, volunteers maintain the garden, which has expanded to include an upper level with a pollinator garden. The newest feature is the Aerial Tree Walk, a metal platform where you can admire the garden’s towering trees from high above the ground. After the tree walk, head down the hill to stroll along Johnson Creek and see the Leach family’s former home. Take a docent-led tour to learn about the garden’s plants and see the Stone Cabin, a house that looks like an enchanted cottage straight out of a fairytale.
5. Lan Su Chinese Garden
When to visit: All year
Cost: $16.00/ages 19-61, $15.00/ages 62 & over or students (18+ with ID), $13.00/ages 6-18, free for children 5 and under
Accessibility: Walkways are flat, wide, and even. You can reach most areas with a wheelchair. Frequent benches. Accessible restrooms.
About the garden
Unlike many of the gardens in Portland, Lan Su Chinese Garden is just as captivating in the winter as it is in summer. Designed after the gardens of Ming Dynasty China, Lan Su’s art, architecture, cultural exhibits, and waterways are the highlights here rather than seasonal blooms. Once you step off the (let’s face it) often chaotic streets of Old Town Portland, you’ll be in a hidden and peaceful oasis. Covered walkways keep you dry while you explore, making it Portland’s most appealing garden on a rainy day. After making a tour of the grounds and pavilions, stop by the teahouse for an excellent pot of tea and a plate of dumplings.
6. The Grotto
When to visit: All year
Cost: The Lower Level is free. To visit the Upper Garden: $9.95/adult (ages 12-64), $8.95/Senior (65+), $4.95 for ages 6-11.
Accessibility: The paths on both levels of the Grotto are paved, flat, wide, and even. An elevator connects the two levels. Frequent benches. Accessible parking and restrooms.
About the garden
The Grotto in northeast Portland has one of the city’s most unusual garden spaces. It’s a Roman Catholic Ministry that is open to the public and welcomes people of all faiths to visit. The Grotto has two levels, one at the base of a cliff and the other on top of it. The Lower Level is free. Here you’ll find a forested walking trail with religious artwork, the Chapel of Saint Mary, and the gift shop. The highlight of the Lower Level is the Grotto, an altar with a replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà at the base of the cliff. To see the flowers in the Upper Garden, buy an admission ticket and take the elevator to the top of the cliff. Once in the Upper Garden, you can wander along tranquil, shady paths lined with flowers. Something will be blooming no matter the season. Before you head back down, stop by the Meditation Chapel to take in the incredible views of the city to the north.
For details, check out my guide to the Grotto.
7. Peninsula Park
When to visit: Summer to see the roses blooming.
Cost: Free
Accessibility: The walkways surrounding the garden are wide, flat, and even. Ramps with an 11% grade lead to the paths within the garden itself. Frequent benches.
About the garden
Northeast Portland’s Peninsula Park is, in most ways, a typical urban park. On the north side, you’ll find the usual amenities like a playground, a grassy lawn, and a baseball diamond or two. Venture to the south side and you’ll see what makes the park special. During the summer, thousands of roses bloom in every imaginable color. One of Portland’s oldest parks, Peninsula Park has many of its original features, like the octagonal bandstand, lantern-style light poles, and brick walkways. Next to the formal rose garden, you’ll see a small but lovely pollinator garden. After seeing the flowers, have a picnic on the lawn.
8. Ladd’s Addition
When to visit: Summer to see the roses blooming.
Cost: Free
Accessibility: Public sidewalks with minimal grade surround the rose gardens in Ladd’s Addition. The pathways through the roses are grass. Benches available. Street parking.
About the garden
Ladd’s Addition is one of Portland’s oldest and most charming neighborhoods. Its center is a circular green space ringed with a large traffic circle. The neighborhood streets radiate out from the circle like the spokes of a wheel. Starting at the center, head in any cardinal direction to reach one of the four Ladd’s Addition rose gardens. On the way, you’ll pass a block or two of Craftsman homes that have excellent gardens in their own right. Volunteers maintain the neighborhood’s dedicated rose gardens with love, making them a treat to visit in the summer. Visit one or all four gardens, then spend some time on a sidewalk table at Floyd’s Coffeehouse and Wine Bar.
9. Duniway Lilac Garden
When to visit: Late March through June to see the lilacs blooming.
Cost: Free
Accessibility: Benches available. The paths around the lilacs are grass.
About the garden
The Duniway Lilac Garden is one of the least-known gardens in Portland. It doesn’t help that the parking situation is weird. The garden doesn’t have a dedicated lot, so you’ll need to walk a little to reach it. After some confused circling, I ended up parking in the neighborhood by the athletic field on the other end of Duniway Park. You’ll wonder if you’re going the right way as you walk around the athletic track, and then up a grassy hill with no flowers in sight. Eventually, you’ll reach the lilacs in a secluded little grove in a far corner of the park, where over 100 species grow. They start blooming in spring and continue into June. Lilacs, especially their smell, are nostalgic to me. They thrive in Minneapolis where I grew up and remind me of the start of summer after a long, cold winter. For kindred spirits, it’s worth a visit for the fragrance alone.
10. Elk Rock Garden
When to visit: All year
Cost: Free
Accessibility: Paths are unpaved and sometimes uneven.
About the garden
If a garden could be said to give mixed messages, Elk Rock Garden does. Let me explain. Until you pass through the garden’s large and imposing gate, you’ll think you’re going the wrong way. It’s located in a swanky neighborhood in deep southwest Portland, surrounded by mansions, high fences, and (I assume) attack hounds trained to keep out riffraff like me.
Once you reach Elk Rock Garden, the vibe is that visitors are more allowed than encouraged. No bathrooms, no dogs, no picnics. After signing the logbook outside the manor house, you’re free to stroll the grounds. It’s obvious that this English-style garden was tended with care at some point but now has become overgrown. The atmosphere is romantic bordering on haunting, more poignant for being faded. Flowers, weeds, and uncut grass grow intertwined along neglected walkways. For better or worse, think not so much Jane Austen as Emily Brontë.
Bonus: Rogerson Clematis Garden
When to visit: Year-round. Some clematis even blooms in the winter. Peak bloom happens in the summer.
Cost: Free
Accessibility: The walkways through the garden are flat and even crushed gravel paths. Frequent benches and picnic tables.
About the garden
I’m adding the Rogerson Clematis Garden as a bonus entry since it’s a little outside of Portland. If you don’t mind driving out of town to West Linn, this exquisite garden is worth the distance. I’ll admit that before visiting I thought of clematis as having one look. Now I know better. At the Rogerson Clematis Garden, they come in a surprising range of colors, shapes, and sizes. Although peak bloom happens in summer, the garden has something blooming all year. After admiring the flowers, have a picnic under the branches of a 120-year-old copper beach tree.
In summary, the best gardens in Portland are:
International Rose Test Garden
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
Portland Japanese Garden
Leach Botanical Garden
Lan Su Chinese Garden
The Grotto
Peninsula Park
Ladd’s Addition
Duniway Lilac Garden
Elk Rock Garden
Rogerson Clematis Garden
Enjoy the gardens of Portland!
With love,
Emma
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