Garden Design: Inspiration Vacation. Well.....

....it wasn't really a vacation, but it felt like one. I was away last week at the Assoc. Of Professional Landscape Designers' (APLD) week long annual conference. Even though it was business, it was great fun and very inspirational. I saw lots of great gardens and listened to many informative speakers. The highlight for me personally was this spectacular public water feature. It's the Ira Keller fountain in downtown Portland OR, and it is amazing. Portland's a great city and has lots of other public water features for city kids to enjoy during the summer. This one is in the Pearl District of Portland.

If you haven't been, it's worth the trip. The Japanese garden is spectacular as is the Chinese garden. AND, I found a gardenia in the Chinese garden that actually BLOOMS IN THE SHADE. It's flower shape is a little different than the typical gardenia, but it still has that infamous gardenia fragrance. Ahhhhhh..... It's called Gardenia 'Kleims Hardy' aka 'White Gem'.