Garden On, Vashon

 I just spent six days in The City of Roses, my hometown. Much of my visit was focused on a recuperating Mom, but hubbie and I did manage to get away to Crystal Springs Rhododendron Test Garden, one of my favorite Portland destinations for the month of May.

Located next to Reed College in southeast Portland, this Portland Park is named for the many natural springs that rise from a huge aquifer underground here—once considered for the source of Portland’s drinking water.

Two lagoons and a lake surround a rhody-planted island and peninsula, which you reach via two bridges and many wandering paths. The oldest rhododendrons here date from the 1930s, but you can also see azaleas, hostas, magnolias, ferns, wonderful drifts of candlelabra primroses, hardy geraniums, and a winter garden on the peninsula. 

So here’s a bit of eye-candy for your enjoyment. If you can get away to Portland soon, Crystal Springs can be found on the southwest corner of Reed College, on SE Woodstock off 39th.

Back in “Summerplace”, the development where my mother lives, the irises, pansies, azaleas and even the roses were coming on strong. Cruising other people’s flowers—the one thing I miss about living in a neighborhood.


But when I returned, my own iris bed was in bloom—irises given to me by friends in exchange for dividing their own. Thanks, Bea, Sharon, and Linda! So good to be back in my Island home!