In the Shadow of Mount Hood
By Hilda M. Morrill
January 31, 2009

One of the highlights of 2008 was attending the annual Garden Writers Association conference in Portland, Oregon in September. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to fully describe the horticultural paradise we discovered.

Portland is known as the "City of Roses." One of America's "greenest" cities, it has more public gardens than any other in the U.S.

The symposium was held at The Doubletree Hotel, which was easy to reach from the airport via public transportation. A train (MAX Light Rail) took only 15 minutes to get us to our home-away-from-home, at the incredible cost of $2.30 each for tickets that we purchased at a kiosk at the airport.

Later, hubby and I would discover that we could have made the trip for 95 cents each-since we belong in the "Honored Citizens" category (read: seniors).

By a wonderful coincidence for the 644 garden communicators in attendance, the hotel is located directly across from Holladay Park, a gem in the middle of the city, with old trees, fountains, benches, and unique works of art.

In fact, one of the cast-bronze sculptures by artist Tad Savinar features a female gardener, shears in hand, with gardening gloves tucked in her back pocket.

The friendliness of GWA members, no matter how famous or well known they are, has always been a plus at the meetings. Shortly after checking in, we ran into flower bulb specialists Brent and Becky Heath; noted photographer Alan Detrick and his lovely wife and business manager Linda Detrick; Sally Ferguson, publicist for The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center and Anthony Tesselaar Plants; David Ellis, editor of "The American Gardener" magazine; Nona Wolfram Koivula from the National Garden Bureau and All-America Selections; and the-one-and-only Felder Rushing, award winning author, lecturer, and southern garden expert-just to name a very few.

In addition to informative lectures and presentations, there were many opportunities to mingle and socialize over the five days.

"Story Tours" via busses took us to public destinations such as the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, The Portland Zoo, and The Japanese Garden-as well as many wonderful home gardens, where we often got to interact with the owners.

No matter where we went, we always seemed to be in the shadow of the spectacular Mt. Hood, Oregon's highest peak, located 50 miles east of Portland. Even when hidden by clouds, the 11,239-foot mountain seemed to beckon to us.

A garden products exhibition at the hotel with 80 different booths was the perfect place to find out all about the latest trends, products and information. Samples were plentiful: Beautiful 2009 calendars from Timber Press; bypass pruners from Corona; glasses from Storey Publishing; seeds from Renee Shepherd's Garden; note cards from Proven Winners; water bottles from Encore Azaleas; post-its from TreesAreGood.org; and personalized hand trowels from Fiskars.

Especially enjoyable were visits to world-class wholesale nurseries such as Terra Nova Nurseries, where we received a copy of "The Garden Clerk's Dictionary," edited and illustrated by noted plantsman Dan Heims; and the Iseli Nursery, where each of us was gifted with five precious dwarf and miniature conifers-perfect for containers, troughs or rock gardens back home.

Ah, yes... it's always a challenge to get all these goodies home on a plane. Lucky are those who live near enough to drive.

The meeting was a thoroughly wonderful adventure! Sincere thanks are due to the planning committee, the generous hosts and sponsors, the many local volunteers, and the great staff at GWA headquarters for making it all happen.

We're "really" looking forward to the 2009 meeting.... Raleigh, North Carolina, here we come!

Notes:

1. According to member Cathy Wilkinson Barash, GWA met at the same Portland venue 21 years ago, when it was known as the Red Lion Hotel.

2. Deborah Wakefield, Vice President of Communications at TravelPortland.com, tells us that the statue in Holladay Park was created in 2000 honoring a longtime neighborhood activist, Carolyn Marks Bax, now known by the shortened name of Carolyn Marks.

We share a few photos:

Photographer Alan Detrick holds his newly published book, "Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers: The Essential Guide to Digital Techniques." (c) Hilda M. Morrill

A poster announces book signings by authors Amy Stewart, "Flower Confidential," and Scott Calhoun, "Designer Plant Combinations." (c) Hilda M. Morrill

Socializing after a full day are: seated, Joe Lamp'l and Janel Leatherman; and standing, Allan Armitage, left, and David Ellis. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

Barbara Lawton and Denny Schrock show off colorful boas distributed at the Anthony Tesselaar Plants booth. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

After a delicious dinner, Vee Kjoelhede of the Progressive Gardening Trade Association gives a slide presentation in her 1,000 sq. foot sunroom, where she grows hundreds of plants hydroponically. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

Stephanie Cohen, center left, surprises Dan Heims during his presentation at Terra Nova Nurseries by singing "Happy Birthday" to him. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

 

A scene from the Portland Japanese Garden. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

A spectacular curbside planting. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

The Gold Medal Rose Garden. (c) Hilda M. Morrill

Iseli Nursery's dwarf and miniature conifers. (c) Hilda M. Morrill