While we’re the first true botanical garden in Portland, Oregon, we’re certainly not the first public garden or botanical experience. Portland is home to several public gardens that each provide their own unique experience to visitors. Our goal is not to compete with other local public gardens, but to enhance and expand on the already existing attractions. This is the City of Gardens concept.
A Problem
We believe that horticulture should be part of everyday life. We imagine a world where gardening is not just a thing that plant nerds do. While gardening is big in Portland, our lawns are still weedy and overgrown. We live in the WIllamette Valley, one of the premier gardening environments in the country and people move here because of what can be grown. We believe that a City of Gardens is a place that supports and encourages the beautification and improvement of green spaces both public and private.
A Solution
A City of Gardens must be accessible to all; provide educational opportunities; and offer shared value to all visitors and residents. The City of Gardens concept is the next step in creating a greener, more interconnected Portland by forming a collective network of public gardens. We want visitors to visit all of the gardens in Portland.
Expansion and Elaboration
Creating the City of Gardens is a challenging task, but PBG hopes to take the first step by building Elaborative Gardens. Elaborative Gardens are extensions of Portland’s existing public gardens that offer immersive and educational experiences that are not already available.
- Japanese woodland
- Serving as an extension of the cultural gardens at the Portland Japanese Garden
- Chinese wetland
- Serving as an extension of the cultural garden at the Lan Su Chinese Garden
By creating Elaborative Gardens at PBG, we’re able to simulate the natural spaces that surround those cultural gardens in their home countries. This gives visitors the unique opportunity to discover both the cultural and the natural in the same city.
Opportunities to Collaborate
PBG hopes to bring together all of Portland’s public gardens to form a network of resources, education, and tourism. The City Of Gardens approach to Portland’s public gardens offers opportunities for joint marketing, sharing, and an interconnectedness that benefits visitors to the Rose City. Forming a collaborative network of gardens also paves the way for local and regional organizations to partner with one or all, improving reach and overall publicity.
