July 2022

Tsuru Soars

Northwest Koi & Goldfish Club

Koi Expo

Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

Saturday, July 9th
10am - 4pm
Main City Park
Gresham

NAJGA Leaves Us Humble

Schedule of EventsL

10am-2pm - Exhibits
Noon-2pm - Children’s Area: Origami		 and Paper Fish Ponds
2pm-4pm - Live Auction

NWKG.org

Seminars
10am- Koi Identification and		 Appreciation
11am- Ikebana Arrangement
Noon- The Art of Bonsai
1pm- Water Quality for Koi

HOSTED BY:
FRIENDS OF

GreshamJapanese Garden

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
GreshamJapaneseGarden.org/koi503-502-7340

Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Mary Taylor, Mary Dickson, and Mary Marrs. Photos by Bill Peterson.

ast month we wrote about North key areas of focus are to share informaAmerican Japanese Garden Asso- tion, foster connections, provide training
ciation (NAJGA) holding a Meetand advocacy. How do they accomplish
and-Greet at our Garden for members
their goals? One avenue is these intimate
within about 100 miles of Gresham!
meet and greets. Another is organizing
Twenty-five members attended, coming yearly Regional Conferences fulfilling afrom as far south as Corvallis and west as broad range of their mission. This year
Hillsboro, to visit Tsuru Island, listen to an they chose Anderson Japanese Gardens
impactful presentation by NAJGA outlin- in Rockford, Illinois.
ing their next 10 years, and networking
We were stunned at the end of theirwith other members.
presentation when Board President, JeaCurrently, NAJGA’s community consists nette Schelin asked us to host next year’sof 225 individual memberships, 110
Regional Conference.
organizations, and 31 businesses. MuchYes, a daunting task but nevertheless anlike a Chamber of Commerce, NAJGA’s
exciting one. We are honored to host aPHOTOGRAPHER’S VIEW
.さりとてはばか長き日よかきつばた

saritote wa baka naga[ki] hi yokakitsubata
well well, the day is foolishly
long...irises
Regional Conference in 2023. Our small,
humble Japanese Garden in Gresham,Oregon will be receiving some heightened awareness!

The Story of Tanabata (Star Festival)
rates the two by widening the “heavenlyriver,” or Milky Way. It isn’t until Orihime’s
father starts to feel remorseful that thetwo are allowed to meet annually, on
the seventh day of the seventh month,
as long as Orihime continues her beautiful weaving.
HISTORY AND ADAPTATION
Tanabata is one of Japan’s five traditionhe Tanabata festival, also known
al seasonal festivals and has been celeas the Star Festival or Hoshi Matbrated for thousands of years and wassuri, is a traditional summertime
introduced to Japan by Empress Kōken
celebration in Japan. Tanabata meansin 755. It was first celebrated by imperial“evening of the seventh” .
court aristocrats who would stargaze,
The Tanabata celebration is based on
write poetry, and hold contests.
a legend about two lovers represented
One of the most iconic
by the stars Altair and Vega. The story ofsymbols of the Tanabata
these stellar beings tells of two “starcrossed lovers” who are only allowed to festival is the long, thin
strips of colorful paper
meet once a year.
streamers known as
In the tale, a weaver princess named
Orihime (Vega) and a cow-herder named “tanzaku.” These papers
are hung from bamboo
Hikoboshi (Altair) fall in love. Distractbranches, along with othered by their romance, the two start toornaments and origami.
neglect their duties. Orihime stops
weaving and Hikoboshi’s cows are left to Bamboo poles are usedin more urban settings, towander.
help decorate shops, train
This angers Orihime’s father, the Skystations, and other public
King or Emperor of Heaven, who sepaspaces.

T

Mural Update

Island Streambed Gets a Faceliftby Mary Marrs

Just like in the olden days, wishes arewritten on the tanzaku. Since bamboo
grows so tall, the wishes are supposed
to be able to reach the heavens, wheredeities can grant the wishes and/orward off evil spirits.
Bamboo grows in two places on Tsuru
Island, next to the azumaya, and also inthe southeast corner. Please feel free tohang your tanzaku on a bamboo branchthroughout the month of July.

Hang your tanzaku on abamboo branch throughout
the month of July.

Source: https://www.bokksu.com/blogs/Pruning Service

GARDENER’S TIP• After roses bloom, trim down to stem,leaving five leaves. Keep deadheading
other flowers to promote blooming.
• Mulch garden plants to help them thrive in theheat and to reduce watering and weeding.
• Plant second season vegetables suchas kale and lettuce. Keep turning yourcompost pile.
• Make plans to increase garden plants
favored by pollinators.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer
and Organic Gardener

Oh my… the mural is almost complete.
Madison Hughes (#achy.hands) painted theJapanese farmer harvesting his cauliflower
crop on his Farmall tractor—the first “rowcrop” tractor introduced in 1923.
Another element mounted on the mural isa cartouche, a common architectural feature
in Japanese art.
Stop by and check it out!

“My garden is over 25 years old with niceshrubs and plants, but some are overgrownor improperly pruned. The pruning classes arevery informative, but working alongside Jim
and Sue on my own landscape has been evenmore helpful, and a lot of fun. I learn a lot eachtime and would recommend it to anyone wholoves to garden. It’s a wonderful service for thecommunity.” —Cyndy Roland, BoringTwelve years
ago, Jim
Card purposely sat on Tsuru
Island during a
downpour towatch the natural
pooling and runoff patterns of therain. Back then, the garden was relatively
flat, and he knew that any restoration
would have to consider its overalldrainage. The subsequent streambed
that Card designed now runs the lengthof the garden and has served both thedrainage function and aesthetics that heoriginally envisioned.
While the streambed has some water init during the wet months, it’s usually dry
most of the year. That’s part of the function, Card says. One purpose is to collectrainwater and the run-off from the drip
irrigation, and let it gradually percolate
into the subsoil. Its strategic placement
also draws water away from areas thatare naturally wetter where plant roots
might suffocate in saturated soils.
And the sinuous layout of the streambed is also key in creating garden“rooms”. Combined with the curving
path and position of plants, it helps
define and separate unique areas
throughout the garden. Even when avisitor walks across the low foot bridge,
the perspective and mood of the gardenchanges. In fact, the location of eachwood bench on Tsuru Island was specifically chosen to present the viewer with aunique viewpoint of the streambed anda garden room.
In a Japanese garden, water is a symbol of renewal and reflection. Even theillusion of flowing water can be calming.
That’s what the streambed on Tsuru Island does as it winds around trees, alongboulders, flanked by an array of grasses,
rushes, and iris. It almost seems to mimic

Rebuilding the streambed started withthe flowing nature of Johnson Creek.
But even a streambed needs some care placing new permeable landscape fabricand attention. And not a little. A lot. After which will continue as a weed barrier andall these years, it had become filled with keep rocks separated from the subsoil.
fine mud, decomposing leaves, and pine Over four cubic yards of clean, roundedneedles. Even the landscape fabric under pebbles, cobbles, and boulders werebrought in and laid down by hand. Somethe rocks was losing its permeability toof the reconstruction was done in theallow water to filter through, and wasrain, so water (and silt) settled in thestarting to look bad.
So the streambed got a restoration that bed. When it dries out, volunteers willremoved any silt and leaves before laying
started with the removal of almost five
cubic yards of rock, mud, and compost. the final layer of rocks.
Since this restoration project was a big
Plants that had encroached were pulled
out—tenacious roots and all. Because of undertaking for the Garden, Card andthe delicacy, all the excavation was done Page want to make sure the maintenanceis done properly. They examined theby hand, one bucket and wheelbarrowat a time. No machinery was used in the streambeds constructed on the Gresham
garden, just good old elbow grease and Japanese Garden properties of Ebetsu

strong backs. As the debris was removed, Plaza and Ambleside Annex. The stretches were shorter, but are retaining their
Mike Henke made over 50 trips to thedrainage and aesthetic values. Keeping
compost area behind the city maintethese streambeds clean has involved regnance shed with this scooter pulling aular removal of leaf debris and hand-pullGorilla cart.
ing weeds as they grow—tasks that can
One particular person did the majoreasily be incorporated into Tsuru Island’s
ity of that work. Volunteer Chuck Page
modestly said he put in over forty hours regular maintenance schedule.
Now that the streambeds are clean
during a two-week period to remove
again, and proved to function as intendabout 90% of the materials by hand.
During two Garden Saturday workdays, ed, Card shouldn’t need to sit throughanother rainstorm watching the waterother volunteers put in back-breaking
work hauling old rock out and new rock flow. And Page and Henke have moved
on to other Garden projects.
into the streambeds.

The Story of Tanabata (Star Festival)
rates the two by widening the “heavenlyriver,” or Milky Way. It isn’t until Orihime’s
father starts to feel remorseful that thetwo are allowed to meet annually, on
the seventh day of the seventh month,
as long as Orihime continues her beautiful weaving.
HISTORY AND ADAPTATION
Tanabata is one of Japan’s five traditionhe Tanabata festival, also known
al seasonal festivals and has been celeas the Star Festival or Hoshi Matbrated for thousands of years and wassuri, is a traditional summertime
introduced to Japan by Empress Kōken
celebration in Japan. Tanabata meansin 755. It was first celebrated by imperial“evening of the seventh” .
court aristocrats who would stargaze,
The Tanabata celebration is based on
write poetry, and hold contests.
a legend about two lovers represented
One of the most iconic
by the stars Altair and Vega. The story ofsymbols of the Tanabata
these stellar beings tells of two “starcrossed lovers” who are only allowed to festival is the long, thin
strips of colorful paper
meet once a year.
streamers known as
In the tale, a weaver princess named
Orihime (Vega) and a cow-herder named “tanzaku.” These papers
are hung from bamboo
Hikoboshi (Altair) fall in love. Distractbranches, along with othered by their romance, the two start toornaments and origami.
neglect their duties. Orihime stops
weaving and Hikoboshi’s cows are left to Bamboo poles are usedin more urban settings, towander.
help decorate shops, train
This angers Orihime’s father, the Skystations, and other public
King or Emperor of Heaven, who sepaspaces.

T

Mural Update

Island Streambed Gets a Faceliftby Mary Marrs

Just like in the olden days, wishes arewritten on the tanzaku. Since bamboogrows so tall, the wishes are supposed
to be able to reach the heavens, wheredeities can grant the wishes and/or
ward off evil spirits.
Bamboo grows in two places on Tsuru
Island, next to the azumaya, and also inthe southeast corner. Please feel free tohang your tanzaku on a bamboo branchthroughout the month of July.

Hang your tanzaku on abamboo branch throughout
the month of July.

Source: https://www.bokksu.com/blogs/

Pruning Service

GARDENER’S TIP• After roses bloom, trim down to stem,leaving five leaves. Keep deadheading
other flowers to promote blooming.
• Mulch garden plants to help them thrive in theheat and to reduce watering and weeding.
• Plant second season vegetables suchas kale and lettuce. Keep turning yourcompost pile.
• Make plans to increase garden plants
favored by pollinators.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer
and Organic Gardener

Oh my… the mural is almost complete.
Madison Hughes (#achy.hands) painted theJapanese farmer harvesting his cauliflower
crop on his Farmall tractor—the first “rowcrop” tractor introduced in 1923.
Another element mounted on the mural isa cartouche, a common architectural feature
in Japanese art.
Stop by and check it out!

“My garden is over 25 years old with niceshrubs and plants, but some are overgrownor improperly pruned. The pruning classes arevery informative, but working alongside Jimand Sue on my own landscape has been evenmore helpful, and a lot of fun. I learn a lot eachtime and would recommend it to anyone wholoves to garden. It’s a wonderful service for thecommunity.” —Cyndy Roland, Boring

Twelve years
ago, Jim
Card purposely sat on Tsuru
Island during adownpour towatch the natural
pooling and runoff patterns of therain. Back then, the garden was relatively
flat, and he knew that any restoration
would have to consider its overalldrainage. The subsequent streambed
that Card designed now runs the lengthof the garden and has served both thedrainage function and aesthetics that heoriginally envisioned.
While the streambed has some water init during the wet months, it’s usually dry
most of the year. That’s part of the function, Card says. One purpose is to collectrainwater and the run-off from the drip
irrigation, and let it gradually percolate
into the subsoil. Its strategic placementalso draws water away from areas thatare naturally wetter where plant roots
might suffocate in saturated soils.
And the sinuous layout of the streambed is also key in creating garden“rooms”. Combined with the curving
path and position of plants, it helps
define and separate unique areas
throughout the garden. Even when avisitor walks across the low foot bridge,
the perspective and mood of the gardenchanges. In fact, the location of eachwood bench on Tsuru Island was specifically chosen to present the viewer with aunique viewpoint of the streambed anda garden room.
In a Japanese garden, water is a symbol of renewal and reflection. Even theillusion of flowing water can be calming.
That’s what the streambed on Tsuru Island does as it winds around trees, alongboulders, flanked by an array of grasses,rushes, and iris. It almost seems to mimic

Rebuilding the streambed started withthe flowing nature of Johnson Creek.
But even a streambed needs some care placing new permeable landscape fabricand attention. And not a little. A lot. After which will continue as a weed barrier andall these years, it had become filled with keep rocks separated from the subsoil.
fine mud, decomposing leaves, and pine Over four cubic yards of clean, roundedneedles. Even the landscape fabric under pebbles, cobbles, and boulders werebrought in and laid down by hand. Somethe rocks was losing its permeability toof the reconstruction was done in theallow water to filter through, and wasrain, so water (and silt) settled in thestarting to look bad.
So the streambed got a restoration that bed. When it dries out, volunteers willremoved any silt and leaves before laying
started with the removal of almost five
cubic yards of rock, mud, and compost. the final layer of rocks.
Since this restoration project was a bigPlants that had encroached were pulled
out—tenacious roots and all. Because of undertaking for the Garden, Card andthe delicacy, all the excavation was done Page want to make sure the maintenanceis done properly. They examined theby hand, one bucket and wheelbarrowat a time. No machinery was used in the streambeds constructed on the Gresham
garden, just good old elbow grease and Japanese Garden properties of Ebetsu

strong backs. As the debris was removed, Plaza and Ambleside Annex. The stretches were shorter, but are retaining their
Mike Henke made over 50 trips to thedrainage and aesthetic values. Keeping
compost area behind the city maintethese streambeds clean has involved regnance shed with this scooter pulling aular removal of leaf debris and hand-pullGorilla cart.
ing weeds as they grow—tasks that can
One particular person did the majoreasily be incorporated into Tsuru Island’s
ity of that work. Volunteer Chuck Page
modestly said he put in over forty hours regular maintenance schedule.
Now that the streambeds are clean
during a two-week period to remove
again, and proved to function as intendabout 90% of the materials by hand.
During two Garden Saturday workdays, ed, Card shouldn’t need to sit throughanother rainstorm watching the waterother volunteers put in back-breaking
work hauling old rock out and new rock flow. And Page and Henke have moved
on to other Garden projects.
into the streambeds.

July 2022

Tsuru Soars

Northwest Koi & Goldfish ClubKoi Expo

Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

Saturday, July 9th
10am - 4pm
Main City Park
Gresham

NAJGA Leaves Us Humble

Schedule of EventsL

10am-2pm - Exhibits
Noon-2pm - Children’s Area: Origami		 and Paper Fish Ponds
2pm-4pm - Live Auction

NWKG.org

Seminars
10am- Koi Identification and		 Appreciation
11am- Ikebana Arrangement
Noon- The Art of Bonsai
1pm- Water Quality for Koi

HOSTED BY:
FRIENDS OF

GreshamJapanese Garden

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
GreshamJapaneseGarden.org/koi
503-502-7340

Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Mary Taylor, Mary Dickson, and Mary Marrs. Photos by Bill Peterson.

ast month we wrote about North key areas of focus are to share informaAmerican Japanese Garden Asso- tion, foster connections, provide training
ciation (NAJGA) holding a Meetand advocacy. How do they accomplish
and-Greet at our Garden for members
their goals? One avenue is these intimate
within about 100 miles of Gresham!
meet and greets. Another is organizing
Twenty-five members attended, coming yearly Regional Conferences fulfilling afrom as far south as Corvallis and west as broad range of their mission. This year
Hillsboro, to visit Tsuru Island, listen to an they chose Anderson Japanese Gardens
impactful presentation by NAJGA outlin- in Rockford, Illinois.
ing their next 10 years, and networking
We were stunned at the end of theirwith other members.
presentation when Board President, JeaCurrently, NAJGA’s community consists nette Schelin asked us to host next year’sof 225 individual memberships, 110
Regional Conference.
organizations, and 31 businesses. MuchYes, a daunting task but nevertheless anlike a Chamber of Commerce, NAJGA’sexciting one. We are honored to host aPHOTOGRAPHER’S VIEW.さりとてはばか長き日よかきつばた

saritote wa baka naga[ki] hi yokakitsubata
well well, the day is foolishly
long...irises
Regional Conference in 2023. Our small,
humble Japanese Garden in Gresham,Oregon will be receiving some heightened awareness!