Hiroshima Peace Treeby Mary DicksonT

he City of Gresham and Gresham rotten butter, vomit, or dog excrement.
Japanese Garden have recently
It is what gives the ginkgo tree a badbeen given a Hiroshima Peace
name.
Tree, so named because it grew from a
Though they smell terrible, the female
seed collected from a tree that survived cones, once harvested and processed,
the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Jim
reveal seeds known as “white nuts” or
Buck, Garden volunteer, said that the“ginkgo nuts.” These seeds are a delicacy
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)
in Chinese and Japanese cooking, used
has been making trees available to Tree in stuffing, soups, and even desserts.
Cities like Gresham. Jim picked up a 2.5- This treat is also nutritious, containing
foot potted ginkgo in October from ODF. 13% protein and 3% fats. That is why
During the bombing, 90% of Hiroshima female ginkgo trees are sought out by
was destroyed, but the survivors includ- those who envision making Bird’s Nest
ed 170 trees in 55 locations, within about Soup and other traditional Asian dishes.
1¼ miles of ground zero. Since 1945, tree Ginkgo seed hunters wear shoes withexperts and volunteers have lovingly
soles that can be easily washed and carry
2.5 ft Hiroshima Peace Tree (Ginkgo Tree)tended the trees that survived the bomb. gloves and Ziploc bags.
Each carries a nameplate reading HibaAre you familiar with ginkgo trees?
Parks Department tree specialists, andkujumoku (survivor tree). The word “gink- These stately trees can reach 100 feetother experts will carefully considergo” comes from a Japanese word. “Gin”
tall when mature. They have light-graylocations that will provide optimal conmeans “silver” and “kyo” means “apricot.” bark and fan-shaped leaves. As they age,ditions for the tree’s successful growth.
the crown of the tree gets wider, andSeeds that came from
One possibility is to plant it on Septemin autumn it turns golden yellow. Twober 21, 2022, International Peace Day.
survivor trees have been
70-year-old trees stand tall on the west
The ODF website provides a map of
distributed around the world. side of Gresham High School.
all other Hiroshima Peace Trees plantSince 2011, seeds that came from
Ginkgo, or maidenhair tree, is known as
ed in public places in 32 communities
survivor trees have been distributed
a “living fossil,” because it was a common
throughout Oregon from 2019-2021.
around the world. The seeds are careful- tree species when dinosaurs roamed
The program started when Japanese naly harvested, inspected in line with the
Earth, about 225 million years ago.
tive Hideko Tamura-Snider expressed toquarantine regulations of the receiving
Ginkgo was thought to be extinct until
ODF’s Jim Gersbach her wish for peacecountry, and kept in the storage facility
several plantings were discovered intrees from Hiroshima to be planted
at the Hiroshima Botanical Garden until eastern China.
throughout Oregon, her adopted home.
being shipped. Ginkgo seeds come from Plans for Gresham’s tree are to protect
Watch for more information once a
Hiroshima’s historical Shukkeien Garden it from winter weather and let it grow for
decision is made on the location and(which I have visited). These peace trees another year before planting, probably
timing of the planting of our Hiroshima
symbolize regeneration and reconciliation. in Main City Park. ODF, City of Gresham
Peace Tree.
According to the website from the New
York Botanical Garden, there is a differHoliday Wreath Making Workshop
ence between male and female trees,
Ring in the holidays with your personal touch. Choose from a variety ofgreens provided by Cherié Siegmund from Cedarglen Floral to create aand their gender does not show itself for22” diameter holiday wreath.
up to 15 years. Female ginkgo trees dropThursday, Dec 8th, 2-3:30pm, $22.00 - Includes instruction and supplies
their fleshy fruit in the fall. When crushed
Register at: https://www.greshamjapanesegarden.org/product/holiday-wreath-class/by passing cars or pedestrians, they
release a stench that has been likened to
Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Mary Taylor, Mary Dickson, Jim Card, and Mary Marrs. Photos credit, Bill Peterson.

December 2021

Tsuru Soars
Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

Who Knows the Origin of Origami?

Origami probably began in China,
nated, many people
but no one knows for sure, justaround the world
like no one knows for sure thatenjoy its artistry.
paper was invented in China. Since the
The Garden of19th century, we know that origami is afers enjoyable andhybrid of East and West cultures.
challenging monthly
Styles of origami (“Oru” to fold andartistic origami folding“kami” paper,) are classified by origin andworkshops taught by art
dates; Before Origami, Japanese Clastherapist Eileen Holzman. She takes all
sic Origami, European Classic Origami,
level of students (8 years old and older)
Traditional Origami, Modern Origami,
on a creative journey of paper folding.
Mathematical Origami, and last Artistic
Origami USA (origamiusa.org) is a great
Origami.
resource for those interested in learning
No matter where or when origami origi- more.

PHOTOGRAPHER’S VIEW
散紅葉流れぬ水は翌のためか
chiru momiji nagarenu mizu wa asu notame ka
Red leaves fall, just to be swept away,
tomorrow?
— Issa 1804

SIGN UP ON WEBSITE:
Origami for Everyone Workshop
Wednesday, December 22nd
6-7:15pm - $20

Basic Pruning Terminology

Mushrooms. Mushrooms. Mushrooms!

n upcoming issues, we’ll be sharing
how to prune different species. A
good baseline is learning the fivebasic cuts.

W

I

by Mary Marrs

If you’re an experienced pruner, heading
cuts can be useful toincrease foliage
and fill in thin areas.

REDUCTION CUTS: To reduce or
shorten the length of a branch by
SHEARING:
pruning back to a branch junction.
Performed with theThis is the most common cut to maintain intent of creating
the size and shape of trees. Do not leave a uniform profile.
a stub at the juncture. To determine if We see a lot of poor
you should make the cut, arborists insist shearing identified bythat to prevent excessive sprouting the heading cuts, leaving
remaining lateral branch must be at
woody interior stubs
least 1/3 the size of the removed branch. exposed. The highest quality shearing
is snip-by-snip technique to the new
REMOVAL CUTS: Remove branchgrowth only.
es at their point of attachment. In
TIPPING: Removing
leaves or stems
from the end of a stem.
This cut is used to slow
down the growth, redirectenergy, and help give a
uniform appearance.
You can learn a lot by
HEADING CUTS: Shorten branches
monitoring your pruning
by cutting between internodes orcuts season after season.
branch junctions. Heading cuts areusually not advised because it can cause Notice which pruning cuts
most effectively gives thethe tree to sprout excessively from thelook you want.
cut or ultimately cause the tree to die.
most cases, this means cutting a branchwhere it emerges from the trunk.
Removal cuts are used when you needto thin out the plant’s foliage to provide sunlight and remove dead wood.
Removal cuts do not usually alter the
shape or size of the tree.

Reduction Cut Diagram

Removal Cut Diagram

X
Heading Cut Diagram

Shearing
DiagramRelaxing Videos

Tipping

Generous Business Owner

GARDENER’S TIP
Fruit trees have been slow to go into
dormancy this fall, so December would bea fine time to trim suckers, remove limbs to
help interior air flow, and prune to promote
more fruiting spurs.
Also, provide protective mulch, especiallyaround sensitive plants, to help them deal
with colder winter weather that is boundto come.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer
and Organic Gardener

hat’s that peeking out of themulch? What’s emerging frombeneath the pine needles
and leaves? It’s mushrooms! With therain, we’ll see more and more of them in
our yards, gardens, trail systems, and at
Ebetsu Plaza.
But what exactly are mushrooms?
They’re actually the fruit of a certain
fungi that forms intricate undergroundwebs of fine threads called mycelia.
There are thousands of different kindsof fungi and mushrooms. Some can bedelicious and some are mildly to highly
toxic, so it’s best to use good identifica- like a shelf on a tree trunk or on the
ground as a ball. Mushrooms come intion books and the advice of experts if
such a wide range of shapes, sizes, strucyou are new to mushroom picking.
tures and colors, that identification can
But it can be fun to discover andbe tricky.
explore them! Start by looking at theunderside of the mushroom. Do you see If you find a fresh mushroom with gills,
gills, which are the radiating blades that you can make a spore print. Microscopic
fan out from the stem to the edge? The spores are like the mushroom’s seeds,
color of the gills could be white, yellow, which are housed in the gills until it’spink, brown or black. If there aren’t gills, ready to release them into the wind.
is the underside spongy or does it have Remove the stem and place the mushroom gill-side down halfway on a whitepores or downward pointing spines?
sheet of paper and halfway on a black
Look at the top of the mushroom or
the cap. Is the cap shaped like a bowl or sheet of paper. Place a bowl over the
like an umbrella? Does it have flakes or mushroom and give it time to release its
spores. The imprint of the spores can bepatches on it? Is it shaped like a brain
light-colored like white, pink, light puror has a honeycombed texture? Some
mushrooms don’t have stalks, but grow ple, or yellow. It can be dark like orange,

cinnamon, brown or black. The color of
the spores is often a key to identifying a
specific mushroom.

Most importantly when you see
mushrooms, know that they
are a vital and significant partof nature.
Most importantly when you see mushrooms, know that they are a vital andsignificant part of nature. The majority offungi which produce mushrooms help
to replenish soil by breaking down woodand other complex organic matter andby forming beneficial relationships within
the rootlets of plants, so nutrients can beexchanged.
So, the next time you see a mushroom,take pleasure in its amazing role in theenvironment around us. Take a photograph, and let it be!
MUSHROOM RESOURCE
Oregon Mycological Society (OMS)
https://www.wildmushrooms.org/:
This society is quite active in our area. In
usual times, they offer a fall mushroom
show, field trips, educational activities,
monthly meetings with speakers andmuch more.

NAJGA - Our Industry Partner
by Jim Card

Grab a cup of tea (as Jim would say), go to
the Garden’s YouTube account, and relax to acompilation of Japanese instrumental musicby Takohachi Inc. and photos of Tsuru Island
through different seasons.
https://www.youtube.com/
channel/UCiauuNN6_kH_6b1nqxuLQRQ

In 2019, the Garden received grant money
to run internet throughout the park, but it
didn’t include all the wiring and connections
necessary between youth baseball, theResource Center, and Tsuru Island.
Randy Paden, with RP Computing, (rpcomputing.biz) has put in countless hours pro
bono wiring all these connection points. We
truly appreciate his generousity.

Last month was the 4th North American
Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA)
conference I’ve attended. This one washeld at San Diego Japanese Friendship
Garden. There was an exciting new
tide of speakers coming from all overthe country discussing garden design,
construction, and garden history. Workshops covered wood joinery, raising koi,
Japanese lanterns, and pruning.

A new waterfall was being constructedat the Friendship Garden. I watched acrane move 2,000 pound boulders. Reminded me of our Garden’s Rebirth.
On the last day, a tour bus took a large
group of us to four gardens in the Los
Angeles area. The most interesting wasa private garden built in the 1930’s. The
present homeowner employees six fulltime gardeners and opens the garden to

the public.
A few notable takeaways validated
at this conference for me were: We’refortunate our Japanese garden is only
3/4 of an acre. Many of the gardens,
even with gardeners on staff, cannot
keep up with the maintenance. And,
our organization is fortunate that we’resupported and appreciated by city
government.

Basic Pruning Terminology

Mushrooms. Mushrooms. Mushrooms!

n upcoming issues, we’ll be sharing
how to prune different species. A
good baseline is learning the fivebasic cuts.

W

I

by Mary Marrs

If you’re an experienced pruner, heading
cuts can be useful toincrease foliage
and fill in thin areas.

REDUCTION CUTS: To reduce or
shorten the length of a branch by
SHEARING:
pruning back to a branch junction.
Performed with theThis is the most common cut to maintain intent of creating
the size and shape of trees. Do not leave a uniform profile.
a stub at the juncture. To determine if We see a lot of poor
you should make the cut, arborists insist shearing identified bythat to prevent excessive sprouting the heading cuts, leaving
remaining lateral branch must be at
woody interior stubs
least 1/3 the size of the removed branch. exposed. The highest quality shearing
is snip-by-snip technique to the new
REMOVAL CUTS: Remove branchgrowth only.
es at their point of attachment. In
TIPPING: Removing
leaves or stems
from the end of a stem.
This cut is used to slow
down the growth, redirectenergy, and help give a
uniform appearance.
You can learn a lot by
HEADING CUTS: Shorten branches
monitoring your pruning
by cutting between internodes orcuts season after season.
branch junctions. Heading cuts areusually not advised because it can cause Notice which pruning cuts
most effectively gives thethe tree to sprout excessively from thelook you want.
cut or ultimately cause the tree to die.
most cases, this means cutting a branchwhere it emerges from the trunk.
Removal cuts are used when you needto thin out the plant’s foliage to provide sunlight and remove dead wood.
Removal cuts do not usually alter the
shape or size of the tree.

Reduction Cut Diagram

Removal Cut Diagram

X
Heading Cut Diagram

Shearing
DiagramRelaxing Videos

Tipping

Generous Business Owner

GARDENER’S TIP
Fruit trees have been slow to go into
dormancy this fall, so December would bea fine time to trim suckers, remove limbs to
help interior air flow, and prune to promote
more fruiting spurs.
Also, provide protective mulch, especiallyaround sensitive plants, to help them deal
with colder winter weather that is boundto come.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer
and Organic Gardener

hat’s that peeking out of themulch? What’s emerging frombeneath the pine needles
and leaves? It’s mushrooms! With therain, we’ll see more and more of them in
our yards, gardens, trail systems, and at
Ebetsu Plaza.
But what exactly are mushrooms?
They’re actually the fruit of a certain
fungi that forms intricate undergroundwebs of fine threads called mycelia.
There are thousands of different kindsof fungi and mushrooms. Some can bedelicious and some are mildly to highly
toxic, so it’s best to use good identifica- like a shelf on a tree trunk or on the
ground as a ball. Mushrooms come intion books and the advice of experts if
such a wide range of shapes, sizes, strucyou are new to mushroom picking.
tures and colors, that identification can
But it can be fun to discover andbe tricky.
explore them! Start by looking at theunderside of the mushroom. Do you see If you find a fresh mushroom with gills,
gills, which are the radiating blades that you can make a spore print. Microscopic
fan out from the stem to the edge? The spores are like the mushroom’s seeds,
color of the gills could be white, yellow, which are housed in the gills until it’spink, brown or black. If there aren’t gills, ready to release them into the wind.
is the underside spongy or does it have Remove the stem and place the mushroom gill-side down halfway on a whitepores or downward pointing spines?
sheet of paper and halfway on a black
Look at the top of the mushroom or
the cap. Is the cap shaped like a bowl or sheet of paper. Place a bowl over the
like an umbrella? Does it have flakes or mushroom and give it time to release its
spores. The imprint of the spores can bepatches on it? Is it shaped like a brain
light-colored like white, pink, light puror has a honeycombed texture? Some
mushrooms don’t have stalks, but grow ple, or yellow. It can be dark like orange,

cinnamon, brown or black. The color of
the spores is often a key to identifying a
specific mushroom.

Most importantly when you see
mushrooms, know that they
are a vital and significant partof nature.
Most importantly when you see mushrooms, know that they are a vital andsignificant part of nature. The majority offungi which produce mushrooms help
to replenish soil by breaking down woodand other complex organic matter andby forming beneficial relationships within
the rootlets of plants, so nutrients can beexchanged.
So, the next time you see a mushroom,take pleasure in its amazing role in theenvironment around us. Take a photograph, and let it be!
MUSHROOM RESOURCE
Oregon Mycological Society (OMS)
https://www.wildmushrooms.org/:
This society is quite active in our area. In
usual times, they offer a fall mushroom
show, field trips, educational activities,
monthly meetings with speakers andmuch more.

NAJGA - Our Industry Partner
by Jim Card

Grab a cup of tea (as Jim would say), go to
the Garden’s YouTube account, and relax to acompilation of Japanese instrumental musicby Takohachi Inc. and photos of Tsuru Island
through different seasons.
https://www.youtube.com/
channel/UCiauuNN6_kH_6b1nqxuLQRQ

In 2019, the Garden received grant money
to run internet throughout the park, but it
didn’t include all the wiring and connections
necessary between youth baseball, theResource Center, and Tsuru Island.
Randy Paden, with RP Computing, (rpcomputing.biz) has put in countless hours pro
bono wiring all these connection points. We
truly appreciate his generousity.

Last month was the 4th North American
Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA)
conference I’ve attended. This one washeld at San Diego Japanese Friendship
Garden. There was an exciting new
tide of speakers coming from all overthe country discussing garden design,
construction, and garden history. Workshops covered wood joinery, raising koi,
Japanese lanterns, and pruning.

A new waterfall was being constructedat the Friendship Garden. I watched acrane move 2,000 pound boulders. Reminded me of our Garden’s Rebirth.
On the last day, a tour bus took a large
group of us to four gardens in the Los
Angeles area. The most interesting wasa private garden built in the 1930’s. The
present homeowner employees six fulltime gardeners and opens the garden to

the public.
A few notable takeaways validated
at this conference for me were: We’refortunate our Japanese garden is only
3/4 of an acre. Many of the gardens,
even with gardeners on staff, cannot
keep up with the maintenance. And,
our organization is fortunate that we’resupported and appreciated by city
government.

Hiroshima Peace Treeby Mary DicksonT

he City of Gresham and Gresham rotten butter, vomit, or dog excrement.
Japanese Garden have recently
It is what gives the ginkgo tree a badbeen given a Hiroshima Peace
name.
Tree, so named because it grew from a
Though they smell terrible, the female
seed collected from a tree that survived cones, once harvested and processed,
the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Jim
reveal seeds known as “white nuts” or
Buck, Garden volunteer, said that the“ginkgo nuts.” These seeds are a delicacy
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)
in Chinese and Japanese cooking, used
has been making trees available to Tree in stuffing, soups, and even desserts.
Cities like Gresham. Jim picked up a 2.5- This treat is also nutritious, containing
foot potted ginkgo in October from ODF. 13% protein and 3% fats. That is why
During the bombing, 90% of Hiroshima female ginkgo trees are sought out by
was destroyed, but the survivors includ- those who envision making Bird’s Nest
ed 170 trees in 55 locations, within about Soup and other traditional Asian dishes.
1¼ miles of ground zero. Since 1945, tree Ginkgo seed hunters wear shoes withexperts and volunteers have lovingly
soles that can be easily washed and carry
2.5 ft Hiroshima Peace Tree (Ginkgo Tree)tended the trees that survived the bomb. gloves and Ziploc bags.
Each carries a nameplate reading HibaAre you familiar with ginkgo trees?
Parks Department tree specialists, andkujumoku (survivor tree). The word “gink- These stately trees can reach 100 feetother experts will carefully considergo” comes from a Japanese word. “Gin”
tall when mature. They have light-graylocations that will provide optimal conmeans “silver” and “kyo” means “apricot.” bark and fan-shaped leaves. As they age,ditions for the tree’s successful growth.
the crown of the tree gets wider, andSeeds that came from
One possibility is to plant it on Septemin autumn it turns golden yellow. Twober 21, 2022, International Peace Day.
survivor trees have been
70-year-old trees stand tall on the west
The ODF website provides a map of
distributed around the world. side of Gresham High School.
all other Hiroshima Peace Trees plantSince 2011, seeds that came from
Ginkgo, or maidenhair tree, is known as
ed in public places in 32 communities
survivor trees have been distributed
a “living fossil,” because it was a common
throughout Oregon from 2019-2021.
around the world. The seeds are careful- tree species when dinosaurs roamed
The program started when Japanese naly harvested, inspected in line with the
Earth, about 225 million years ago.
tive Hideko Tamura-Snider expressed toquarantine regulations of the receiving
Ginkgo was thought to be extinct until
ODF’s Jim Gersbach her wish for peacecountry, and kept in the storage facility
several plantings were discovered intrees from Hiroshima to be planted
at the Hiroshima Botanical Garden until eastern China.
throughout Oregon, her adopted home.
being shipped. Ginkgo seeds come from Plans for Gresham’s tree are to protect
Watch for more information once a
Hiroshima’s historical Shukkeien Garden it from winter weather and let it grow for
decision is made on the location and(which I have visited). These peace trees another year before planting, probably
timing of the planting of our Hiroshima
symbolize regeneration and reconciliation. in Main City Park. ODF, City of Gresham
Peace Tree.
According to the website from the New
York Botanical Garden, there is a differHoliday Wreath Making Workshop
ence between male and female trees,
Ring in the holidays with your personal touch. Choose from a variety ofgreens provided by Cherié Siegmund from Cedarglen Floral to create aand their gender does not show itself for22” diameter holiday wreath.
up to 15 years. Female ginkgo trees dropThursday, Dec 8th, 2-3:30pm, $22.00 - Includes instruction and supplies
their fleshy fruit in the fall. When crushed
Register at: https://www.greshamjapanesegarden.org/product/holiday-wreath-class/by passing cars or pedestrians, they
release a stench that has been likened to
Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Mary Taylor, Mary Dickson, Jim Card, and Mary Marrs. Photos credit, Bill Peterson.

December 2021

Tsuru Soars
Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

Who Knows the Origin of Origami?

Origami probably began in China,
nated, many people
but no one knows for sure, justaround the world
like no one knows for sure thatenjoy its artistry.
paper was invented in China. Since the
The Garden of19th century, we know that origami is afers enjoyable andhybrid of East and West cultures.
challenging monthly
Styles of origami (“Oru” to fold andartistic origami folding“kami” paper,) are classified by origin andworkshops taught by art
dates; Before Origami, Japanese Clastherapist Eileen Holzman. She takes all
sic Origami, European Classic Origami,
level of students (8 years old and older)
Traditional Origami, Modern Origami,
on a creative journey of paper folding.
Mathematical Origami, and last Artistic
Origami USA (origamiusa.org) is a great
Origami.
resource for those interested in learning
No matter where or when origami origi- more.

PHOTOGRAPHER’S VIEW
散紅葉流れぬ水は翌のためか
chiru momiji nagarenu mizu wa asu notame ka
Red leaves fall, just to be swept away,
tomorrow?
— Issa 1804

SIGN UP ON WEBSITE:
Origami for Everyone Workshop
Wednesday, December 22nd
6-7:15pm - $20