2021 Su

August 2021

Tsuru Soars

mm
AUGUST 7
Takohachi’s Performances
11am & 1pm- Ebetsu Plaza
Art of Bonsai Demonstration
2:00pm to 4:00pm- Japanese Garden

Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

ulturalSeriPlease enjoy our last Japanesecultural demonstration andperformance for the summer at
the Gresham Japanese Garden in
Main City Park. Free to all!

er C

Sponsored by Arts and Cultural
Assistance Grant

es
AUGUST 7

Takohachi’s (Drums) Performances- 11am & 1pm
To end our cultural series, we first bring
you an energetic musical performanceby Takohachi, Inc, a Portland-based
non-profit organization founded by Yumi
Torimaru. Don’t miss hearing Shamisen,
Taiko, and Shinobue music performingin Ebetsu Plaza!

Hot Weather Suits Mike FineI

Art of Bonsai Demo - 2 to 4:00pm
And last we bring you our bonsai workshop instructor Mark Vossbrink giving
you a glimpse of bonsai creations. His
knowledge in the art of bonsai is vastand inspirational. He offers a Saturday
workshop every month, too. Find it here:
www.GreshamJapaneseGarden.org/
happenings.

GARDEN TOURS
10am and Noon

Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Jim Card, Mary Dickson, and Mary Taylor. Photos credit, Bill Peterson and Mary Furness.

t’s summer, which means Mike is backvolunteering, and we were preparedto put him to work! If you haven’t met
Mike cruising Springwater Trail, you canfind him helping at ‘Garden Saturdays’.
Last fall we purchased a Gorilla Cart®
waiting for Mike to return. With a little
ingenuity, Jim, Garden Director, modified
the cart’s handle so it can attach to theback of Mike’s motorized chair. Mike can area. He’s very proud, as he should be, topull plant material, haul yard debris, or
say that he’s never missed a day of work.
whatever else is needed throughout the day. Those days may be over, and Mike
Mike has never let his disability stop
may be a few years older, but he’s still
him from doing what he wants to do. For raring to help out. It just needs to be
40 years he worked for Multnomah Dog hot outside since his body can’t take
Track as the ‘Gateman’ to the paddock
the cold anymore. With a grin on his

PHOTOGRAPHER’S PICK
After this long season of Covid, let’smeet in the Garden this Summer.

— Bill Peterson
face, at the end of a ‘Garden Saturdays’,
he complained about the potholes in
the parking lot. Going back and forth
over the potholed pavement made hisbutt sore. Sorry, Mike. Maybe the rightpeople at the City will read this and add
this paving project to their budget. In
the meantime, he’ll keep pulling the cart
whereever his services are needed.

Service is Good for His Psychic

Choosing the Right Plant Location

by Sue HughesDo you know the feeling when
you meet someone, you work
alongside him/her for a while,and then say, “I’d like to know more
about this person”?
That’s what it’s been like for me since I
met Chuck Page. A fellow Garden volunteer introduced me to Chuck as a newvolunteer with the Garden. After a few‘Garden Saturdays’ mentored by volunteer John Harrold, I started taking noticeto this unassuming, jack-of-all-trades,
and easy-going personality of a man.
He quickly turned into a volunteer one
could count on.
So, one day I asked Chuck if he would
grant me an interview for our newsletter.
With hesitancy, he agreed.
The Dalles was where most of Chuck’s
young life was spent after his father
was discharged from the Army. After
graduating from high school, Chuck
continued on to college earning a degree in Industrial Arts Education. After astint teaching, Chuck discovered it justwasn’t paying his bills, so from teaching
students how to build, he switched to acareer in construction.
Chuck married his college girlfriend

by Jim Cardand lived in Dufur, OR with her until 2000
when he moved his then ailing wife toGresham for better medical services andto be close to their daughter. After Chuck
talked about his wife who lived with Alzheimer’s for 20 years, I asked him about
his daughter. His eyes light up as hedescribes his daughter’s life. At the ageof 21, she was involved in a single-car
accident and ended up a quadriplegic.
She could move her wrists and learned
to drive a modified vehicle to get to her
volunteer job with Oregon Vocational
Park’s Department and the Gresham JapRehabilitation. She lived to the age of 49, anese Garden. He volunteers daily fromwhich is considered a ‘long life’ for a per- about 8am–noon cleaning up transient
son with her disability. Chuck describes camps, weeding, and picking up trash.
her life as, “a good life.”
With the Garden, he’s been given the
In 2004, Chuck retired, cared for his wife labels of paver installer, go-to-guy, andfull time, and to clear his head, picked up most fitting—generous soul.
trash along the Springwater Trail, for anhour and a half each day. This unassumWhether he’s on the trail, in theing man’s gesture didn’t go unnoticedpark, or in the garden, Chuck willby the City of Portland, or the City oftell you, it’s good for his psychic.
Gresham, but Chuck wasn’t interested inrecording his volunteer hours for the city, Next time you’re in Main City Park, look
for this man in work clothes meanderingor receiving any recognition.
about with a gardening tool in hand
Twenty years later, this quiet, humble
79-year-old man has found peace doing and easy smile enjoying every minute ofgiving his time to help others.
good deeds for the City of Gresham

Name the Turtle
NEW

WORKSHOP

GARDENER’S TIP
August is a good time to plant broccoli,
cabbage and brussel sprouts from starts, aswell as your fall crops (beets, carrots, chard,arugula and lettuce) from seeds.
Be sure your plants receive sufficient water
during this dry time, especially evergreens
like cedar trees.
Before the rains come in the fall, consider
constructing a new raised bed for next
spring or in time for the fall planting.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer

Our turtle on Tsuru Island needs a name!
We’ve extended the deadline to August 31st!
Please email your entry to:
info@GreshamJapaneseGarden.com.
The winner will receive an engraved paver
to be placed in Ebetsu Plaza.

Family Folding
Workshop

Learn to make a flapping
bird, or maybe a swan.
Instructor Eileen Holzman
will take you step-by-step through thecreation of origami.
This workshop is geared for all ages andabilities. Offered monthly starting
September 22, 6-7:15 - $20. Register online.

During the past month we’ve had the plant being positioned too close to should recover from the heat-induced
some long-lasting, unusually
the house, sidewalk or street. This is es- stress and continue on its blooming
high temperatures, and as apecially important to consider when the journey. If you fertilize the plant before
result, some of our plants were damplant is first placed into the ground. The the moisture in the soil is renewed, it willaged with burned foliage.
just leak out. Then move the planter toroot system has not expanded beyond
This can happen anytime during theanother area that is shadier if the heat is
the root ball and the soil around thatlate spring and summer if plants are inroot ball will actually soak up the mois- expected to continue.
the wrong place with negative expoLast, food for thought: all plants areture from the root ball as the surroundsure. Many affected plants were in the
different and will respond to conditions
ing soil becomes dryer. Remember thecorrect exposure in normal years, butdifferently, even within the same species.
same thing happens in a pot, once thewith the direct sun and for the length
plant uses the moisture from the soil in For instance, I have had the same ageof time they were exposed, plants were the pot it has nothing to draw from and and size Davidii Viburnum planted in thedamaged. Many times, people will bedirect sun, one burned and the other did
it will die or be badly stressed.
inclined to cut that damaged foliage fornot. They just reacted differently, so don’t
aesthetics. That could be a mistake if
always think it is something you
certain precautions are not taken.
did wrong.
Remember, the foliage that is removed
is protecting the material that is behindor under it, so the same can happen to
the uncovered material. If one removes
the affected foliage, the remaining areas
A burnt ‘Davidii Viburnum’ in Ebetsu Plaza
can be covered from the exposure byshade cloth. If movable, you can move it Exposure is the key word here and that
Video How-To’s
into the shade, or sometimes a coating relates not only to the sun but also to
Would you like to learn why your plant isof Wilt Proof® can help when sprayed
wind, frost and snow. Many times in the
not doing well?
on the plant. Wilt Proof is a wax-based
spring, blooming plants will be covered
Ask Jim! is a video series featured onmaterial that is water soluble and can be with burlap or bed sheet to protect fromGresham Japanese Garden Facebook
purchased at landscape suppliers. This
early morning frost. Likewise, trees andpage, @greshamjapanesegarden.
product will put a shine on the foliage
shrubs may need to be protected during
Submit your Ask Jim! gardening quesand protect it from the sun or wind and the winter months. For instance, Easttion to https://www.greshamjapanesehelp prevent burning and dehydration. County can produce freezing rain weigh- garden.org/ask-jim/.
If your question gets picked for ourRemember that a plant which is suning down limbs and eventually breaking
video
series, we’ll send you a pack of ourburned will often survive. Next spring, it them. Other areas may be a bit milder in
exclusive Garden note cards!
will go through the same growth push the winter, but you may still need to deal
that it did this year and when the newwith frost and wind conditions.
foliage pushes out, the damaged leaves Hanging plants are subject to summer
and/or branches can be removed.
conditions too. If you are new to growAlso, heat reflects off any surface such ing flowering baskets, some will do well
as glass, and can be absorbed by house in the direct sun while others will dosiding, pavers, or concrete walls, and in much better in morning sun and afterturn, throws heat to whatever is nearnoon shade. If the hanging plant getsthem. Look for the suggested planting
dehydrated after a hot day, give it extra
orientation on the plant tag indicating water over a few hours time and allow
morning sun or part shade. If the plant the soil to become fully damp in the pot.
Find Ask Jim!
is in the path of the reflected sun it may Once you feel good about the soil water
get damaged. The same holds true with again, fertilize once a week and the plant

Ask Jim!

Service is Good for His Psychic

Choosing the Right Plant Location

by Sue HughesDo you know the feeling when
you meet someone, you work
alongside him/her for a while,and then say, “I’d like to know more
about this person”?
That’s what it’s been like for me since I
met Chuck Page. A fellow Garden volunteer introduced me to Chuck as a newvolunteer with the Garden. After a few‘Garden Saturdays’ mentored by volunteer John Harrold, I started taking noticeto this unassuming, jack-of-all-trades,
and easy-going personality of a man.
He quickly turned into a volunteer one
could count on.
So, one day I asked Chuck if he would
grant me an interview for our newsletter.
With hesitancy, he agreed.
The Dalles was where most of Chuck’s
young life was spent after his father
was discharged from the Army. After
graduating from high school, Chuck
continued on to college earning a degree in Industrial Arts Education. After astint teaching, Chuck discovered it justwasn’t paying his bills, so from teaching
students how to build, he switched to acareer in construction.
Chuck married his college girlfriend

by Jim Cardand lived in Dufur, OR with her until 2000
when he moved his then ailing wife toGresham for better medical services andto be close to their daughter. After Chuck
talked about his wife who lived with Alzheimer’s for 20 years, I asked him about
his daughter. His eyes light up as hedescribes his daughter’s life. At the ageof 21, she was involved in a single-car
accident and ended up a quadriplegic.
She could move her wrists and learned
to drive a modified vehicle to get to her
volunteer job with Oregon Vocational
Park’s Department and the Gresham JapRehabilitation. She lived to the age of 49, anese Garden. He volunteers daily fromwhich is considered a ‘long life’ for a per- about 8am–noon cleaning up transient
son with her disability. Chuck describes camps, weeding, and picking up trash.
her life as, “a good life.”
With the Garden, he’s been given the
In 2004, Chuck retired, cared for his wife labels of paver installer, go-to-guy, andfull time, and to clear his head, picked up most fitting—generous soul.
trash along the Springwater Trail, for anhour and a half each day. This unassumWhether he’s on the trail, in theing man’s gesture didn’t go unnoticedpark, or in the garden, Chuck willby the City of Portland, or the City oftell you, it’s good for his psychic.
Gresham, but Chuck wasn’t interested inrecording his volunteer hours for the city, Next time you’re in Main City Park, look
for this man in work clothes meanderingor receiving any recognition.
about with a gardening tool in hand
Twenty years later, this quiet, humble
79-year-old man has found peace doing and easy smile enjoying every minute ofgiving his time to help others.
good deeds for the City of Gresham

Name the Turtle
NEW

WORKSHOP

GARDENER’S TIP
August is a good time to plant broccoli,
cabbage and brussel sprouts from starts, aswell as your fall crops (beets, carrots, chard,arugula and lettuce) from seeds.
Be sure your plants receive sufficient water
during this dry time, especially evergreens
like cedar trees.
Before the rains come in the fall, consider
constructing a new raised bed for next
spring or in time for the fall planting.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer

Our turtle on Tsuru Island needs a name!
We’ve extended the deadline to August 31st!
Please email your entry to:
info@GreshamJapaneseGarden.com.
The winner will receive an engraved paver
to be placed in Ebetsu Plaza.

Family Folding
Workshop

Learn to make a flapping
bird, or maybe a swan.
Instructor Eileen Holzman
will take you step-by-step through thecreation of origami.
This workshop is geared for all ages andabilities. Offered monthly starting
September 22, 6-7:15 - $20. Register online.

During the past month we’ve had the plant being positioned too close to should recover from the heat-induced
some long-lasting, unusually
the house, sidewalk or street. This is es- stress and continue on its blooming
high temperatures, and as apecially important to consider when the journey. If you fertilize the plant before
result, some of our plants were damplant is first placed into the ground. The the moisture in the soil is renewed, it willaged with burned foliage.
just leak out. Then move the planter toroot system has not expanded beyond
This can happen anytime during theanother area that is shadier if the heat is
the root ball and the soil around thatlate spring and summer if plants are inroot ball will actually soak up the mois- expected to continue.
the wrong place with negative expoLast, food for thought: all plants areture from the root ball as the surroundsure. Many affected plants were in the
different and will respond to conditions
ing soil becomes dryer. Remember thecorrect exposure in normal years, butdifferently, even within the same species.
same thing happens in a pot, once thewith the direct sun and for the length
plant uses the moisture from the soil in For instance, I have had the same ageof time they were exposed, plants were the pot it has nothing to draw from and and size Davidii Viburnum planted in thedamaged. Many times, people will bedirect sun, one burned and the other did
it will die or be badly stressed.
inclined to cut that damaged foliage fornot. They just reacted differently, so don’t
aesthetics. That could be a mistake if
always think it is something you
certain precautions are not taken.
did wrong.
Remember, the foliage that is removed
is protecting the material that is behindor under it, so the same can happen to
the uncovered material. If one removes
the affected foliage, the remaining areas
A burnt ‘Davidii Viburnum’ in Ebetsu Plaza
can be covered from the exposure byshade cloth. If movable, you can move it Exposure is the key word here and that
Video How-To’s
into the shade, or sometimes a coating relates not only to the sun but also to
Would you like to learn why your plant isof Wilt Proof® can help when sprayed
wind, frost and snow. Many times in the
not doing well?
on the plant. Wilt Proof is a wax-based
spring, blooming plants will be covered
Ask Jim! is a video series featured onmaterial that is water soluble and can be with burlap or bed sheet to protect fromGresham Japanese Garden Facebook
purchased at landscape suppliers. This
early morning frost. Likewise, trees andpage, @greshamjapanesegarden.
product will put a shine on the foliage
shrubs may need to be protected during
Submit your Ask Jim! gardening quesand protect it from the sun or wind and the winter months. For instance, Easttion to https://www.greshamjapanesehelp prevent burning and dehydration. County can produce freezing rain weigh- garden.org/ask-jim/.
If your question gets picked for ourRemember that a plant which is suning down limbs and eventually breaking
video
series, we’ll send you a pack of ourburned will often survive. Next spring, it them. Other areas may be a bit milder in
exclusive Garden note cards!
will go through the same growth push the winter, but you may still need to deal
that it did this year and when the newwith frost and wind conditions.
foliage pushes out, the damaged leaves Hanging plants are subject to summer
and/or branches can be removed.
conditions too. If you are new to growAlso, heat reflects off any surface such ing flowering baskets, some will do well
as glass, and can be absorbed by house in the direct sun while others will dosiding, pavers, or concrete walls, and in much better in morning sun and afterturn, throws heat to whatever is nearnoon shade. If the hanging plant getsthem. Look for the suggested planting
dehydrated after a hot day, give it extra
orientation on the plant tag indicating water over a few hours time and allow
morning sun or part shade. If the plant the soil to become fully damp in the pot.
Find Ask Jim!
is in the path of the reflected sun it may Once you feel good about the soil water
get damaged. The same holds true with again, fertilize once a week and the plant

Ask Jim!

2021 Su

August 2021

Tsuru Soars

mm
AUGUST 7
Takohachi’s Performances
11am & 1pm- Ebetsu Plaza
Art of Bonsai Demonstration
2:00pm to 4:00pm- Japanese Garden

Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

ulturalSeriPlease enjoy our last Japanesecultural demonstration andperformance for the summer at
the Gresham Japanese Garden in
Main City Park. Free to all!

er C

Sponsored by Arts and Cultural
Assistance Grant

es
AUGUST 7

Takohachi’s (Drums) Performances- 11am & 1pm
To end our cultural series, we first bring
you an energetic musical performanceby Takohachi, Inc, a Portland-based
non-profit organization founded by Yumi
Torimaru. Don’t miss hearing Shamisen,
Taiko, and Shinobue music performingin Ebetsu Plaza!

Hot Weather Suits Mike FineI

Art of Bonsai Demo - 2 to 4:00pm
And last we bring you our bonsai workshop instructor Mark Vossbrink giving
you a glimpse of bonsai creations. His
knowledge in the art of bonsai is vastand inspirational. He offers a Saturday
workshop every month, too. Find it here:
www.GreshamJapaneseGarden.org/
happenings.

GARDEN TOURS
10am and Noon

Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Jim Card, Mary Dickson, and Mary Taylor. Photos credit, Bill Peterson and Mary Furness.

t’s summer, which means Mike is backvolunteering, and we were preparedto put him to work! If you haven’t met
Mike cruising Springwater Trail, you canfind him helping at ‘Garden Saturdays’.
Last fall we purchased a Gorilla Cart®
waiting for Mike to return. With a little
ingenuity, Jim, Garden Director, modified
the cart’s handle so it can attach to theback of Mike’s motorized chair. Mike can area. He’s very proud, as he should be, topull plant material, haul yard debris, or
say that he’s never missed a day of work.
whatever else is needed throughout the day. Those days may be over, and Mike
Mike has never let his disability stop
may be a few years older, but he’s still
him from doing what he wants to do. For raring to help out. It just needs to be
40 years he worked for Multnomah Dog hot outside since his body can’t take
Track as the ‘Gateman’ to the paddock
the cold anymore. With a grin on his

PHOTOGRAPHER’S PICK
After this long season of Covid, let’smeet in the Garden this Summer.

— Bill Peterson
face, at the end of a ‘Garden Saturdays’,
he complained about the potholes in
the parking lot. Going back and forth
over the potholed pavement made hisbutt sore. Sorry, Mike. Maybe the rightpeople at the City will read this and add
this paving project to their budget. In
the meantime, he’ll keep pulling the cart
whereever his services are needed.