GRESHAM JAPANESE GARDEN

Tsuru Island
James Card:

Upcoming Celebration
Members and volunteers
September 8th
10am until 12
Entertainment, prizes and lightfood along with tea, coffeeand water.
The first 75 visitors will begiven a special gift
Purchase a "touchstone” Paver
during the event and receive acommemorative"T shirt" celebrating EbetsuPlaza.

ISSUE 31

Additional lights for
the Garden
To reduce the number of vandalism
issues that take place in the gardencausing great frustration some havesuggested adding more lighting. Thatseems simple enough unless you
think about the options. We cannot
just add another lamp to the end
table next to the bench along thepath. We cannot expect that thegarden will be gifted a 30 foot polewith a super bright LED lamp
attached. At the beginning of therefurbishment two 120 volt outlets
were placed on the island. Those
were placed for easy access forirrigation, low voltage lighting, and asmall water pump at 2 opposing
areas of the garden. Increasing thenumber of amps needed to add highcurrent fixtures, at this point is notpractical
A few months ago new lights wereprovided by Kichler Lighting for thebridge. That was to compliment thelights that had previously been giftedby Kichler for highlighting the plantmaterials and the pathways. There
were a number of the path lights
victim to vandalism and it was
decided to remove them until we had
a greater sense of security in theGarden. It is possible at this pointwith the addition of garden"greeters" and 3 more cameras, thelighting can be put back. Light will be
installed in a few trees to add
illumination to the garden in a

AUGUST 2018 EDITION

Editordownward focus. Most of theselights will have a 60 degree spread
and will provide a range of lumens up
to 835 while only requiring 12 wattsof power, lasting up to 50,000 hours
per module at 12 volts. All this is
powered by a transformer or power
center that converts high voltage into
low voltage. The transformer wasprovided by Kichler a few months ago
as a gift, a 300 watt unit that has aneye to detect light. It comes on at
dusk and goes off at dawn.
Once again the garden has to thank
KICHLER for the 16 new lights.
"Thank you" does not seem likeenough. To be supported by ourfriends at Kichler is a true blessing.
If you would like to learn more about
outdoor lighting and some choices
available, contact Jim Card atGresham.japanese.garden@gmail.com. If there is a good amount ofinterest a workshop will be set up in
the fall for more information.
Representatives from Kichler will bevisiting Gresham next spring. We areexcited
toshowthem
themagnificent lighting in the garden.

Page 1

A Winter Craft Program

Community Message Board
Recently the covered rest area,
bench and garbage can has been
removed near the Springwater Trail.
Jim Card has received permission tobuild a community bulletin board at
Ebetsu Plaza and there in thestorage unit is the remains of therest area structure. Although theroof does not need to be as high offof the ground. It will have accessfrom both sides for display of
information and directions to various
parts of the park via a map.
This unit will be mounted at thenorth end of the lawn section at theupper parking lot by the Plaza. It
will have the sidewalk on the front
side and a paver walk on the otherside. The information area will becovered with Plexiglas and locked.
Both sides span 8 feet wide which
will contain a map and various
Spring Water Trail and Resource
center information.
This is just one more newdevelopment in the effort toimprove Main City Park for ourcommunity.

ISSUE 31

In order to present and promote theJapanese Garden to the community,
Jim Card and John Clark haveproduced gifts to be given tocommunity groups, as fundraisers,
silent auctions, and also sold by
various groups in the area. The
Garden benefits by being visible andearning money to sustain it.
John has made as efforts to engrave
items and assemble gift baskets. One
item is a wine box made of recycledcedar, along with bottles of white andred wines from the Willamette Valley,
displayed with two engraved wine
glasses nestled in a blanket of black
fabric. There are also cutting boardsof various sizes engraved with theTsuru Island Logo. They are made ofbamboo or hardwoods suitable forfood.
Jim has decided to involve volunteers
and community with production of
items during the late fall to the end ofspring. Such as assembling thewoods for the cutting board. Also
dried flowers in framed displays alsoutilizing recycled woods.
Do you have other ideas of what could
be included for promotional use? Letus know atgresham.japanese.garden@gmail.com

Movie Scene at the Garden
Two weeks ago there was an inquiry
from a film company that wanted toproduce a scene in the Japanesegarden. The scene was going to be
for a movie being filmed in our areaby a local production company. It isa full length movie called, at thistime, "Her. He. Him." directed byDaniel Hill. The decision to use theGarden was made after viewed ashort film produced by the City ofGresham entitled "The Gift". The
movie company originally requested
the use of the Portland Japanese
Garden but was denied access.
The scene was shot in the “oceanarea” of the garden on a
Wednesday for about 2 hours with
15 people involved. The film
envisions a woman relaxing in apeaceful setting raking the sand inthe garden. The director requested
an authentic rake be used by theactor, Which Jim Card provided byreproducing a typical rake withrecycled wood and a bamboohandle.
The crew was pleased with theenvironment and provided additional
sand for the area and a nicemonetary gift for the use of thegarden which will be placed in themaintenance fund.

Ebestu Plaza - Before

AUGUST 2018 EDITION

Page 2

Bark Dust Fires
Pulling the Rake
Sand or dry gardens are called
Karesansui in Japan. Many sizes
and shapes of the dry areas exist
in Japanese and North American
Gardens. Specific sand is used forthese areas and project thefeeling of an island in the ocean.
The process of this activity begins
the removal of any debris such asleaves and twigs and tree needles.
Then the custodian must smooth
the area and select the pattern tobe used. The rake(s) are usuallyof different materials dependingon the sand and the pattern. If
rocks or islands are involved thenan additional rake is needed toform the pattern around thoseareas.
These rakes are made of woodwith a specific design. Each having
specific variation and widths.
Then a broom is used to levelareas that are desired to besmooth. Another tool is used torepair a pattern that has
interrupted the flow by a foot print
or something that has fallen into
the sand. Once raking begins it
must be a finished cycle. A major
stop and start point cannot bevisible to the eye. These are theeasy parts to maintaining the sandof the Karesansui. The hard part is
producing the patterns andmoving out of the sand area
without leaving any foot prints orvoids. This is an art form in itself.
One trick to the trade is thewatering down of the sand before
attempting to rake it.
Thispractice creates substance to thesand not to speak of the weight.
The payoff is that the peaks andvalleys stay in place.

There is a City ordinance that says
"No Smoking" in Gresham CityParks. It is not important to somecitizens who choose to smoke in
Main City Park. The remains of thecigarettes end up in flower beds
and then the bark dust begins toburn. The volunteers have put out
two fires this past week. One fire
was close to the Coho pavilion andthe other at Ebetsu Plaza.
Cigarette remnants arecontinuously found and picked up
by visitors and volunteers in theGarden. It is just a matter of time
before we have a major event.
Part of the communication board at
the Springwater Trail entrance will
be dedicated to presenting a “NoSmoking" rule. But in themeantime please keep your eye out
signs of smoke hovering over thebed areas inside the park.

Heavy Pruning
Several months ago a decision was made to remove the main portion of the pinetree that occupies the south side of the bridge on the garden side. There are
original pictures of the tree when it was planted in 1974. It can be identified by
the shape of the tree. The tree had not been trimmed or shaped for all of thoseyears. As it grew the growth of another tree, a palmatum maple, began getting
wider and consumed the part of the pine that was growing upward.
The removal of the main growth of the tree was done by arborist Chris Brinkmanof Honl tree care. Thank you Chris for your time and great work.
Along with that tree trimming and shaping of the pine to the west of the Azumaya
was completed. As time goes on this tree will become shorter as we remove
some of the height so that we can safely get to the top growth for pruning.

Gresham branch
Thank you for the 1st corporate donation to the Japanesegarden”Touchstone” project and the Kaz Kids.

ISSUE 31

AUGUST 2018 EDITIONPage 3

Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.

A drone view of Ebetsu
Plaza next to theSpringwater Trail

For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,
You will find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all;
The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dungpits and the tanks:
The rollers, carts and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.
And there you’ll see the gardeners, the men and ‘prentice boys
Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise;
For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,
The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.
And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.
Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not madeBy singing:– “Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade,
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives
There’s not a pair of legs so thin, there’s not a head so thick,
There’s not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick.
But it can find some needful job that’s crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.
Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it’s only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener’s work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hand and pray
For the Glory of the Garden, that it may not pass away!
And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away!
By: Rudyard Kipling

ISSUE 31

AUGUST 2018 EDITIONPage 4