Japanese Garden

NAJGA Conference

What is next for the Bridge

Now that the bridge construction

The old bridge is an example ofThis past October I took theis complete a few things still

years of weather conditions

opportunity to attend theneed to happen. Some will be

and the effects on the wood.

North American Japanese

waiting for time to pass andJust after the bridge wasothers we are waiting for money.

completed we put a coating ofGarden Conference at Duke

The ones that are waiting fortime to pass have to do with thereaction of the wood to weather
conditions and moisture. In the"Teak Oil" on the surface whichis intended to work its way into
hardwoods that are very dense.
This will be done again on aUniversity. People from allover the country who work,volunteer, teach and are
involved in Japanese stylegardens

attended.

Thefocus was on the care ofPURPLE HEART.....Comes from Brazil and thesurrounding areas. This wood is hard to find, very costly, andhard to machine. It will outlast anything else available andbe maintenance free and fire proof. This wood is also usedfor docks and fishing boats. A Gresham company uses
Purple Heart as part of the manufacturing of skate boards.

trees and shrubs that arenormally used in Japanesegardens.

Muchofthecontent was based on “LaceLeaf Maples” and JapaneseBlack Pines.

Experts from

AestheticPruners

Association (APA) based inpast I have indicated that theperiodic basis each year in thePurple Heart wood is notsummer so that the content ofaffected by many things,

oil in the wood is maintained

however the understanding ofuntil it finally settles in. This

the effects of temperature,oil may in some degree keep

moisture and most importantlythe color of the wood. As

effects of sunshine and plant

how these effect expansion andmentioned before, the woodenergy.

contraction is important. Just

will go gray and will remain

because something expands orthat way through its existence.

contracts does not mean that it

This is why continuing to use

will move the same and returnsealers to enhance thethe same every time, we are

structural integrity of the wood

Oakland, CA, were on hand
todemonstratespecific

tools, processes and teachabout plants in regard todealing with a natural product.
Issue #1 Winter 2015 edition

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is necessary.
The wood has also been
laminated in much of thecomponents of the bridge andeach piece of wood will react a
bit differently from the one it isedges of some deck boards.

During the building of the bridge

Some areas may look like thismany people asked me what we

description and have been left

were going to do with thethere deliberately so the repair

glulam’s (bridge supports) in

can take place all at the same

regard to color. Ron originallytime.

stained the beams with gray, toconnected to. Some sections will

The posts have shown somemove slightly at the joint. The

cracks from wood shrinking andworst of that will be seen

splitting. This started shortly

through the first winter. Once theafter the logs were turned at the

movement of wood has taken

mill and continued growing.

place a repair will take place

Later in the spring or summer

with epoxy and smoothing thethe voids will be filled withsurface to improve and/or secure

epoxy. The posts will also turnthe cosmetic appeal of thegray and can be coated with asurface. The components thatwax (end sealer) to help withwill be most affected and in needbugs and moisture gettingof some care are the hand rails

beyond the surface.

get them to be a bit moreconsistent with the appearance.
The idea was to match theeventual fading of the rest of thebridge. Patients is the key word
here. Knowing that it is always arisk to try and match colors,
especially with natural materials
and different woods.

and the finials, and possibly theNAJGA CONFERENCE
An opportunity! Durham NC cont.
The Sarah Duke garden was the home base of theAugust, shipped in a refrigerated truck to Durham

event with wonderful facilities and a 30 acre setting ofNC, and planted in September.

a variety of gardens including Italianate, Discoverygardens, Asiatic gardens, Native plants garden andmany more. 50% of the funding for the garden comesfrom Duke University and the balance comes fromdonations, grants, endowments and public use of thefacilities.

Dennis Makishima provided demonstrations with his
team from Merrit College in California. Dennis began
the aesthetic pruning and certification program at thecollege in the late 1970's and has seen dozens ofprofessionals come out of the program. With thatcame the Aesthetic Pruners Association that

The opening of the new Japanese garden took placeestablishes standard for the industry and provides

during this conference. It had just been completed inmembership and certification for active professionals.

the previous 30 days by Sada Uchiyama who is theDennis had spent many years studying in Japan tocurator of the Portland Japanese Garden. This 1.12

hone his craft that eventually went way beyond ART.

million dollar garden features a stunning water

After the Duke University sessions, Dennis says he isfeature, grand paths, a tea house, pavilion, fencing

going to slow down and retire and only be involved

and mature plants. Some of the plant materials Iin NAJGA programs.

noticed were mature Japanese Palmatum that weredonated by an elderly person living in the area. Also
Japanese black pines (12)about 10 years old, that wereaesthetically pruned, (these came from Bentwood
Nursery in Boring, Oregon, dug in the month ofIssue #1 Winter 2015 edition

The program was presented by the President of
NAJGA, Dr. Kendal Brown who is a professor ofJapanese Culture from Long Beach State University.
For more information: NAJGA.com.
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Ebetsu Sister City Tree Donation

During the time ceremony of our Tsuru Island bridge
opening, we were blessed with a gift to purchase a"mountain ash" tree by the Ebetsu, Japan Sister city
association counsel.
Our intention was to purchase the tree and schedule aplanting ceremony to include GESCA, Mayor Bemis andthe City Council. I suggested that all of this could take placein the fall.
I found a group of 7 trees to choose from that were grownlocally and I chose the best of the best, as you will see laterin the spring. This tree is a fine 2-inch specimen that stands
about 12 feet tall.
I had three locations that I wanted to consider forplanting after taking input from our volunteers. I
proceeded with seeking approval for those locations from theCity. My first choice was granted, which you will see in theattached photo. Please note that the tree in the photo has
been replaced with the "Mountain Ash". This location
combines several positives points; 1) It is an excellent
visibility point and has room to grow, 2)the dedication
plaque will be clearly visible, and 3) it is included with theflag display area and the garden entrance sign.
Our efforts to remove the existing tree and plant the ash
were held up out of respect for the existing tree because wewanted to wait for it to be fully defoliated. As of yesterday’s
volunteer day we have dug and secured the moved originaltree and planted the mountain ash.
We will follow up with more information and photos
once the ash is leafed out.

What’s Coming Next
This is the 1st edition of thenewsletter. In the future wearetoprovide

anewsletter quarterly and intime we may increase tomonthly. The newsletter willbe

distributed

tothosevolunteers that are on Wendy
coffin’s roster.
We are in hope that volunteers
will offer information andarticles to be included in thenewsletter so it becomes agroup effort.
will

beThe newsletter
distributedon“Facebook” and the Gresham
Ebetsu Sister City website.
Allnewsletterswillarchived on that site.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR PLANTS AND FLOWERS
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Issue #1 Winter 2015 edition

hopingA good tonic for ferns is to water them once a weekwith a weak tea
Feeding ferns – a weak solution of ammonia is good
because of the nitrogen content.
Salted boiling water will kill grass or weeds growing
between sections of cement or rock walkway.
Cut flowers will last longer – remove leaves below thewaterline.
Very hot water will revive wilted flowers
Coffee grounds for feeding geraniums.
Lengthen the lives of fresh cut flowers, - 2 tbs of white

vinegar and 2 tbs of cane sugar in a quart of water.
Vinegar inhibits the growth of organisms and sugar
serves as food.
Plagued with rabbits, try powdering your plants withthe cheapest brand of talcum powder, dust a little onor around the plants, it works like a charm in repelling
flea beetles, and rabbits on tomatoes, potatoes,
peppers and other plants. When rain washes it away,
apply more.

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