At Home

Throw a Simple Memorial Day Shindig

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:45:00 -0700

A mineral water (or champagne?) spritzer gets the fresh berry treatment for Memorial Day.

Rain is in the forecast for Memorial Day in Portland this year (big surprise), but that can’t prevent a fun holiday with friends and family at home. Think of Memorial Day as the kick-off, a preview or trial run for all the real outdoor entertaining you’ll be doing when summer actually arrives (i.e., sometime after Fourth of July).

We have some easy ideas for the sweetest, simplest Memorial Day celebration – an easy, entertaining warm-up to tide us over ‘til the weather is warm. The at home picnic can take place outside or in, depending on the weather (and your own tolerance for soggy food). Grilling outdoors is always fun (unless it’s raining), but broiling inside is also allowed and will do quite a good job heating up the dogs we have in mind.

Red, white and blue is a good color scheme to aim for, since Memorial Day does celebrate the United States armed forces. The holiday began as Decorations Day in 1868, to celebrate the armed services vets in the peaceful context of post-Civil War unity.

Here’s a checklist of ingredients for your easy preview-of-summer party.

To drink:

Very Berry Spritzers – these bevies can be straight and narrow or adulterated with alcohol (try champagne or prosecco, or go local with Argyle sparkling white or red); either way is fresh and delish. (See the recipe below.)

To eat:

Hot dogs – gourmet dogs (from Olympic Provisions), on toasted baguette or hot dog buns from any one of our many fabulous bakers (Lovejoy, Little T, Pearl are some favorites).
Blue Potato salad – blue potatoes, bleu cheese...and maybe some blueberries.
Blue corn chips with red salsa
Strawberry cake garnished with whipped cream and blueberries

Image: Courtesy Fabric Depot

Easy to clean oilcloth makes a fine all-weather tablecloth. To DIY is a ten-minute project – no hemming necessary. Fabrics start at about $7/yard, including the classic gingham, 1950s Hibiscus print, or a less kitschy blue toile alternative.

To Decorate:

Make your own weatherproof tablecloth out of colorful oil cloth. The classic, vinyl-clad, canvas-like cotton fabric makes cleaning up super easy, and making a tablecloth is an easy ten-minute (no kidding) DIY project. You simply cut the cloth to fit your table; no need to finish the edges. Several Portland stores have good selections of oilcloth in classic 1950s patterns as well as newer variations (start your search at Bolt, Fabric Depot, or Whole Nine Yards).

very Berry Spritzers
Yield: 8 drinks. Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

3 cups blackberries
1 cup raspberries
1/2 cup simple syrup (1 cup sugar mixed into 1 cup water, heated and stirred until sugar is dissolved)
1/2 cup white grape juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Ice, for serving (optional)
Mineral water, seltzer or sparkling wine, chilled
Stir-stick skewers – blueberry, raspberry and coconut chunk – for garnish (optional)

Place blackberries, raspberries, simple syrup, grape juice, and lemon juice in the jar of a blender; puree until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids.
Fill 8 tall (highball or Collins) glasses with ice as desired. Divide mixture evenly between glasses; top with seltzer or wine and serve immediately garnished with optional red, white and blue fruit skewers.

What other blue and red and white foods could we add to the menu? Picnics are always best when they're pot luck!

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Gifts for Grads

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:30:00 -0700

Image: Courtesy Everett Collection

Recent graduates will enjoy playing cards as a healthy, inexpensive activity in their new life. A set of Aaron Trotter's Portland Illustrated Playing Cards will serve them well.

You probably know some people (maybe you’re even related to them) who will soon be graduating from high school to college, or college to the-rest-of-their life. What’s a gift that says congratulations and also kicks them off into their new venture with just the right touch of spirit, encouragement, humor and practicality?

We’ve got some ideas that will set your grad on the road to personal bliss (and we don't mean a life spent on your sofa). The two main gift categories are two primary elements of life: eating and entertainment. You need both to succeed. While your recent grad might be pounding the pavement looking for work, he or she will need both proper nourishment and ample distraction from said pounding of pavement. So let's just jump right on into it, putting fun before food.

Entertainment:
Healthy, inexpensive ways to forget one's worries and enjoy what one has will be welcome to your new grad in his or her new life. Suggested activities include reading books (remind them about print media and the excellent, free Multnomah County Public Library system). Also, playing board and card games that won't leave them bored or using their credit card, and will give them a reason to gather round with their friends. Give your grad:

A full deck of playing cards from Portland illustrator Aaron Trotter ($20). He's expanded beyond his original Portland to include Portland II, Las Vegas, Paris, and Bend, OR (among others international jet set hotspots). Las Vegas is even in full living color!
David Parlett’s The Oxford Guide to Card Games – not so much a how-to as a history-of, this book informs us that card games were "imported from the Mamluks of Egypt...first hit Europe around 1371 and within ten years had spread like wildfire from Spain and Italy to France and Germany." Lessons like this will be good for the grad, to put his or her own situation in historical perspective.
Their own personal copy of "The Game of Life" – to remind them that it's not so bad (and perhaps also remind them of childhood days playing board games and imagining being a grown-up). Invented in 1860 by Milton Bradley (yes, he was a real person – a draftsman and lithographer – before he was a corporation), the game was popular from the start, selling 45,000 copies in its first year of production. Original name: The Checkered Game of Life. Indeed.
Katherine Boo's book Beyond the Beautiful Forevers – a truly beautiful book to remind them whatever is happening in their life, it's truly not so bad.

Eating:
Healthy, inexpensive food is also of paramount importance in the new grad's new stage of life. Henceforth, the means and the methods by which to produce one's own recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals and all that good stuff.

Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything – an excellent (and recently updated) guide to all anyone needs to know when graduating from dorm food to home gourmet.
Super Spices Starter Set – try one from Savory Spice Shop in Sellwood (say that fast five times).
Cast-iron Cookware Five-piece Set – we're on a cast-iron kick, and great-grandma's go-to's will spiff up any young hipster's kitchen mighty quick with its oh-so-2013-1890s look. They might not even feel the need to move to Brooklyn (NY) to be cool. If you can't pry great-grandma's out of her hands, get a new one for your grad from Lodge Logic. Many stores, from Target to Williams-Sonoma, carry the set, starting at around $75. With a 5-quart Dutch oven (and lid), 10 1/2-inch griddle, 10-inch skillet, and 8-inch skillet, it's all they'll need for a lifetime of cooking.

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Memorial Day Sale at Mostly Medicinals

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:40:00 -0700

Image: Kate Bryant

Echinacea and other ornamental, edible and medicinal plants will be for sale this Saturday at Mostly Medicinals Memorial Day Weekend sale

The Portland area is blessed with myriad small, bordering-on-obscure nurseries selling unusual and “niche” plants. One such gem is Mostly Medicinals, a seven year-old, home-grown business run by Laura Altvater.

Mostly Medicinals grows historically medicinal plants from both Western and traditional Chinese medicine, and many of the plants offered are hard to find in the nursery trade. They also supply a range of threatened plants and some native medicinals, including pearly everlasting, stinging nettle and gumweed.

Other interesting plants that are or have been on Mostly Medicinals' plant list include coneflower (Echinacea), eastern and western wild ginger, black cohosh, various kinds of licorice, goldenseal, basil, sages, beebalm, and breadseed poppy.

The nursery uses sustainable practices, organic fertilizers and sprays when necessary, mostly organic soils, and passive solar heat. Seeds are primarily organic and locally-sourced. Check out the Mostly Medicinals plant list on the website. A more up-to-date plant list can be found on MM's Facebook page: friend them to see it.

Altvater has been selling plants at local farmers markets in recent years, as well as wholesale to a small fleet of nurseries including the Portland Nursery, Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply, Pistil’s, City Farm, and Concentrates. Her wholesale business has picked up, though, and she won't be bringing plants to the markets or opening the nursery anymore. This is perhaps your last chance to shop directly from Mostly Medicinals, although the plants can still be found at local retailers.

This weekend, the small Woodstock-neighborhood nursery opens to the public for a Memorial Day Weekend sale. The sale takes place Saturday May 25, 2013 from 11 am to 3 pm at Mostly Medicinals, 4800 SE 48th Ave, Portland, OR 97206; 503-891-9702

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Free Kid's Room Makeover Contest

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 -0700

Image: Courtesy Room to Grow Contest

The Room to Grow children's room makeover contest requires you to pick three items from Room and Board's furniture choices...which isn't hard to do. The Eames molded armchair rocker would be good for your child's room. (Maybe she'd share it with you?)

Since the school year is about to end, many of us are wondering what to do with the kids come summertime. A full schedule of fun and healthy learning activities takes a lot of effort, but you can’t just have the kids hanging around the house all day either. Part of the solution, though, could be a well-timed makeover of your child’s room. As a way to help, the local Portland paint people YOLO Colorhouse are helping sponsor the “Room to Grow” Kid’s Room Makeover Contest on Pinterest.

Image: Courtesy Room to Grow Contest

The red magazine stand by Ply would look good in a teenager's room, don't you think?

The contest is open through May 31, 2013, and entering takes a bit of effort, but the reward is a walloping grand prize of more than $8,000 worth of furniture and design products and services to give your child a whole new room of her own. To enter, you do have to go on the Pinterest website and download a photo of your child’s current homeroom situation. But if you’re like most of us, you’re either on Pinterest all the time already, or you keep hearing about it and thinking you should check it out.

Image: Courtesy Room to Grow Contest

The turquoise of the Moda nightstand would contrast well with the red magazine table. Will the contest judges agree?

YOLO, whose paints are environmentally friendly and VOC free, is joining with national chain Room & Board (their closest store is in Seattle) and the ubiquitous Annie’s Homegrown, of rabbit-eared Mac & Cheese fame.

From what I read in the fine print of the contest rules, there doesn't seem to be an age limit for the children whose room would be redecorated. Perhaps I can enter even if my kid is graduating from college and will be home for the summer? That basement really could use a makeover, and $8,000 would help a lot...

Read more about how to enter, and good luck, everyone!

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Sow Seeds Now For Summer Flowers

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:20:00 -0700

Image: cjorgens

Zinnias - especially the charming green 'Envy' variety - make glorious and long-lasting bouquets

By far the best—and cheapest—way to fill your garden with flowers this summer is to grow them yourself from seed.

Your average packet of seeds is three bucks. Pick three varieties you love and you can end up with tremendous drifts of flamboyant flowers for bouquets and to feed hummingbirds and pollinators— and your own color-starved soul—for less than ten dollars.

Plant them now, as the danger of frost has passed. (In Portland, for all intents and purposes, we list our last frost date as April 15).

You can still plant in early June but you'll have to wait a bit longer for those glorious flowers.

Choose a sunny location with moist, well-drained soil. Provide consistent moisture during the first month after planting, while seeds are sprouting and baby plants are getting established.

These flowers grow quickly and usually show the first flowers by mid-summer. Deadhead spent flowers and they’ll keep coming until the frost arrives some time in the middle of October.

Here's my list of easy-to-grow, colorful flowers for summer blooms:

Image: O lympus

Cosmos keep flowering all summer and right into the first frosts of autumn

Cosmos
Zinnia
Nasturtium - edible flowers for salad, drought-tolerant
Batchelors buttons
Marigolds – edible flowers for salads,
Pot marigold (Calendula)
Sweet alyssum
Amaranth
Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)
Sunflower

A great way to fit even more flowers into your garden is to add flowering vines. These vines are annuals, so they only last through the first autumn frost - perfect for covering a chain link fence or trellis this summer.

These fast-growing vines can run between 6 and 12 feet in a season and will bloom their hearts out all season long:

Morning glory (Convolvulus)
Firecracker vine (Mina lobata)
Black-Eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia)
Scarlet runner beans
Lab-lab bean (Dolichos lablab)

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Come Back to Cast-Iron Cookware

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:00:00 -0700

Image: Kristin Belz

Cast-iron is a classic due for a comeback. Even a 10" skillet like this is heavy but worth its weight – lifting it will make you strong, and cooking in it will literally add iron to your diet. Sizes range from 6 to 12" diameter, as well as reversible griddle versions for one or two burners.

You may have a cast-iron pan. And it may be a cast-off – inherited from some older relative and forgotten about as you've added to your collection of pristine, gourmet-worthy cooking implements over the years. But the cast-iron pan deserves to be brought back to the front burner. It's healthy, economical (read: inexpensive and durable), and generally an old-fashioned, no frills high-performer.

Cast-iron is also heavy enough that you might use cooking with it as a replacement for reps at the gym, though we don't recommend that. But you do get used to the weight-lifting aspect of cast-iron cooking, and it's one of the many side benefits you'll realize as soon as a cast-iron skillet becomes your go-to pan. Leaving it on the stove or a highly accessible shelf (instead of shoving it to the back of the cupboard like mine was for years) makes it a lot easier to use (I say this from firsthand experience).

Benefits of cast-iron:

Conducts and retains heat well.
Is the original, natural non-stick surface.
Can go in the oven.
Super durable.
Adds healthy iron to the food cooked in it (especially important for anyone anemic or low-iron). Literally, your cast-iron cooking vessel is an iron supplement. Depending on the food and cooking time, cooking in a cast-iron pan can add significant iron content. Example: iron in a serving of spaghetti sauce cooked in cast-iron increased 7 mg (from .35 mg/100g to 7.4 mg/100g). For many of us, this is nearly the entire RDA for iron: 8 mg/day for men and post-menopausal women (18 mg/day for pre-menopausal women). And it's more than twice the iron in a 1 cup serving of quinoa (which is a not-too shabby 2.8 mg).

WHAT TASTES SUPER GOOD COOKED IN CAST-IRON – just about anything, but especially seared or fried foods; the cast-iron lets you get that perfect blend of tender yet browned and crispy, and the seasoned pan means you don't have to use much oil to cook in.

Pancakes (including oven baked Dutch babies or Austrian pancakes), cornbread and biscuits
Grilled cheese
Pizza
Burgers
Eggs
Asparagus, greens and other quick-cooking vegetables

How to care for cast-iron – It might seem mysterious – all that talk about seasoning your pan, as if it's a religious ritual. (We'll get further into that in a moment.) But it's really not that hard. Just develop a couple easy habits:

Clean (by hand) soon after you’ve used it.
Don’t let it sit in water.
Use soap or not – either way seems to be OK; just don’t overscrub (or you’ll wear away the magical “seasoned” coating that comes with proper, frequent use.
Dry thoroughly soon after washing – towel dry and then put it on a low-heat burner for a couple minutes to eek out all the moisture and completely avoid rusting!
Optional: rub with a touch of oil (about a quarter-sized dab rubbed in with a paper towel) if you want to seal in the seasoning, and heat another minute on the low burner.

Where to get cast-iron in Portland:

Thrift stores are a good source, though your find might take some refinement and seasoning before you can use it.
Lodge Manufacturing is the only company in the U.S. still making cast-iron; they're sold at Fred Meyer, Kitchen Kaboodle, Williams-Sonoma, Mirador Community Store and others. Prices tend to be about $13 (6" skillet) to about $40 (12" skillet).
Williams-Sonoma also carries a lightweight, sleekly styled Japanese import – Komin Fry Pan, about $80 in the 2 lbs, 9 1/2 inch size.) Antique dealers sometimes have Griswold or Wagner Ware, which were high-quality brands popular in the first half of the 20th century, before cast-iron fell out of favor and was supplanted by teflon and newer non-stick pans.

ABOUT SEASONING YOUR PAN – If you buy a new pan, it will likely be from Lodge, and will be "pre-seasoned" because that's all they sell. If you buy an old pan, you'll probably need to refurbish it. Either way, it's good to know that seasoning, or "curing," a cast-iron pan just means coating or sealing it by "baking on multiple thin coats of oil" to create the natural non-stick surface.

All it takes is to rub a thin layer of neutral, food-grade oil or shortening into the pan, then bake the empty pan at about 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. The more times you do this process, the better the surface coating will be – glossier, sleeker, and more non-stick. Which is why cooking in a cast-iron pan makes the pan better and better: each use, especially with fatty foods, adds to the coating. (What's Cooking America has a detailed and helpful article online.)

Mirador Community Store
2106 SE Division Street
Portland, OR 97202
503-396-5090

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Rare Plant Open House—and More Garden Inspiration

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:00 -0700

Image: Rare Plant Research

Alicanterea imperialis, a tropical bromeliad that is rarely seen in flower outside the tropics. See it at Rare Plant Research's Open House this weekend!

Garden tours, events and plant sales are ramping up in the Portland area as spring begins its slow, sweet unraveling. Take some time this weekend to enjoy the perfect planting weather and draw inspiration from some gardens that are rarely open to the public.

Rare Plant Research Annual Open House

Rare Plant Research is one of the Willamette Valley’s most tantalizing ornamental plant nurseries, with all variety of tropical and tender plants including succulents, perennials, unusual bulbs, bananas, and more.

There’s an added incentive to visit this year’s RPR Open House: one of the world’s largest bromeliads (pineapple relative) will be flowering—a rare event outside the tropics. Alcanterea imperialis, a native to the mountains around Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will be on display in its full glory. The plant grows five to six feet wide and, after growing for about 20 years, sends up an eight to 10-foot tall flower stalk. After flowering, the plant dies. See this spectacular plant in bloom this weekend only!

WHAT: Rare Plant Research’s Annual Open House
WHEN: Saturday May 18 and Sunday May 19, 2013, 10 am to 4 pm
WHERE: 11900 S. Criteser Rd, Oregon City, OR 97045
COST: free event but bring your checkbook - for plants, wine and food

Sundrops Eastside Garden Tour

This tour includes a scenic drive along the historic Columbia River Gorge Highway and a series of beautiful, established gardens including the Hutson, Shelman and Fortune gardens; Dancing Roots organic farm; a peaceful Franciscan convent set in front of a waterfall; McMenamin’s Edgefield garden; and more.

WHAT: “Sundrops” Eastside Garden Tour
WHEN: Saturday May 18 and Sunday May 19, 2013, 10 am to 4 pm
WHERE: Troutdale, Oregon 97060
COST: $20 (children free). Purchase tickets on line on pick them up in advance – see website for locations. Purchase tickets and pick up tour maps the day of the tour at the Harlow House – 726 East Historic Columbia River Highway, Troutdale

Tomatomania at Dennis' 7 Dees

Learn all about tomatoes, particularly those luscious heirloom tomatoes that we all crave, from heirloom tomato expert Steve Goto. In addition to talking about the cultivation and care of tomatoes in our tomato-challenged climate, he’ll answer questions. A large selection of heirloom tomato varieties will also be available. And while the weather is still marginal for planting tomatoes outdoors, Goto will offer tips on how to know when to plant them out and how to maximize the tomato growing season.

WHAT: Tomatomania
WHEN: Saturday May 18, 2013 (see times below)
WHERE: Dennis’ 7 Dees SE Portland (10 am to 12 noon) and Lake Oswego (2 to 4 pm)
COST: free

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Movie: The Greenest Building

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:15:00 -0700

Image: Architectural Heritage Center

Preservation of old buildings always has a long history: the Portland Telegram Building, built in 1922, was put on the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1990s, then preserved and renovated by the Nathan Family, with help from the late Art DeMuro, and creative financing from the Portland Development Commission.

May is National Historic Preservation Month, and a fitting time to consider the state of our building stock and "historical capital" in the relatively young city of Portland and state of Oregon. There are many ways to evaluate and/or appreciate our old buildings. You could take the Historic Irvington Homes Tour Saturday, May 19, 2013. You could also attend the free screening of The Greenest Building, an award-winning, thought provoking 2011 documentary by local filmmaker Jane Turville.

The hour-long film screens Wednesday, May 22, 2013. In it, Turville interviews industry experts and looks at example building projects (many in Portland). She tackles some of the hardest questions related to historic preservation and the environmental impact of what, how and where we build.

The Greenest Building addresses the intersection of historic preservation and environmentalism – and it's not a simple T-intersection. New building techniques tout "green" cred, with LEED, Passive House, Enrgy Star and other certification systems being developed and marketed for their energy efficiency and almost moral benefits. The Greenest Building, however, considers the structures that are already built among us, and that we have to deal with one way or another. Do we keep old buildings? Maintain them? Preserve them? Or destroy them?

Turville's film interviews experts who get us to think about a wide range of topics related to preservation and green building.

Jean Carroon of Goody/Clancy Architects discusses the environmental impact of demolishing an existing building. Why, she wonders, don’t we apply the mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle” to buildings right from the start? We seem to forget that “buildings are huge handmade objects – they are a composite of millions and millions and millions of things, and every thing – each piece of our world that is a manufactured piece, or a moved piece, or a cut piece of stone – has tremendous environmental repercussions along the way.”
Preservationist/economist Donovan Rypkema discusses "sense of place" – a phrase we've been thinking about since the middle of the 20th century, at least, but which has never been examined in a scholarly way until the past 20 years or so. "Sense of place" is a "non-quantifiable feeling" but he suggests we ask, "a) what is it? b) is it important, and c) how does it affect us?"
Ralph DiNola, a green building consultant based in Portland, considers the tricky question of how we decide what to save, since most of our existing buildings are relatively new, built in a "time of cheap energy" (i.e., huge energy-losing "curtain walls") but "not built to last." He asks, "Which buildings should we save? Which should go?"

Film Night at the Architectural Heritage Center:
The Greenest Building
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
6 pm – 7 pm (Doors open at 5:45 pm; first come, first serve)
Free Admission
701 SE Grand Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
503-231-7264

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The Spicy Life

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:00:00 -0700

Image: Kristin Belz

Big jars, small jars, and jars that are open for tasting – sprinkle some before you buy so that you really know what you're getting into.

Given its location on SE 13th Street across from the Sellwood Library, it's tempting to imagine the Savory Spice Shop as an annex to the public library: a walk-in, fully fragrant reference room of spices, a place where learning delights the mind and the senses. And though the Spice Shop doesn't lend out its offerings, they do let you taste samples to your heart's delight (or 'til your tongue is exhausted).

Anne and Jim Brown are the owner-operators of the shop, which opened in September 2012 but feels like it's always been there, in the best possible way. They cultivate a small town general store atmosphere, and share a pharmacist's careful knowledge of the nuanced uses of their wares. While spices aren't exactly over the counter drugs (and nothing in the shop is illegal), but they are an exotic world about which most of us know very little.

The Savory Spice Shop is a perfect place to go learn about life beyond salt, pepper, or "Italian" seasonings. Even BBQ rubs have their own section in the store. Walk in and you'll get a quick introduction from Anne, Jim or any staff on hand, asking if you've been there before and orienting you if you haven't. The shelves and displays are organized by region and type of cooking: the aforementioned BBQ is joined by sections on curries, herbs, chilis, baking spices, and more.

Image: Kristin Belz

A country store look at the Savory Spice Shop in Sellwood.

Hard to find and little known spices are in the "exotic" section – including Asafetida, a garlic substitute often called for in Ayurvedic cooking and that I'd been searching for in vain at Portland groceries and co-ops for ages. Most of what is in the store is also available online.

Specialty gift boxes span many genres – kits for better baking, curry lovers, and even Bloody Mary connoisseurs. You can also make your own gift kit of whatever pleases your palette.

The best thing is being able to taste each spice; displays are informative about ingredients, origins and uses for each spice or spice blend, but nothing beats sprinkling a bit on your hand and testing it out. I'll admit, though, that I steered clear of the chili samples, except the "family friendly fajita" blend, which I tried and liked enough to buy some of. The hottest chilis were on the top shelf, safely out of reach of children!

All spices are available in various sizes, pre-packaged or not, and even in 1/2 ounce packets that are perfect for taking home and experimenting with. The smallest packets usually cost $1-$1.50, so spice experiments are all the more enticing.

Savory Spice Shop
7857 SE 13th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97202
503-928-3099
Monday-Saturday: 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday: Noon – 5pm

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Jane Platt Garden Tour

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:20:00 -0700

What better way to spend a perfect spring evening than to mosey the sloping pathways and savor the vistas of the idyllic Jane Platt Garden in Portland's Southwest hills? The garden is the backyard to the home of the Platt family, but what a backyard. The house itself is not too shabby: designed and built in 1942 by preeminent Northwest regional modernist architect Pietro Belluschi, it's a gem. But the garden is the star, as owners and architect alike intended.

John and Jane Kerr Platt created the garden from scratch starting in the early 1940s, eventually handing it over to their son David. The whole family – and many gardeners – have tended to its evolution through the decades. Both John and Jane have passed on (Jane a number of years ago, John in January 2013, at the age of 100). Now David and his family live in the modest main house and carry on the family traditions (including shooting woodpeckers who love a particular tree).

On a recent spring evening, a few of us amateur Portland gardeners were lucky enough to get a guided tour from gardener John Borowczak through the private garden. He's lovingly tended the 2 1/2 acres for the Platt family for “a long time.” (Nearing retirement age, he coyly declined to be more specific!)

John Platt was a young bachelor in 1937 when he bought the property, which had been an apple and cherry orchard since the 1880s. He planned to build a home and garden. Platt met and married Jane Kerr, who happened to know a bit about gardening herself. A daughter of Peter Kerr, a successful wheat exporter who was also a gardener, she grew up at what is now one of Portland's most incredible gardens, Elk Rock Garden at Bishop's Close. She (and her sister Anne) got the green gene from her father, who made sure that the ships he sent to the Orient, loaded up with his wheat harvest, would come back filled with Rhododendron and other exotic plants.

Like her father, she was interested in "specimen" plants – that is, unusual and unique plants. She never was a big traveler, but friends who traveled widely would ask her, "what should I bring back for you?" Now, people travel far and wide to see her garden. It is private, but open for occasional tours and special events.

Feel free to walk through the garden in our slide show (click at photo above); photos by Kristin Belz.

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