Covering 187 acres of Portland’s West Hills, Hoyt Arboretum is a living museum where joggers, dog walkers, lovers, strollers, photographers and, first and foremost, tree lovers can immerse themselves in nature any day of the year.
Sunday brought a break in the weather, so people were out in force. The parking lot was full and cars were parked all along Fairview Blvd. Still, with 12 miles of trails, it never felt crowded.
The visitors’ center is not open on Sunday, but there are pamphlets available with maps, etc., and a large informational board showing which trails offer the optimum experience season by season. For autumn, the Maple Trail is recommended, but first we had a look around the entry plantings. It always seems a little odd to me to see zonal denial plants like palms and agaves in public spaces (like the train station, much as I like the plantings), but the arboretum proper features trees from all over the world, so I guess the patchwork in the entry makes a certain amount of sense.
This rocky berm might have slipped right by me had not Loree posted about crevice gardens a while back. I don’t know if this can go by that name because those had plants tucked in here and there. This one is all rocks.
Several large planters break up the space.
When one of the pots sports an unusual plant like this Pseudopanax ferox…
there is detailed signage to tell all about it.
The same system held elsewhere: ordinary stuff went unidentified, but anything out of the ordinary was well documented.
On our way to the Maple Trail, we passed through an area planted entirely with natives, but I was saving my sputtering battery for the colors of autumn.
The color was slightly more intense, but this is pretty close.
The long views were splendid, and with well-placed paths and rolling hills there was a new vista around every turn.
See what I mean?
Parts of the landscape were enveloped in pockets of fog.
This little family was capturing memories backed by the flaming foliage of sumac.
Since the arboretum was established in 1928, there are many magnificent old trees with signage affixed to their trunks. More recent additions, like this paperbark maple, are marked by small stone pillars bearing pertinent information.
OK, so some helpful graffiti artist took exception to the Acer griseum designation (did you notice the “not a” scratched onto the sign?), but one look at this peeling bark should be enough to set him/her straight.
Here’s the leaf of the above tree. Color, leaf shape, interesting bark: all have me convinced that this is one to hunt down for the R&R Ranch.
And while I’m in the market for more red, how about the color of those leaves recently fallen from Acer pseudosieboldianum var. tatsiense?
And here is the tree itself. As you can see, we decided on this outing in the nick of time to catch the tail end of the color show. There are plenty of other reasons to visit the arboretum in all seasons and all kinds of weather. Next trip: evergreens, or maybe just a brisk walk unencumbered by camera. If you happen to come away with a wish list, a good place to start your search would be Plant Lust. I usually just carry around my desiderata, waiting for one of my coveted beauties to show up. This particular tree seems to deserve a more concerted effort on my part.
I’ve never actually walked up through the Arboretum (Sad, I know). LOVE Paperbark Maple…as much as I like our Parrotia trees…every time I see a Paperbark around town I have a pang of regret that we didn’t plant those instead.
We were talking about taking a trip up there this weekend, thanks for the preview! I wonder why no plants in the all rock crevice garden? Odd.
(thanks for the plant lust love, looks like we should ask to use your Acer pseudosieboldianum photo)
As I began to read your post, I thought the same thing about the palms and yuccas. Same with the crevice garden, it jumps right out now that they’ve been highlighted by Loree.
The maples are pretty, you have beautiful fall color in your area. I like the established feel of the arboretum, nice to see so many residents taking advantage of the great spaces you have there.
Thanks for the lovely tour.
Looks like a great day for a walk through the arboretum. Thanks for taking us along & sharing these great views and autumn color!
Scott & Bria~No need for guilt. Look at it this way: a whole new experience awaits you. Go! You will love it.
Loree~I would be honored to have you use any photos of mine on Plant Lust, so feel free.
Shirley~Glad you could come along.
Peter~Just about any day is a great day to be there, but we did luck out with the color show.
I haven’t been to the arboretum either but I think I’m going to fix that soon. Thanks for the nudge!
Heather~It’s a small step from nudge to nag.
Alison~I am continually frustrated at the camera’s failure to record what I see.
I love a visit to an Arboretum. Looks like a great place.
Janet~Barely scratched the surface…looking forward to many return visits.