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Catalog Data

Architect:
Graham, Rod  Search this
Landscape architect:
Kiest, Craig  Search this
Provenance:
The Portland Garden Club  Search this
Collection Creator:
Garden Club of America  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Place:
Josselyn Garden (Portland, Oregon)
United States of America -- Oregon -- Multnomah County -- Portland
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets.
General:
A 1922 Tudor-style house with three acres, listed on the National Historic Register, required extensive renovation by the current owners to preserve the original craftsmanship. The grounds were in need of reconditioning as well, including an original Japanese garden whose pond had to be re-dug, rocks repositioned, and plantings restored with more than 40 different Japanese maple trees. Landscape architect Craig Kiest's (ASLA) plan includes garden rooms, paths and hardscape, described by the owner as a classic design that features their plant collections. A circular driveway in front of the house surrounds a boxwood knot garden punctuated with container plantings. The uphill walk to the garden runs along a wall with espaliered camellias and is overlooked by a balcony for viewing the knot garden that has a wrought iron railing assembled from old gates found on the property. A serpentine rose border with more than one hundred plants is a colorful connector along the back driveway between the house and garage. An orchard, perennial bed, soccer field and upper lawn are arrayed between the house and the streets that border this corner lot.
Several bluestone terraces with stone steps and balustrades accommodate the terrain behind the house and lead to a formal garden that is on an axis with the dining room. A pergola planted with wisteria japonica crosses the entrance to the formal garden. In this garden surrounded by a hedge of holly there are boxwood parterres centered by a circular patch of lawn with an enormous restored stone planter with white Iceland roses and white alyssum in the summer. Large cast iron planters on bluestone platforms contain Japanese maples. The formal garden terminates in a seating area backed by a semi-circle of four columns and an old planting of English holly. Other features include a grotto with granite semi-circular steps and a grindstone, a wall fountain with a bronze frog, and an Italianate cobblestone patio with beds of hydrangea. Frogs and dragonflies are recurring motifs in the iron hardware on the buildings and in garden ornaments. Flowering vines and container gardens, climbing roses, and a rose and wild geranium parterre add color to the vigorous greenery that grows in this favorable climate.
The Japanese garden features the colorful Japanese maple tree collection and a pond stocked with koi. Additional trees from the earlier garden include copper beech, gingko, and Japanese umbrella pine. There is a raised vegetable garden for berries, grapes, pumpkins and artichokes with a custom made wooden fence, and wooded areas underplanted with hosta and other shade-tolerant perennials. A large lawn bisecting these forests leads to a rectangular reflecting pool with a colonnade that was found buried in an old laurel hedge on the property and restored.
Persons associated with the garden include Percy Smith family (former owners, 1922-1994); Craig Kiest, ASLA (landscape architect, 1997-1999); Dave Sexton (gardener, 1999-present)
Related Materials:
Josselyn Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (26 digital images)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- Oregon -- Portland  Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Identifier:
AAG.GCA, File OR050
See more items in:
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Oregon
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb66099b348-e089-478c-bb8b-7203eaa24392
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref10146