The Scroll - Lan Su Chinese Garden

Hort Tidbit January 2026: The Floral Symbol of the First Lunar Month—Narcissus (水仙）

Elegant and pure, the narcissus is subtle but eye-catching Narcissus tazetta subsp. tazetta (crab-claw narcissus) forced in January The power of a forced bulb indoors! Although we, living in the 21st century, might assume our lives are tough while we’re trying to make it through the bleakest days of the year, I would argue that those who had to live by oil lamp and…
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Lantern Viewing Evenings return bigger and brighter in 2026 for Year of the Horse

Lan Su Chinese Garden is delighted to usher in the Year of the Horse with the return of one of Portland’s most enchanting winter traditions: Lantern Viewing Evenings. From February 18 through March 8, 2026, the garden will glow with radiant lantern sculptures, lively dragon dances, soothing musical performances, and an all-new projection-mapping light show…
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Hort Tidbit December 2025: Wintersweet (臘梅)

Beautiful yellow fall color reveals pale yellow blooms beginning on the much-loved wintersweet tree in the Fragrance Courtyard at Lan Su. The December cold has slowly crept in, seeping the garden in the feeling of winter truly on its way. Although most other flowers are long gone, Chimonanthus praecox, known more commonly as wintersweet or…
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Culture Spotlight: China Trip Chapter 1—Suzhou Gardens Behind the Scenes

This special edition of Culture Spotlight will be a four-part series sharing takeaways from a recent trip to our sister city, Suzhou. Enjoy! I’m writing to you just days before Thanksgiving, with the glow of a recent journey still warming me like a little lantern I’m carrying home. This fall, I spent 17 days traveling through four cities in China…
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Culture Spotlight: These are not your grocery store mums

I’ll be honest—I didn’t always get the hype about chrysanthemums. That changed the first autumn I worked at Lan Su Chinese Garden. I walked into the garden one crisp morning and found myself surrounded by chrysanthemums in every imaginable form…
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Culture Spotlight: No Kicks, Just Cups: The Joy of Gong Fu Tea

When people hear Gong Fu, their minds often jump to martial arts, but here there are no flying kicks involved. In the world of tea, gong fu (功夫) means “skill through effort.” It’s not about combat, but about care: The art of brewing tea with patience, focus, and heart. Every pour is a gentle reminder…
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Culture Spotlight: The Moon Rabbit Who Hopped Across Cultures

In the Chinese version of the story, the moon rabbit (月兔, also known as the jade rabbit 玉兔) is more than a pretty picture in the sky. The Jade Emperor once disguised himself as a poor old man and begged food from the animals. The monkey brought fruit, the fox brought fish, but the rabbit…
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Hort Tidbit—September: The Noble Osmanthus

I love when the slanting rays of autumn light hit the landscape. As the hottest part of summer tapers away towards warm and sunny days of September, I genuinely look forward to sweet osmanthus season in the garden! Sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) or 桂花 guìhuā in Chinese is the most classic and revered type of…
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Culture Spotlight: The Return of Kunqu (昆曲) Opera at Lan Su

Learn about Suzhou’s iconic art form, Kunqu (昆曲), known as the “mother of Chinese opera.” See it live at Lan Su this September for the garden’s 25th anniversary!
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Culture Spotlight: Luòshén (洛神)—Flower Immortal of the Hibiscus

Learn the legendary tragic romance behind how Lady Zhen (甄宓) became Luòshén (洛神), Goddess of the Luo River and Flower Immortal of the Hibiscus.
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