Magical Sidewalks of Portland

Another thing about Portland, the sidewalks were amazing. When I got home I realized half my pictures were of the sidewalk, but they were just so beautiful! I think part of my fascination was the result of being in LA for too long, where it doesn't rain so no wildflowers grow, and everyone is preoccupied with having a picture perfect lawn so the foliage is very neat and controlled. Even if people do have gardens, they're in the backyard where no prying eyes can see them. Portland is the opposite. The yards and sidewalks are full and bursting with life and I absolutely adored it. We walked by a house that had pumpkins growing on the sidewalk. The sidewalk! Not the front lawn, the patch of dirt next to the street. In all seriousness, the kind of place where you can grow gourds on the sidewalk in front of your house is the kind of place I want to live. The level of neighborhood trust such an act implies overwhelms me; especially since that was not the only instance we saw of edible things growing right out of the sidewalk.

Honestly, more than anything I think it was the sidewalks that made me fall in love with Portland. Where else can you find a lending library on the sidewalk of a residential street? Or GOURDS growing on the sidewalk?





















Utter magic.

<3

The Whole World is a Garden

Have you guys seen the movie The Secret Garden? There may be more than one version, but the one I'm thinking of is the one with Maggie Smith. I was so in love with that movie when I was a young lass. According to my mom, I would watch it and then talk in an English accent for the rest of the day. I don't remember that part, but I do remember watching it over and over again, as kids do. The weird thing is that it's kind of a strange movie for a small child to latch onto; quite a bit of the movie is just silent scenes where the main character explores the house/garden.

Anyways, I loved it then and it still holds a special place in my heart now, so when I stumbled onto this particular section of the Huntington it felt like I was finally walking through the garden I had imagined in my youth. I'm not sure if there's actually any scene in the movie with a lily pond, but something about the lilies reminds me so much of it. It just feels magical, I could sit there all day.

<3

FUN in LA: The Huntington Part 2

We went back to the Huntington! It turned out that we happened to go on day 2 of the Camellia Show, so they had camellias for sale outside and inside they had the winning camellias on display.






They were all so beautiful! I had no idea there was so much variation within the species, it was incredible to see the differences in size and petal shape.

After we left the camellias we popped into the greenhouses, and eventually we made our way over to the Chinese garden, which we had missed last time.


The customary shot of the back of my mom's head.





We also walked through the Children's garden, which we had never seen before! It may be built for children, but everything was just my size.


It was the perfect day for a garden stroll! It was so nice to be outside enjoying the clouds and the slight chill. I know people living in places that get a real winter probably think I'm crazy, but there's no fun in 80 degree days in January/February, so I relish the few cloudy days we get.

I can't wait to go back! I'm seriously considering getting a membership. There's always something new to see!

<3