The OG is a great spot, and when you stay there, you have access to the Garden when it is closed to the public, making photography much easier. The Portland Japanese Garden was voted #1 of public gardens in the west in 2013. The Hoyt Arboretum, also in Portland, is an American Conifer Society Reference Garden. If you're not already an ACS member, join (it's only $38) and you can then contact locals who might invite you to view their private collections, many of which rival the public spaces! Also, there is an ACS member who can give you a private tour of the OG's conifer collection, which is superb.
Have fun!
Sara

Here is a link that might be useful: American Conifer Society

Thanks for the great suggestions Sara! I will try and spend a day in Portland as well so I can see Hoyt and the PJG.

My wife and I are both ACS members, and have been meaning to visit some of these gardens and nurseries for years and are finally finding a little 'we' time to get it done.

>The Portland Japanese Garden was voted #1 of public gardens in the west in 2013So somebody thinks there's more going on there than Van Dusen, UBCBG, Seattle Botanical Gardens, San Francisco Botanical Garden, UC Berkeley, UC Davis...?

Not to mention the other public Chinese/Japanese gardens on the west coast.

In Portland you should go to the Hoyt Arboretum, the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, and Cistus Nursery - unless conifers are all there is for you.

Except for the over-planted little conifer collection and the interest of the individual specimens it contains - until they all grow into one another - the Oregon Garden mostly looks like a big mall or motel landscape - and has pretty much no labeling, unless this has been corrected (when we asked at the information desk we were told nobody was keeping track of what things were, and given some whack reason for this approach having been taken).

So much for the promise of a great new botanical garden for the west coast, where a comprehensive showcase of local nursery products was to be created.

This post was edited by bboy on Mon, Mar 3, 14 at 21:28

Oh pleaseâ¦do you have to just pour cold water on everything? This is the kind of comment that has had me pretty much desert this forum for others where posters use their own names and nobody snipes. Jim, if you want to send me an email I'll give you some introductions to other folks who can open more doors for you, but I think that you'll find that almost every garden has something to offer.

Sara

Anyone who hasn't been to the Oregon Garden may be shocked by how hokey it is.

Except for the conifer garden, which is more appealing than the rest of it.

The most conifer excitement would probably be gotten from getting into private collections, as suggested. As well as those of wholesale conifer producers with display gardens, such as Iseli and Buchholz. Some of the Iseli garden specimens have been around awhile, with dramatic results.

Buchholz has been calling their plantings Flora Wonder Arboretum - I haven't been there but pictures I've seen show a lot of conifers etc. spread over an area of some size.