Landscape design is for the most part a solitary endeavor. Many hours are spent alone sitting at the drafting table or in front of a computer screen. To keep from going stir crazy, several years ago I became a member of The Association of Northwest Landscape Designers (ANLD). This organization has grown to over 150 members, and it has provided a wonderful sense of community among Portland area landscape designers and others in the landscape and nursery trade.
One of ANLD's goals is to provide encouragement and support to landscape design students. For the past eight years, ANLD has organized a garden tour, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at member designed gardens. Ticket sale proceeds are used to fund scholarships for landscape design students at three Portland area community colleges.
I somehow talked my way into becoming the designated photographer for the garden tour. This gives me the opportunity to photograph the gardens before the tour begins, without all of those pesky garden tourers showing up in the photos. Here is a sampling of photographs from a few of the wonderful gardens on this year's tour. I will post more photographs following the tour.
The tour also features garden art tailored for each garden by talented local artists.
