Garden Writers Symposium
Portland
September, 2008
 

September 20th

After breakfast we had our Keynote Speaker, Jack Hart, address the 644 registrants with “How Does Our Garden Grow: Flourishing as writers and editors in a new media environment”. There were lots of great tidbits of information shared by this author, writing coach and former managing editor at the Oregonian. This was followed by sessions then lunch at the hotel and story tours.

Today it was the Northeast Portland Gardens.

Visit six urban gardens — each offering a different style and personality — and a specialty garden center focused on sustainable organic gardening practices located in the heart of a densely populated residential neighborhood.
Experience:

Urban agriculture
Exuberant street-side plants
Complementing a home’s architecture: garden style, plant palettes and garden structures
Whimsical gardens
Intimate garden spaces
Designs for year round color
Minimizing the lawn…maximizing the garden
Engaging the neighborhood
Foliage vs. flowers for garden interest
Lush and verdant containers

Now there were 3 groups of 3 coaches that alternated the stops so that we just didn’t all arrive at the same time. It worked out very well and you had the opportunity if you didn’t want to get on the next coach you could wait for the one after that. So even though there were six gardens to see, you may not get to see all six. Back to the hotel and the exhibits after this…followed by a reception and last minute running around to catch exhibits or people you missed speaking with.