All the buildings and structures, all the wood in the buildings, all of the stones used in the mosaic patterns on the paths, the stones in the mountain and on display, the entire garden (with the exception of the plants, grown here in Oregon) were made or originated in China, were shipped here and constructed on site, primarily by Chinese Craftsmen. Lan Su Yuan is not a reproduction of any existing (or destroyed) Garden in Suzhou, but is unique and original in design. Lan Su Yuan was designed by architects, artisans and other experts in Classical Chinese Garden design by our sister city of Suzhou for Portland.

The plants in this garden are all grown locally and were by and large donated by private people and local nursery stock growers. It must be noted that even though all the plants are grown locally, virtually all 500 species of plants in the garden are native of China. I am amazed that this garden is less than one acre in size and yet appears so much larger because of the design philosophy of the ancient Chinese Literati. Although the garden was opened to the public in September of 2000, the plants are much older than that and the garden looks quite “settled in”.

As a Docent for Lan Su Yuan, I am indeed fortunate to be able to see this garden as it changed with the time of day, and with the seasons. I am doubly honored to represent my beautiful City of Portland and Lan Su Yuan every week to visitors from throughout the world in the tours I give. One of the great joys in life is meeting people from most every country and being able to interact with them as I share my own enthusiasm for my beautiful city, and for this unique garden. I would love to meet any of the kind members of the MyFourThirds Community that visit Portland who decide to visit Lan Su Yuan.