In Portland, Far East Meets Northwest

In most places, 150 days of rain each year might sink vacationers’ spirits. in Portland, the soft drizzle and cool gray sky keep its lush gardens vibrant and encourage visitors to slow down, relax and take in the city’s subtle charms.

Such was the case last month when my fiance, Drew, and I spent a long weekend in the City of Roses drifting between gardens, including the newest: the Classical Chinese Garden, an urban retreat that opened in September.

Although Portland is known more for its International Rose Test Garden and beautiful Japanese Garden overlooking downtown, it was the Classical Chinese Garden where we spent the most time, following serpentine pathways of patterned river stones through a series of courtyards, over a bridged pond, past a waterfall and into tiled pavilions and gazebos that seemed to float on the water.

The garden is the largest outside China built in the same style as the renowned gardens of Suzhou, Portland’s sister city, founded in 514 BC along the Yangtze River Delta just west of Shanghai. Although the Portland garden covers the entire block bound by Everett and Flanders streets and 2nd and 3rd avenues near Chinatown, it’s surprisingly intimate. Commissioned by the city, it took seven years and $12.5 million to plan and build.

Nine pavilions are bedecked with paper lanterns, poetic couplets written in ancient calligraphy, enormous panels with other verse, and ornate imported carvings on golden ginkgo wood and cypress sanded until smooth as silk.

Classical Chinese gardens emphasize the natural harmony of plants, water, rock and architecture. Walking through Portland’s version, I was struck by contrasting colors, textures and sounds: the delicate burgundy of an Asian maple next to the broad, deep green of a banana tree; the amazing quiet inside the garden walls despite the bustling commercial district outside.

Visitors can soak in the view of the pond and the ever-changing collection of rare plants from a large wooden deck, or contemplate their beauty from the teahouse while sipping a cup of golden lily oolong and nibbling a moon cake, a little pastry filled with sweetened bean paste.

Hourly tours explain the significance of the garden’s details, many of which are easy to miss, such as the stone fish dragons on a pavilion roof or the precise placement of the windows, each framing a view that’s perfect in composition and different in perspective.

Every feature has been picked and placed for its symbolic as well as artistic importance. Swaying bamboo, full of flexibility and grace, represents the ability of an open mind to bend--to understand the ideas and opinions of others. It sits next to groupings of “shoot rocks,” or eroded, pole-shaped stones shipped from caverns in eastern China.

Wild ginger, camellias and winter hazel--all common to Suzhou--are also part of the palette. The only departure from traditional plantings is a magnificent pink dogwood, an addition by one of the garden’s Chinese designers who saw this very tree blooming in a Portland yard.

Staff from Suzhou’s garden bureau, who oversaw construction, say the grounds aren’t perfect. The roof tiles here are bolted, not stacked, an earthquake precaution. The pond water is too clear, allowing visitors to see the bottom rather than their own reflections. But I was amazed by the design’s precision and beauty.

To carry on the Asian theme, Chinatown and its trinket shops and Mandarin restaurants await visitors a few blocks away. For an interesting contrast, though, we decided to visit the city’s Japanese Garden next.

While the Chinese Garden is highly stylized, almost painterly, the Japanese Garden, opened in 1967, is a study of Portland’s natural beauty. It’s like a wispy willow, not a carefully trimmed bonsai.

The Japanese Garden is tucked in the West Hills neighborhood with one of the best views of the city. Beyond a welcoming wisteria arbor, stone paths wind downhill into 51/2 acres of Washington Park. A zigzagging bridge crosses a bed of iris to a pond with 50 koi and a waterfall nestled into the hillside. Other paths lead to carefully raked Buddhist meditation gardens, a teahouse and the “dry landscape garden,” with evergreens and bright azaleas contrasting with stark white sand.

Next to the Japanese Garden is the International Rose Test Garden, the oldest in the U.S. and home to more than 8,000 plantings. Portland didn’t get its nickname from this place--200 miles of rose-bordered streets already existed when it was built in 1917--but the garden went a long way toward enhancing the city’s reputation.

Unfortunately, we visited before bushes were in bloom. The real show is next month during the Rose Festival, which celebrates with parades, fireworks, the Rose Queen coronation, music and flower shows.

Between garden visits we decided to switch gears. Portland’s charming old architecture and vast collection of coffeehouses and bookshops provide a nice backdrop for visitors like us looking to unwind and unplug, at least for a few days. We found that the light rain made cappuccino from a native coffeehouse seem more satisfying and the food at a few comfortable (if not cutting-edge) restaurants seem almost sublime.

At the recommendation of friends, Drew and I also checked out Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., located in an industrial area across the Willamette River from downtown. For anyone interested in the craft of beer making, tours are offered Friday and Saturday afternoons. Most folks, though, are content with a sampler of brews, from the light, lemony hefeweizen to the Hop Jack ale and dopplebock in Widmer’s Gast-haus, which serves typical pub fare (including a dynamite meatloaf sandwich) plus enormous platters of German food.

Beer and coffee are the beverages of choice in Portland, but some wines are receiving acclaim too, especially the 1998 to 2000 Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley. We regretted not having an extra day or two to drive into the countryside and tour the vineyards.

We did, however, get to sample some of Oregon’s best at the nightly wine-and-cheese tasting at the Hotel Vintage Plaza, our European-style boutique hotel downtown.

It was a pleasant perk, and probably one of the hotel’s best.

The lobby is luxurious, but our room was tiny. We also got stuck paying an unexpected energy surcharge--only $5, but annoying nonetheless--and encountered staff who weren’t always eager to please.

One of the hotel’s best features is its location, a couple of blocks from Pioneer Courthouse Square and the downtown shopping district.

We also checked out the open-air Saturday Market, held near the waterfront every Saturday and Sunday. Hand-made stoneware, hats and jewelry are sold alongside bath products and honey from local purveyors. It’s a colorful scene: folk singers playing on a tiny stage, wandering clowns, young punks with Mohawks and body piercings.

The dining scene turned out to be just as eclectic. A friend recommended Genoa, a 10-table Italian restaurant with warm decor and atmospheric lighting in the Belmont district, across the river from downtown.

Our dinner was a festival of food, with seven courses savored over several hours: a crisply flavored asparagus ravioli with herb sauce; duck with a salsa of currants, pine nuts and red wine vinegar; and fabulous desserts such as an Italian wedding cake and a perfumed vanilla gelato made with orange flower water and shaved chocolate.

It wasn’t cheap--about $70 each for the fixed-price dinner, excluding drinks--but the experience was worth it.

We also visited Couvron, a French restaurant near Washington Park highly rated in the Zagat guide. But this restaurant exemplified everything I disliked about bad 1980s nouvelle cuisine, from the tiny portions of tough meat and bland vegetables balanced on a crouton or polenta cube, to its stuffy, cramped interior. Rather than thrilling us, it bored us, and after almost three hours we felt like hostages, eager to grab the check and forget that we had plunked down $200 for dinner.

Our meal the next day at Kell’s, an Irish pub next to the Saturday Market, was far more satisfying, even at a lean $28 for two. The shepherd’s pie and Irish stew and soda bread were delicious.

We also liked Jake’s Famous Crawfish, a 108-year-old landmark on 12th Avenue. A warming bowl of crawfish bisque and locally brewed ale slowed our inner treadmill.

If we’d had more time, we would have toured Pittock Mansion. The landmark 1914 estate of Portland pioneer Henry Pittock has sweeping views of the Cascades and is an unusual mix of French, English and Turkish design.

We also missed the Peninsula Park Rose Garden, a treasure on the city’s northeast side. The beautiful 161/2-acre park was the city’s first public rose garden, completed in 1913. The sunken grounds have about 9,000 rosebushes--more than the test garden across town.

After all was said and done, we spent our last day in one of Portland’s charming neighborhoods doing the one thing I was initially reluctant to do: walking the streets in the rain. And we actually enjoyed it.

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Guidebook: A Garden Getaway * Getting there: Alaska and United fly nonstop from LAX to Portland, Ore.; Southwest has direct flights (one stop, no plane change). Restricted round-trip fares start at $198.

* Finding gardens: Classical Chinese Garden entrance is at Northwest 3rd Avenue and Northwest Everett Street (mailing address: P.O. Box 5483, Portland 97228); telephone (503) 228-8131, Internet https://www.chinesegarden.org. Open daily; spring hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission $5 to $6.

Japanese Garden is in Washington Park, 611 S.W. Kingston Ave., Portland 97201; tel. (503) 223-1321, https://www .japanesegarden.com. Spring and summer hours 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Monday. $3.50 to $6.

International Rose Test Garden also is in Washington Park; Peninsula Park Rose Garden is at North Albina Avenue and Portland Boulevard. Both are maintained by Portland Parks and Recreation, 1120 S.W. 5th Ave. No. 1302, Portland 97204; tel. (503) 823-3636, https://www.parks.ci.portland.or.us/parks/rosegardens.htm. Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Free.

* Where to stay: These are general spring rates; prices may be higher in June during the Rose Festival. Hotel Vintage Plaza, 422 S.W. Broadway, 97205; tel. (800) 263-2305 or (503) 228-1212, fax (503) 228-3598, https://www .vintageplaza.com. European-style boutique hotel in Kimpton chain. Doubles from $99 including wine-and-cheese reception.

Governor Hotel, 611 S.W. 10th Ave., 97205; tel. (800) 554-3456 or (503) 224-3400, fax (503) 241-2122, https://www.govhotel.com. Luxurious, 1909-built hotel with double rooms from $119.

Heron Haus, 2545 N.W. Westover Road, 97210; tel. (503) 274-1846, fax (503) 248-4055, https://www.heronhaus.com. Tudor-style B&B; above Nob Hill. From $105 to $185.

* Where to eat: Genoa, 2832 S.E. Belmont St.; local tel. 238-1464. Italian restaurant across the river from downtown. Seven-course dinner was about $70 and worth every penny.

Kell’s, 112 S.W. Broadway; tel. 227-4057. Irish food, good beer selection. Entrees $8 to $11.

Jake’s Famous Crawfish, 401 S.W. 12th Ave.; tel. 226-1419. A local landmark with good fish. Most main courses $12 to $16.

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* For more information: Portland Oregon Visitors Assn., 2 World Trade Center, Portland, OR 97204; tel. (877) 678-5263, https://www.travelportland.com. Portland Rose Festival Assn., tel. (503) 227-2681 for information or (503) 224-4400 for parade tickets, https://www.rosefestival.org.

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Melinda Fulmer writes for The Times’ Business section.