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Stillness, impermanence, mystery and simplicity are not what most of us seek in our coastal gardens. Color, abundance and exuberance are more our style. Yet one step inside a space like Portland's Japanese garden and we immediately sense a very different invitation: to slow down and see more.
And so the question: how to approach a highly refined, 1,500-year-old garden philosophy and find ways to integrate its inherent calm, restraint and deliberateness into our love of abundance?
One place to start is a master class with the former senior gardener at the Portland Japanese Garden, Jacob Knapp.
A garden designer and horticulturist based in Portland, Jacob maintains and constructs gardens throughout the region, blending his love of plants, his respect for materials and his belief in the inherent order of nature. Among his responsibilities at the Japanese Garden was raking patterns into the dry gravel beds that surround the boulders. Watching online videos of Jacob working is a glimpse into his extraordinary skill, attention to detail and respect for ritual.
“The idea of raking comes from exactly what we see on the coast. That flat plane of the ocean with prominent boulders in the water. It's distilling nature in the garden.” — Jacob Knapp
This three-hour immersion into the principles of Japanese gardening begins in the Hoffman Center classroom and ends in the Wonder Garden, where Jacob will discuss the art of placing stone, demonstrate raking and share coastal design ideas that work in harmony with where, and how, we live.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Formerly senior gardener at the Portland Japanese Garden, Jacob Knapp is the owner of Pacific Pruning LLC. In his work he blends technical horticultural expertise with a design approach rooted in observation, nature and spatial restraint.
Stillness, impermanence, mystery and simplicity are not what most of us seek in our coastal gardens. Color, abundance and exuberance are more our style. Yet one step inside a space like Portland's Japanese garden and we immediately sense a very different invitation: to slow down and see more.
And so the question: how to approach a highly refined, 1,500-year-old garden philosophy and find ways to integrate its inherent calm, restraint and deliberateness into our love of abundance?
One place to start is a master class with the former senior gardener at the Portland Japanese Garden, Jacob Knapp.
A garden designer and horticulturist based in Portland, Jacob maintains and constructs gardens throughout the region, blending his love of plants, his respect for materials and his belief in the inherent order of nature. Among his responsibilities at the Japanese Garden was raking patterns into the dry gravel beds that surround the boulders. Watching online videos of Jacob working is a glimpse into his extraordinary skill, attention to detail and respect for ritual.
“The idea of raking comes from exactly what we see on the coast. That flat plane of the ocean with prominent boulders in the water. It's distilling nature in the garden.” — Jacob Knapp
This three-hour immersion into the principles of Japanese gardening begins in the Hoffman Center classroom and ends in the Wonder Garden, where Jacob will discuss the art of placing stone, demonstrate raking and share coastal design ideas that work in harmony with where, and how, we live.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Formerly senior gardener at the Portland Japanese Garden, Jacob Knapp is the owner of Pacific Pruning LLC. In his work he blends technical horticultural expertise with a design approach rooted in observation, nature and spatial restraint.