One of Portland’s best kept secrets, Leach Botanical Garden is a 16-acre urban green space situated on the city’s southeastern edge. The garden, with its native plants, meandering trails and basalt stone sculptures, now has even more to offer, having just completed the first phase of a multiyear master plan.
“The garden is intended to become a significant cultural institution for its neighborhood, and all of Portland,” explains Richard Hartlage, principal and owner of landscape architecture firm Land Morphology, who completed the new design. Visitors will now experience improved pedestrian paths, a new pollinator garden and meadow with over 200 different types of plants, and an elevated tree walk hovering 35 feet above ground.
“Walking through the Pacific Northwest native forest among soaring Douglas fir trees and looking down at the forest floor gives a new perspective of the garden and heritage trees,” Hartlage says. A pavilion designed by Olson Kundig is the first in a series of delicate wood buildings planned for the garden. “People are drawn to nature and experiencing the natural world. This master plan aims to delight and inspire visitors to make deeper connections between plants and people,” Hartlage adds.
