The outdoor altar is a beautiful site for celebrating Holy Eucharist. Set in the southern end of the yard, the altar is covered by a canopy of kiwi vine with broad green leaves.
Every summer, staff of the Diocese of Oregon worship outdoors amidst the sound of the gurgling streams and chirping birds. One year an albino deer wandered onto the field during the Eucharist!
“Once home to a family that made their millions in the grain industry around the turn of the century, the 13 acres were gifted to the Episcopal Bishop of Oregon with the stipulation that they remain open to the public. High up on the bluffs of the Willamette River, the views are simply breathtaking. Mt Hood can easily be spotted far off in the distance.”
It may be fall, but there are still signs of new life popping up around the garden. The fall crocus are beginning to force their way up through the damp soil, pushing aside the cover of autumn leaves.
The bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) is beginning to shed its leaves, which can grow up to 30 inches long. This tree is located on the western side of the lower parking lot.
The Willamette Week featured Elk Rock Garden as one of Portland’s hidden gems.
“Much is rightly made of Portland’s Japanese Garden, which expanded this year. But few know that Portland has a public Scottish garden just as large, and in many ways just as lovely.”
Some two hundred years ago the trees you see in this photograph began to grow in what is now Elk Rock Garden on the grounds of the Bishop’s Close. During a recent storm the roots became waterlogged and all three of the major trunks came down. Today the company tasked with cutting them up and removing them from the grounds finished their work. Except for the tracks of heavy moving equipment, only the memory of these beautiful trees remains.
