Category: Gallery

Nico Swartz has joined Elk Rock Garden as our new Lead Gardener.

With a bachelor’s degree in Conservation Ecology, and a lifelong passion for plants and the environment, Nico is deeply committed to preserving and enhancing the health and natural beauty of Elk Rock Garden. His professional experience spans native plant propagation, removal of invasive plants, habitat restoration and volunteer leadership, making him particularly well-suited to this challenging role. Having previously worked with the Walker Basin Conservancy and Friends of Trees, Nico is grounded in a philosophy of sustainability and preservation, and aims to foster resilience in Elk Rock Garden’s landscape while also engaging with the community through hands-on stewardship.

https://www.hereisoregon.com/places/2023/09/beloved-9-acre-elk-rock-garden-in-dunthorpe-is-open-to-the-public-again.html

https://www.oan.org/news/648414/Purchase-clears-way-for-Bishops-Close-Garden-to-reopen.htm

The Elk Rock Garden property was listed for sale by the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon at the end of 20222.

https://www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2022/11/bishops-close-and-its-elk-rock-garden-for-sale-at-45-million.html

“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.”

Read more of Lori Osterberg’s review on AFAR.

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 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.”

Read the full article in Willamette Week.

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.