The Portland Memory Garden

Building the Garden

The Portland Memory Garden is a demonstration garden project created as part of the “100 Parks, 100 Years” centennial celebration of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Of the eight Memory Gardens that were built as part of this celebration, only one other is located in a city park.

The Development Team

Many different organizations came together to make this garden a reality: The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Alzheimer’s Association, The Center of Design for an Aging Society, Legacy Health System, Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation, and the Institute on Aging/School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. The team also worked closely with the area’s neighborhood associations to develop a design that was responsive to the needs of their community.

The team was particularly strong due to the cooperation of many different disciplines, including landscape architects and designers with prior design experience in planning sensory and therapeutic gardens, as well as a horticultural therapist and an environmental psychologist, a specialist in design for older adults, and experts in Alzheimer’s disease.

A Community Comes Together

One always hopes that a project like the Portland Memory Garden can bring together those who see its value and simply want to be part of making it happen.

More than 50 local suppliers and contractors donated their services, along with three youth programs: The Boy Scouts, Youth Builders and AIM High School.

The garden is a true testimonial to what can happen when diverse public, private and non-profit organizations, and individual volunteers come together in the spirit of creating a better community.