Les Fleurs de Portland

[Disclaimer: Despite my cleverly-disguised title for this post, I will be straight up with you, dear reader, and warn you that this post is 100% about flowers. Just beware...you've been warned. But most importantly, enjoy all the beauty you're about to see!]

When I decided to transfer to Portland State University, I was not aware of the fact that the city of Portland is known for it's roses. So when I got here and found that out, you can only imagine my excitement!

In fact, roses can be found everywhere... Portland's nickname is The City of Roses. The professional women's soccer team here is The Thorns. Each man-hole lid has an engraving of a rose on it (see the picture on right). Every Police car intimidatingly flaunts an image of a red rose on the side doors...super intimidating. And most importantly, Portland is home to the International Rose Test Garden, where hundreds of species of roses are experimentally bred together to produce various (and mostly delicious!) fragrances. You (I) could spend a whole day there just sniffing away, and you (I) would be in sweet-smelling heaven.

So, yes. Roses are everywhere, and they're wonderful. But before we get into that, I should mention that Oregon has more flowers than just roses, and they're beautiful too.

These balls of sunshine are bright and cheerful - a very necessary combination to counter-balance the typical Oregon grey and dreary weather. I found these while visiting my friend Tianna at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. They have a magical garden right on campus!

These, I know I've already showed them, can be spotted on the side of any freeway. They are simply wild field flowers that particularly enjoy the higher mountain altitudes. Not too sure what they really are, but they look to me as though they come from the bean/pea family. 

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS AND IT'S KILLING ME! Anyone have a clue? I found these on a run to a near-by track in Portland, and it seems like they haven't opened yet. I'll have to go back and see if the petals have opened up, but until then, I'm stuck! Such a strange and unique plant - I've never seen anything like it before! "Keep Portland weird...eh?"

These wild purple daisies are so cute! I've mainly noticed them in the more forested parts of Oregon, where those vibrant petals pop amidst the lush greenery. Such a treasure!

And last of the non-roses, but certainly not least, are these beauties. I love the pastel-purple/pink petals, the vibrant golden-yellow stamen, and the nearly chartreuse pistil. They're delicate, vine-y, and wonderful. 

And now, back to Willamette University to begin the Rose portion of the flower post. 

Oregon is home to all different species of roses. From multi-colored, small roses...

...to single-colored hearty roses - so dense with petals that the pollen didn't even show through enough to be able to smell it. 

From thin-stemmed but thorny roses...

...to perfect petal-swirl, speckled roses.

From roses at the end of their blooming life, but still beautiful in their own way...

...to young, vibrant, near-porcelein roses.
(This is my favorite picture of all the roses I've seen so far, by the way.)

There are even roses to fit Portland's funky personality, with petals poking out from everywhere!

This rose in particular was a cross-breeding success because it had the most appetizing fragrance - think: green tea with rose infusion and an aftertaste of fresh crispness. 

And finally, an all-around ideal rose as the cherry on top of this post.

Luckily for me, the International Rose Test Garden is only ~2 miles away from where I live, so I can easily have it be midway point to my runs. As soon as I stepped in, a wave of delicious aromas hit me and I was hooked. I'll be back soon, that's for sure.

As you can see, Portland is home to millions of flowers, all of which I won't be able to capture unfortunately, but I am determined to try. It's lovely to live in such a green, plant-friendly city and to be able to marvel at its beauty every day. Can't wait to see what other flower-treasures I stumble upon during my time here!

Well, those are all the presents I have for you for now. Don't worry, there will be many, many more to come. You know you love it!

Hope you enjoyed getting to know some of Oregon's flora! Come back next weekend to see what I'll have in store for you then :)

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"Flowers are the music of the ground, from earth's lips spoken without sound."