Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop’s Close

11800 SW Military Lane, 503-636-5613, elkrockgarden.org.

When a pair of Scottish immigrant brothers (the Kerrs) and their business partner purchased this 13-acre plot in the early 1890s, they were probably more concerned with charming prospective wives than providing generations of Portlanders with a truly English-style garden. There's nothing to match it in the region. Fortunate for us, the eldest brother's daughters gave the garden to the Episcopal bishop of Oregon with the stipulation that every chrysanthemum bloom, wisteria snarl and breathtaking view of the Willamette River remain available to everyone.

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