Here in Oregon, you’ll often stumble upon the most beautiful treasures — often where you’d least expect them. In southeast Portland, just minutes from the hum of the city, there’s a secret garden that’s simply divine. Leach Botanical Garden is a winsome wonderland of glorious gardens, verdant forests, and charming architecture. This hidden oasis in Oregon is straight out of a fairy tale, and an absolutely enchanting place to visit.
Leach Botanical Garden is truly one of Oregon’s greatest gems.
Leach Botanical Garden/Facebook
Everywhere you turn in this beautiful, secret garden in Portland, treasures await.
Dawn Woolcott/Flickr
Johnson Creek flows lazily through the gardens, adding a sublime soundtrack to the experience.
David Prasad/Flickr
There’s even a footbridge over the creek, adding to the garden’s charms!
Leach Botanical Garden/Facebook
Leach Botanical Garden is the living, breathing legacy of John and Lilla Leach. John was a pharmacist; Lilla, a botanist.
Leach Botanical Garden/Facebook
Oregonians with an insatiable appetite for the outdoors, the couple could be found hiking, skiing, and climbing all over the Beaver State. They brought this passion to their beautiful property on Johnson Creek, which today you’ll recognize as Leach Botanical Gardens.
Mathew Wojdyla/Google Local
By 1932, the couple had completed this winsome stone cabin on the property, and they spent many happy summers here.
Leach Botanical Garden/Facebook
Lilla Leach was endlessly inspired by Oregon’s outdoor wonders, carefully planting and tending to the trees, flowers, and plants found in the garden today.
Portland Botanical Gardens/Facebook
One of the most influential female botanists in history, Lilla discovered a completely native Oregon flower not found anywhere else in the world: Kalmiopsis leachiana.
Portland Botanical Gardens/Facebook
“I had never seen anything so beautiful,” she said upon seeing the flower for the first time. Today, these delightful blooms can be found all throughout the gardens.
Leach Botanical Garden/Facebook
The couple later built their permanent home, the Manor House, which they affectionally called “Sleepy Hollow.” They spent many happy years here, reveling in their own little Garden of Eden. After John’s passing in 1972, Lilla moved to a care facility in Lake Oswego, until her death in 1980.
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In their wills, John and Lilla specifically stated that their home and property was to be given to the City of Portland as a botanical park and museum. And thus, Leach Botanical Garden was born.
Rachel Coker/Google Local
Today, Leach Botanical Gardens is one of Oregon’s most wondrous places, a place of discovery, inspiration, and joy.
Dawn Woolcott/Flickr
If you haven’t experienced this wondrous place before, definitely go check it out! Happily, admission to this beautiful garden in Portland is free; however, you’ll need to reserve a timed ticket ahead of your visit, which can be done on the Leach Botanical Gardens website. While you’re there, be sure to check out the new Aerial Tree Walk — it’s a wondrous experience!
Leach Botanical Garden/Facebook
Dawn Woolcott/Flickr
David Prasad/Flickr
Mathew Wojdyla/Google Local
Portland Botanical Gardens/Facebook
Dale Poppe/Google Local
Rachel Coker/Google Local
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Address: Leach Botanical Garden, 6704 SE 122nd Ave, Portland, OR 97236, USA
