The Gordon House (Frank Lloyd Wright)

July 04, 2025

Study Weekend Garden Tours - Southeast & North Portland - pt. 1

Despite all the work and hoopla of preparing for our open garden on Monday, I did manage to steal away on Friday and Saturday to visit the gardens in Portland. There were six gardens on Friday, located in the Southeast and North Portland neighborhoods. Beginning with the first three - Jenn Ferrante garden - Cool and calming, an oasis of serenity with pinks and blues and touches of chartreuse. And a majestic weeping beech. Peter Eastman and Dayrol Griffin garden - another colorful oasis with many tropical touches and a well-executed street border planting. Anne Davis & Miles McCoy garden - This small garden packs quite a punch with borders, potted plants and artistic touches. Check out that pathway! More to come... Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Just after you enter the gates of The Oregon Garden, the first thing you see on your left is The Gordon House, one of the last Usonian houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was the only house designed by Wright in the state of Oregon. It was commissioned by Conrad and Evelyn Gordon in Wilsonville, Oregon. Wright designed the house in 1957 and it was built in 1964 after his death. The Gordons lived in the house for the remainder of their lives and it was then donated to the Frank Lloyd Wright Convervancy, who meticulously dismantled the house piece by piece and relocated it to The Oregon Garden location after it was donated by the Gordon heirs.

There is also a Frank Lloyd Wright home less than one mile from our former home in Florence, Alabama. I visited it twice and wrote about it in this post from 2012.