Appreciation post: the 20 minutes a retired forester spent with me at the Portland arboretum

Emma Harris · 2026-10-26T20:15:04.573507+00:00

I was 19 and couldn't tell a Douglas fir from a hemlock, so a man named Ray walked me through the cone scales on a bench near the Hoyt Arboretum visitor center. He pulled two cones from his jacket pocket and had me feel how the fir bracts stick out like little tails, then told me that was the whole trick and most people never look. That was 1987 and I still check every cone I pick up, which is probably why my kitchen windowsill looks like a squirrel's stash right now. Does anyone else have one of those small moments with a stranger that ended up shaping how you look at plants?

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Appreciation post: the 20 minutes a retired forester spent with me at the Portland arboretum | Botany Lovers - The Community Guide