Spring has officially sprung in Portland’s Central City with the return of the annual Bloom Tour. This year’s event features twenty-nine stunning large-scale floral installations that are sure to capture attention during Portland’s Rose Festival.
The Bloom Tour is part walking tour and part art show with a focus on supporting some of Portland’s unique shops, restaurants and hotels. Even the Lan Su Chinese Garden will be hosting a large-scale floral installation, so follow the tour map and explore them all
Running from May 11 to June 11, the Bloom Tour will showcase the work of many talented artists and florists who have designed and created these eye-catching art pieces that can be viewed rain or shine. Whether you’re a local or a visitor, this is a can’t-miss opportunity to explore the city, capture some truly amazing photos and show your support for the Downtown and Old Town communities.
Participating retailers will be offering special botanical and floral deals, so visit all thirty locations for details. Follow along with the Visit Downtown social media channels to learn more about each location.
- Instagram (@downtownpdx)
- Facebook (@downtownportland)
We are using #BloomTourPDX.
This event is a project of the Visit Downtown Campaign, a program run by Downtown Portland Clean & Safe and the Portland Business Alliance with additional funding from the City of Portland.
(Click image for downloadable map.)
Bloom Tour locations:
1. Lan Su Chinese Garden with artist: Bentley Fleurs
239 NW Everett St.
Instagram: @lansuchinesegarden and @bentleyfleurs
Artist statement: This installation features a seven-foot-tall hand-built bird and a seven-foot-wide hand-woven nest filled with fresh flowers. Peonies, azaleas, roses, carnations, ranunculus, and freesia fill the air with their sweet scent. Her wings are floral couture pieces, with hand-sewn moss throughout the wire wing structures and small woven bundles of flowers to create a swirling musical theme of flowers.
2. Blue Sky Gallery with artist: Flora Kultur
122 NW 8th Ave.
Instagram: @blueskygallerypdx and @florakulturpdx
Artist statement: The 18-foot-long floral clouds under the awning at Blue Sky Gallery were inspired by a blue-grey-green pallet reminiscent of the weather and water in Portland. We used dried flowers and tinted greenery to create the stretch of “clouds” with details of reused faux dangles like big drops of water frozen in time. This piece will be dismantled and repurposed after its mission of reinvigorating and inspiring the people of Portland’s Downtown with beauty and levity has ended.
3. World Foods with artist: Flower Club PDX
830 NW Everett St.
Instagram: @worldfoodspdx and @flowerclubpdx
Artist statement: I started my floral business a year ago, taking a more creative direction with my career. I’ve used flowers to fill my spaces for years, believing what science has now proven: flowers and plants are good for our brains. For this, my first floral-themed installation, I drew influence from a couple of my favorite pop art artists – Yayoi Kusama and Roy Lichtenstein – changing dots to red roses, an enduring symbol of Portland. Kusama explained her use of dots by saying, “…a polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm.” For me, flowers are a beautiful reminder of our lives. From the nurturing of the plant, the anticipation of the first buds, and the vibrancies of full bloom to the fading, gradual release of petals, they remind us to live life fully.
4. Travel Portland Visitor Center with artist: Gone West PDX
1132 SW Harvey Milk St.
Instagram: @travelportland and @gonewestpdx
Artist statement: For this instillation, we were inspired by Travel Portland’s hard work and dedication to bring people to and share the magic of our city. We wanted to create a larger-than-life floral frame for guests to take photos with that also acts as a digital postcard to be sent to friends and family, reminding them to come visit us soon!
5. Portland Gear with artist: Chelle Floral Design
403 SW 10th Ave.
Instagram: @portlandgear and @chellefloraldesign
Artist statement: The avant-garde design style is defined as urban, industrial, and chic. With upcycled wood pallets and old T-shirts, this installation creates angles and curves from metal, wood, and fabric. The florals soften the structure with warm red tones of roses, Leucadendrons, Alstroemeria, hypericum berries, carnations, celosia, and assorted greens. This floral art structure is out of the box and sure to evoke emotions. Whether you smile because you love it or smile because you don’t get it, it makes you smile and feel something.
6. Mercantile Portland with artist: Fresita Floral
729 SW Alder St.
Instagram: @mercantileportland
Artist statement: The installation at Mercantile Portland was created with sustainable practices in mind. I wanted to use as little plastic as possible and ensure everything could be composted upon takedown. I also made sure not to use any faux flowers, harmful chemicals, glues, or floral foam. All of the products used to create the installation were 100% natural, and some were even sustainably foraged, keeping the foraging “rule of thirds” in mind. Through this process, I made sure to support small businesses, use salvaged greens, and stay as true to myself as possible.
7. Amity Artisan Goods with artist: Jackelope Floral
962 SW Morrison St.
Instagram: @amitypdx and @jackelopefloral
Artist statement: “Blooming with Pride” is a commemoration of the colorfully everlasting energy that comes from the gay community. Classically represented by the rainbow, each section of the piece is decorated with flowers that are as unique as they are unified. A reminder that beauty is more than what we see with our eyes; it’s the experience of connecting to something bigger than ourselves. To be gay is to unabashedly bloom against any allegiances to the status quo. To bloom, to emerge, to unfurl proudly even when we may be mocked by a majority group. Because, just as flowers have no choice but to bloom, we are a garden of gay humans that have embraced what it means to be beautifully ourselves.
8. The Joinery with artist: The Wild Bluebell
922 SW Yamhill St.
Instagram: @thejoinery
Artist statement: This is a whimsical forested installation with an emphasis on sustainability using foam-free mechanics.
9. Crafty Wonderland with artist: Sierra Wahlke
808 SW 10th Ave.
Instagram: @craftywonderland and @shadyladyhandmadepdx
10. Taylor Street Kitchen with artist: In-house
1125 SW Taylor St.
Instagram: @taylorstreetkitchen
11. Event Cosmetics Boutique & Spa with artist: Goose Hollow Flowers
1008 SW Taylor St.
Instagram: @event_cosmetics and @goosehollowflowers
12. Hendrix & McGuire Optical with artist: Gifford’s Flowers
925 SW Taylor St.
Instagram: @hendrixmcguire and @giffordsflowers
13. Flowers Tommy Luke with artist: In-house
906 SW Taylor St.
Instagram: @cityflowerstommyluke
14. Southpark Seafood with artist: Gifford’s Flowers
901 SW Salmon St.
Instagram: @southparkseafood and @giffordsflowers
15. The Paramount Hotel with artist: Flowers Tommy Luke
808 SW Taylor St.
Instagram: @paramount_pdx and @cityflowerstommyluke
16. Director Park with artist: Tulip Cowboy
815 SW Park Ave.
Instagram: @directorparkevents and @tulipcowboy
Artist statement: This is a fresh installation to celebrate the launch of the Bloom Tour. Members of the community are invited to come take a flower from the installation!
17. Elephants Delicatessen @ Fox Tower with artist: Floralia.A
812 SW Park Ave.
Instagram: @elephantsdeli and @floralia.a
Artist statement: PDX are the letters that are dear to the people of Portland, and we hope that seeing them downtown will bring positive emotions! The vibrant pops of orange, red, and yellow represent the warm and sunny weather coming to Portland, and the abundance of greens embodies Oregon’s rich and dense forests.
18. Nordstrom with artist: Honor Floral
701 SW Broadway
Instagram: @nordstromportland and @honorfloral
19. Columbia Sportswear with artist: Geranium Lake Flowers
911 SW Broadway
Instagram: @columbia1938 and @geraniumlakes
Artist statement: We love Gert Boyle and her amazing vibrancy as a person, leader, and resilient badass business founder of Columbia Sportswear. We are so inspired by Gert and everything she stands for that we even had the opportunity to celebrate her with our florals, Celebration of Life. For this design, we imagined a colorful floral river flowing down the meadows of Pacific NW abundance. We included manzanita branches, pussy willow, curly willow, and local moss. Gert loved Gerbera daisies, and if you look at the tippy top, you will see a vibrant green Gerbera daisy looking over all of us!
20. Gifford’s Flowers with artist: In-house
704 SW Jefferson St.
Instagram: @giffordsflowers
21. Elephants Delicatessen @ The World Trade Center with artist: Floralia.A
127 SW Salmon St.
Instagram: @elephantsdeli and @floralia.a
Artist statement: The sun always comes after the rain. Inspired by the rainy Portland weather, all while waiting for the sun to come out! Through color, texture, and unusual use of umbrellas, we created a yellow and orange color pop for downtown to symbolize optimism, happiness, enthusiasm, and youthful connections. Rain or shine, downtown Portland is a vibrant and exciting place to be.
22. The Fossil Cartel with artist: Rachel Galloway
333 SW Taylor St. #150
Instagram: @thefossilcartel
23. Pioneer Place with artist: RPS
5th & Morrison Corner
Instagram: @pioneerplace and @roycespropshop
24. The Luxury Exchange with artist: Jen Rich
528 SW 3rd Ave.
Instagram: @theluxuryexchangepdx and @richearthdesigns
Artist statement: The Luxury Exchange was the perfect business to collaborate with, as I absolutely love combining flowers & fashion! My entire installation was created with real flowers. I love growing and designing with dried flowers because they go the distance, don’t require water & are a more sustainable option. The installation was designed around the botanical couture dress created with strawflowers, amaranth & poppy pods I grew in St. Helens. Because I have lived in the Portland area my whole life I have been fascinated by mushrooms. When I saw Fidler’s Fungus Farm was growing Pink Oysters, I had to have them! Their shape and gills worked perfectly for designing part of the corset. Because the Luxury Exchange has the most fabulous selection of designer handbags in the city I was excited to create several of these botanical designs for the installation. I teach dried flower jewelry workshops, so if you look closely you will find a few botanical rings in the mix. The firework-like pieces of the installation are dried Allium Schubertii flowers, a stunner in the garden and in dried decor.
I love my city! Thank you, Bloom Tour! Thrilled to be a part of 2023 and 2024! Big thanks to my dear friend Françoise Weeks, who taught me the foundations of wearable mechanics that helped push the boundaries of where I take flowers today.
25. Raven’s Manor with artist: Gone West PDX
235 SW 1st Ave.
Instagram: @ravensmanor and @gonewestpdx
Artist statement: This arch was inspired by spooky things in nature, such as creepy knotted willow trees and deep, blood-red flowers. Raven’s Manor is such a fun embodiment of all things Portland, and we wanted to make sure whatever we created was just as special.
26. Westward Whiskey
65 SE Washington St.
Instagram: @westwardwhiskey
27. Smith Teamaker
110 SE Washington St.
Instagram: @smithteamaker
Artist statement: This dried installation is inspired by the radiant, natural colors of the tea that Smith Teamaker produces.
28. Cargo with artist: Vibrant Table Catering
81 SE Yamhill St.
Instagram: @cargoinc
Artist statement: We are playing with scale, dried flowers, faux oversized organics, and fresh flowers. All are incorporated with a grid and ribbon ceiling. It should be fun!
29. Bloom Annex Event
1010 SE Water Ave.
Instagram: @centraleastside
A special thanks to our partners
