Tag Archives: Flora

Color Mixture

“Ajuga et al”
Heatherwood Winter

Every stroll through our Heatherwood garden presents little “treats” of joy. The above image is from a shady part of our Japanese garden.

Nature’s Cycle

New and old mix together,
From decay, emerges new,
Another season ahead.

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Happy Valentines Day

“Bleeding Hearts”
Heatherwood Spring

Bleeding Hearts have always been a symbol for Valentines Day even though they bloom in May. This Bleeding Heart was the first plant that I planted in our garden after moving to Selah in 2016. Each year I anxiously await for it to present its spring glory.

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Winter Beauty – 8

“Limelight Hydrangea and Yellow -Twig Dogwood”
Heatherwoood Winter

One of my favorite winter vignettes in the garden is the combination of the spent hydrangea flower heads and the yellow branches of the yellow-twig dogwood along the cherry allee. In the summer the view is quite different with the white flowers of the limelight hydrangeas contrasting with the bright green leaves of the yellow-twig dogwoods. Multi-season interest is one of the highlights of Heatherwood.

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A Time to Reflect

“Reflection”

Today is a special day to reflect.  Life’s timeline is multidimensional.  The past, current, and future intermingle.  As I look back and reflect on loved ones who have passed, a warm, peaceful, and grateful feeling comes into my heart. That feeling transcends into a contemplative outlook of what is yet to come.

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Mt. St. Helens, Life Renewal

Mt. St. Helens – 27 years after

Nature is magical!  It renews itself.  Out of a devastated landscape, life emerges.  I wish I had taken photographs when Karen and I visited the devastated mountain twenty plus yeas ago.  Everything was grey and brown, mud and ash.  It reminded me of what I thought the moon’s landscape was like.

Now, life is emerging everywhere.  The reds, oranges, yellows, and purples of the wildflowers scattered about breathe life into the landscape.  The greens below are young trees that have sprouted from seeds that have been brought to the surface by the small ground animals that survived the blast underground and from returning birds dropping seeds from above.  Life is a miracle!  My spirits lifted as I looked down over the valley below.  My imagination looked forward to picture a natural forest that will return in the centuries to come.

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Textures

The textures of the various plants, moss, and rock caught my eye.  The hardness of the rock, the softness of the moss, the glossy smoothness of the the blade-type plant coupled with the variegated shades of the three-leafed plant attracted me.  I converted to B&W to focus on the various tonalities and textures.  Just experimenting …

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Seeing the Beauty of the Little Things Around Us

Wildflowers – Snow Mountain Ranch

As I walked along the trail at Snow Mountain Ranch, I stopped frequently and just looked around enjoying the countryside.  Almost every time, something caught my eye.  This simple image of rocks and flowers was one of those moments.

Photography has taught me to see the beauty and interesting things around me.  Today, everywhere I look, I see something interesting that makes me step back and enjoy the moment.  When I become engrossed on a photographic subject, I feel like I become part of it.  I am no longer just an observer.

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Stairs

Stairs to a Hidden Garden – Golden Gardens, Seattle

My friend and I went out for a little photoshoot on a bright Spring day.  This was the first thing I saw. The stairs, surrounding rocks, and the plants were all different shades of brilliant green.  I thought the different tonalities would make a good black and white image.

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A Day of Fun and Practice

Wildflowers – Snow Mountain Ranch, Cowiche, Washington

I took a day to explore and photograph wildflowers.  I tried to capture both the overall feel of the large masses of flowers and their place in the countryside as well as individual vignettes of little scenes of flowers and interesting subjects.

This image I attempted to capture the field of bright wildflowers set against the green hillsides covered with sage brush and bunch grass and the interesting clouds in the background.  My objective was to capture the feel of the beautiful, cloudy, peaceful day.

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