A Drift of Daffodils

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Crabapple Grove and Daffodils
Heatherwood View From Upper Lawn

Spring brings a wave of daffodils to Heatherwood’s crabapple grove. When we planted the crabapples and daffodils, we were hoping that their blooms would overlap. The leaves of the crabapples are just showing life as the daffodil blooms are peaking. The crabapple blooms will arrive about two weeks later. When they do come out, the daffodil blooms will be in their decent. As we all know from experience, the best laid plans do not always work out. On the positive side, between the daffodils and crabapples we have about four weeks of spring blooming in this section of the garden.

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Give Me One More Day

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Star Magnolia Bloom
Heatherwood Spring

I can hear the magnolia blossoms speak, “I am almost there. Give me one more day and I will be in my full spring glory.” One day makes a huge difference when the star magnolias start to bloom. One day there are only buds waiting to burst open. A day later more buds are enlarging and a few start to emerge into blossom. The next day blossoms are unfolding all over. Then they are all in full bloom. The wind starts to blow and the edges begin to look a bit tattered. Then the tips start to turn brown. Soon the blossoms cover the ground like a blanket of snow. I try not to miss a day walking by and enjoying the spring glory of our star magnolias.

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Spring is Here!

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Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Heatherwood Spring

Spring started with sunshine and warm days here at Heatherwood. The Cornelian cherry dogwoods, star magnolias, forsythias, and early flowering cherries are in full bloom. The daffodils are right behind.

Spring brings new growth and re-emergence. It is a catalyst for fresh new thoughts and experiences. Enjoying new things in the garden helps me focus on what is right about this world. Positive thoughts are essential with all the crazy things that are currently going on.

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Our Spring Project Is Starting

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Grasses and Dogwoods
Heatherwood, South Bed

Yesterday we started our spring cleanup. Our first task will be to cut back the grasses and dogwood shrubs. It is a big chore over the 4 acres of Heatherwood.

Our major spring project will be to connect our southeast and southwest conifer corner beds. This will entail removing the grasses and dogwood shrubs shown in the image above. We are looking for new homes in our garden and around the neighborhood for these plants. Once the area is cleared we will develop a path through the area that will connect our two conifer corner beds. After it is laid out, we will select specimen conifers and Japanese maples to fill in the planting area.

Our garden will never be complete. Areas become overgrown, new ideas emerge, interests change. Every day as we enjoy our existing garden, future dreams form.

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Early Signs of Spring

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Mary’s Crocuses
Heatherwood Late Winter

Little spots of color have just emerged from the ground. They are scattered through Heatherwood’s Japanese garden area. They are a signal that spring is just around the corner. I enjoy their beauty as I dream about how the garden will soon transform into its spring glory.

As I observe how they are scattered about, I smile. I reflect on how they got there in the first place. They were Mary’s first effort in adding to Heatherwood’s design. Several years ago, I handed Mary several bags of crocus bulbs and told her to plant them anywhere she wanted. She went about the garden and planted a few here and a few there. The next spring a few flowers popped up around the garden. We had to search for them. Each year a few more flowers emerged. Now they provide a sprinkle of late winter highlights through the upper garden. This fall, I plan to give her bags of snow drops to scatter around the garden landscape. I look forward to new surprises next winter.

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Brightness on a Dreary Day

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East Birch Grove
Heaatherwood Winter

This morning was cold and dreary. All I had to do to lift my spirits was to look out the window and enjoy the winter colors of the green Slow Mound mugo pines, the blue Christina spruce, and the yellow and red ice plants surrounding the white birch grove. Heatherwood is a full of interest through all four seasons.

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Winter Color #2

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Wintersonne & Big Tuna Mugo Pines and Winter Heath
Heatherwood Winter

Yesterday was a cloudy and warm winter day (mid 40’s). I grabbed my camera and strolled around the garden for about three hours. I focused on creating an overall picture of the color, textures, and forms of Heatherwood’s winter display. The garden’s beauty was astounding. I could have spent several more hours just wandering around, but other chores brought me in.

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Who Says Winter is Boring?

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Winter Colors
Heatherwood Winter

Heatherwood provides a little winter oasis to the drab Eastern Washington landscape in early February. Even in the middle of winter, color and interest abounds in our garden. Our unseasonable warm weather entices me to get out and stroll through the winter garden. At the same time the East coast is encountering extreme cold temperatures and heavy snow. How lucky we are!

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A Forest in the Desert

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Joshua Tree Forest
Joshua Tree National Monument

I’ve spent the month of January away from our Heatherwood Eden. We missed our garden so we took a jaunt out into the natural garden of the Joshua Tree National Monument. Joshua Tree is in the southern portion of the Mohave desert in California. It is a land of its own with cactus-like forests and strange rock formations in a desert landscape. It is a wonderful place to just walk and explore. As I wander about, each turn of my head opens up my eyes to new visions. The Joshua trees look like stick figures in all different forms. The rock formations look like faces, animals, architectural structures, and even monsters here and there. My imagination wanders from scene to scene. A simple one hour walk turns into a 2-3 hour adventure through a land of wonder.

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First Snow

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Winter Blanket on Kotoji and Stream
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Yesterday, the forecast was for rain. We were surprised as the light rain turned to a full snowfall by mid morning. After about four hours of snowing, it warmed up a bit and started to rain again. It quickly began to melt.

During the transition between the snow and rain, I grabbed my camera and took a jaunt through the garden. Everything was so very quiet. There was not any vehicle action through the neighborhood. No one was out shoveling at the time. Even the birds were not out! Everything was so very peaceful. I enjoyed the quiet and peace as I wandered through the snow covered landscape. What a beautiful stroll!

This morning the skies are bright blue without a cloud. The ground is still covered with snow but the trees have lost their snow blanket. It’s time to take another stroll through our Heatherwood landscape before all the snow melts.

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