Our Katsura is one of the first Japanese maples to leaf out in the spring. It has these beautiful yellow leaves outlined along the edges in red. It pops out among our other conifers and deciduous trees. Currently we have it planted in an open area in our woodland garden section. The leaves get a little scorched in late summer. Finding the right spot in our harsh eastern Washington summer environment is difficult and requires a bit of trial and error. Should I be patient and wait for other trees in the woodland to get larger and provide some afternoon shade, or should I make the move now and transplant it in a more protected area?
Shin Deshojo and Crimson Queen Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Good friends and Japanese maples go hand in hand. When I first returned to Washington from Pennsylvania in 2016, my long-term friends from the Ravenna area in Seattle and I took a stroll in the Washington Arboretum to see the spring highlights. We walked through the Japanese maple area and saw a beautiful pinkish red maple displaying its brilliant spring color. I asked if they knew what it was. They said that it was a Shin Deshojo and that they had one in their garden. It was one of their favorites. I knew that I really wanted to add one to my new home. I searched around and could not find one in our Eastern Washington area. A year later they came to visit and said they had a little surprise for me. As they drove up, I saw a beautiful little tree in the bed of their truck. It was their beautiful little Shin Deshojo in its broken pot. In needed to be replanted and thought my new garden would just be the right place. It became one of the maples that started the foundation of what is now our Heatherwood Japanese garden.
Today it gracefully displays its form and color next to our house along with other Japanese maples and dogwoods. The trouble is that even though it adds to the beauty of the garden, it is difficult to get a clear photograph of the tree by itself. Below is an image of its beautiful leaves.
Shin Deshojo Emerging Spring Leaves
The image in the top header is of our second Shin Deshojo that was added a couple of years later. It is planted more in the open and gets quite a bit more sun. We now have almost 100 Japanese maples in our garden. They range from established trees to small one-gallon starters. Every time I walk through our garden I think of our wonderful friends and our joint love of Japanese maples. Thank you Janet and Larry!
The first of our crabapples have started blooming. For several days the flower buds kept getting bigger and bigger. Then two days ago they just started bursting open. There are seven different varieties of crabapples in our Heatherwood garden. They all reach their peak bloom at different times. This brings us a gift of blooming crabapples for around two weeks. The crabapples highlight the south east corner of the garden as the field of daffodils decline.
Cherry Allee & Neighbor’s Pasture Heatherwood Spring
With all the turmoil surrounding us, it is important to step back and reflect on what is right about the world. What is better to be thankful for than a peaceful sunny late afternoon with a blue sky above. This is just the spot to relax and enjoy the day and nature’s landscape surrounding our home. Soon the blossoms of the Pink Flair cherries will fall. Leaves of the cherries and birches and oaks below will emerge. A little later, the planting bed between the cherries will be full of colorful perennials. Horses will be grazing in the pasture. You will find us sitting on the rocks dangling our feet amongst the flowers.
Don Egolf Redbud & Hokkeji Lantern Heatherwood Japanese-Influenced Garden
Yesterday afternoon I stepped out of our front door and was greeted by the afternoon sun gracing over our entryway Hokkeji Japanese lantern and Don Egolf redbud. I quickly grabbed my camera and started a stroll through our garden.
The Don Egolf is the first of Heatherwood’s eleven reduds to bloom this year. Three other Don Egolf redbuds in the woodland garden are just getting ready to burst out. The Hokkeji Japanese lantern and the Don Egolf welcome visitors as they walk along the path leading to the Japanese-influenced garden. In a week or two, the Japanese maples along the pathway will open up with their flush of brilliant spring color.
It pays to stroll through the garden every day at this time of year. New blooms burst out every day. In this case with our Akebono cherries, the glory of the full bloom only lasted one day. The temperature dropped into the 20’s the day that the cherries burst out in full bloom. The next morning the bright white blossoms were brown.
Garden strolls remind me to stay in the present and enjoy each and every moment. When I see something that catches my eye, I take the time to stop and explore it. I sometimes get close and touch the plant and feel its uniqueness. Who knows, tomorrow it may change.
Late afternoon sunshine brings warmth to our Heatherwood garden. This was taken at about 5:30P just before the sun set behind the hills to the west. The yellows and reds of the yellow and red twig dogwoods highlight the scene. The Selah Ridge above sets the background. The curving grass walkway provides an entryway to the garden from the road. It gives a peek into the garden for walkers as they pass by.
My heart sinks as I observe what the Trump administration is doing to tear down our Democracy. Hope emerges as my faith in my fellow Americans holds strong. This was demonstrated yesterday during the third “No Kings Day” in our small rural town of Yakima, Washington. We had a large turnout in our very conservative community. As cars drove by, occupants honked horns, waved, and gestured strong support.
Our rural farming community has been severely impacted by the ICE roundups and deportations. We no longer have the work force needed to harvest our crops. Many small businesses have shut down. Several people whom I have worked with and befriended are no longer here. As we stand up and fight for what we believe is right, our Nation will survive. Our spirit with the “Lady of Liberty” will overcome and bring sanity back to our lives.
REMEMBER: “No Kings Day” is EVERYDAY, not just an event!
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas ‘Golden Glory’) Heatherwood Spring
When I think about dogwoods I envision large white or pink bracts. When I think about ornamental cherries I see tight white or pink blooms. The Cornelian cherry dogwood has neither. However it does have small red cherry-like fruit in the fall.
I first saw a Cornelian cherry dogwood in the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia. In late winter/early spring on one of my walks, I saw this large yellow blooming shrub-like tree. At a distance, I thought it was a large forsythia bush. As I got closer, it looked very different. I had no idea of what it was. I went to the visitor’s center asked what it was. To my surprise, they told me it was a dogwood!
For many springs and many visits to the Morris Arboretum, I scouted for the yellow blooming dogwood. It was consistently one of the first if not the first blooming tree in the Arboretum. It was truly a harbinger of spring and many later flowering trees.
When I moved back to Selah, WA and started developing our Heatherwood garden, a Cornelian cherry dogwood was one of the top ‘must have’ trees on my list. I always think of the many happy memories of the Philadelphia area and strolls in the Morris Arboretum when I view our special tree here in Heatherwood. Even though I live across the country from the Morris, I still am a member and supporter of the Arboretum. It is a must see when visiting the Philadelphia area.
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.
