Monthly Archives: April 2021

“When the Forsythia Blooms …”

Pruned Roses
Heatherwood Spring

As the old saying goes, “When the forsythia blooms, it’s time to prune the roses.” Before I learned this bit of advice, I tended to wait too long to prune our roses. Now, I have an automatic alarm clock right next to our rose garden to remind me. The timing has been perfect.

Throughout the year, this is one of my favorite scenes. In the spring, the freshly pruned roses compliment the flowering star magnolia and our forsythia tree. In the summer, I overlook the colorful roses with the birch trees as a background. In the fall, the changing color of the birches and our neighbor’s apple trees add to the remaining roses. In the winter, I enjoy the contrast of the stark rose canes with the bare white limbs of the birches. And all year along, our neighbor’s white fence and pasture provide background interest.

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Lot of Work to Do

“Looking North”
Heatherwood SE Corner

This is one of the areas that we will be trying to “finish off” during our 2021 landscaping project. Our plan is to fill in this center section with additional perennials and ground cover. We will create a natural path through the area and add some specimen conifers. This image was taken from the location of our Adirondack settee viewing position. Behind and to the left, we will replace a large Zelkova which did not make it through the previous year. This will be a great place to sit down on a hot summer afternoon in the shade, enjoying a cool glass of ice tea (or other beverage).

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Spring Planting Has Started

“Hana Matoi Corner”
Heatherwood Spring

Spring planting is underway! We have set an ambitious project for this spring. However, it is much, much smaller than our projects over the last two years. The major hardscape projects have been completed. This year’s project is to fill in around the design that we have currently have in place. We will be adding about 40 trees, 150 shrubs, and a lot of perennials and ground covers. Gradually we will be filling in the understory of the garden. We hope to finish the bulk of the project by mid May instead of having it extend through the summer like we have for the past two years. We hope to spend much more time enjoying the garden as opposed to working every day developing it.

For the section shown in this image, we will be adding shrubs and ground covers to fill in the open barked areas.

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Heatherwood Early Spring

“Siberian Iris and Yukimi”
Heatherwood Spring

Spring highlights always get me excited for new garden projects. We planted these Siberian iris last fall. Their first spring bloom exceeded our expectations as they highlighted the Yukimi Japanese lantern and our pond and stream. Finishing this area of our Japanese garden will be one of our major spring projects. Our focus will be to transform this area into a protected contemplative sitting area where Mary and I can enjoy an afternoon glass of wine together or with a couple of friends.

Our plan is to add a couple of trees around the sitting area, stone paths leading to the pond, and unique plants and ground covers. We will be adding plants along the edge of the stream and pond that will extend over the rocks to the water. Additional shade trees will be added to help separate the stream and pond from the other parts of the garden. Over time as the trees, shrubs, and plants mature, we hope to have a semi-secluded place to sit and reflect on the wonderful world that surround us.

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The Daffys Are Out

Daffodils in Crabapple Grove’
Heatherwood Spring

The daffodil bulbs we planted last fall broke bloom this last week. Our plan is to ‘naturalize’ our crabapple grove with spring bulbs and ground covers. We now need to find the appropriate ground cover to hide the daffodils after the blooms have expired.

Several of the crabapples are starting to leaf out. Later this month they will sequentially break into their spring bloom.

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