Monthly Archives: March 2022

Enough Daffodils, Time for Cherries

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“Weeping Cherry & Path of Learning”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

This part of Heatherwood’s Japanese Garden is a “works in progress”. Year 1 we removed the grass, placed the rocks, and planted the evergreen trees and shrubs. Year 2 we added a few more shrubs. Year 3 we planted the creeping phlox, several ground covers, and the weeping cherry. This year we will focus on adding more ground covers.

The series of rocks curving up the hill is intended to portray a path of learning. Last year we added the phlox to highlight the path and the weeping cherry to lead a student up the path.

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Daffodils Day 4

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“Daffodils in Crabapple Grove”
Heatherwood Spring

One more day and all the daffodils are in bloom. From the time that the first daffodils bloomed it only took four days for the whole daffodil drift to bloom. In the same time period several of the crabapples started to leaf out. Shortly they will start to bloom one by one.

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Daffodils Day 3

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“Daffies in Late Afternoon Sun”
Heatherwood Spring

Another day brings out more daffodil blooms. The field is now about 75% in bloom. One day makes a big difference.

Yesterday’s garden walk was in the late afternoon just before the sun dropped behind the western hills. The warm light was gorgeous as it spread across the garden onto the daffodils in the crabapple grove. It was a nice way to wrap-up a beautiful spring day!

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First Daffies

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“First Daffodils”
Heatherwood Spring

Yesterday we woke up and looked out our window, and there they were, the first daffodils of the year. There were about a dozen blooms among the field of green leaves. We took a morning stroll to admire them. Looking around we could see little reddish leaves starting to emerge from the spirea shrubs. Leaves were also starting to emerge from the crabapples. Once a few daffodils bloom, the remaining bulbs soon follow. We are just starting a series of blooming/budding color in our crabapple grove. First the daffodils, then the various crabapple trees one species at a time. Each week will have a different surprise.

We love spring!

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Signs of Spring

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“Forsythia Tree”
Heatherwood Spring

This bright little forsythia tree was the first plant to bloom in our garden when I first moved back to Selah in 2016. A couple of years ago we added a Cornelian Cherry Dogwood to the garden. The dogwood now is the first tree to bloom. But the forsythia is still the harbinger of spring to me as it tells me that it is time to prune the roses.

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We Are Ready For Spring … Well Almost?

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“Spring Cleaning”
Lower Heatherwood Garden

The perennials and grasses have been trimmed and the first “spring weeding” is completed. It feels like we are ready for spring to burst forward. I give a short sigh of relief. But that will only be short-lived. We still need to prune the roses and a several deciduous shrubs that need some of the old wood removed. The irrigation system is scheduled to be started in three weeks, and our new spring planting material will be here in four weeks. April will be a busy month.

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Spring is Here!

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“Yukimi & Siberian Iris”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today is the first day of spring. Early spring bulbs including the Siberian iris and crocuses are in bloom. Daffodil chutes are poking up through the ground. Their blossoms are still a couple of weeks away. The forsythia is blooming along with the first blossoms of the star magnolias and the Cornelian Cherry dogwood. All of the grasses and perennials have been trimmed. The garden spring weeding has been completed. We will celebrate the first day of spring today by pruning our roses.

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Peeking Through

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“Crocuses Viewed Through Chief Joseph”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I got up from my knees where I took the image on my last post, turned around, and saw this vignette. Looking through the bright yellow needles of our Chief Joseph lodgepole pine I caught a glimpse of white and purple crocuses. It was one more opportunity to create the feeling of a warm late winter day. Spring is coming!

There is so much to see and enjoy in our Heatherwood garden. The images in the last three posts are only 3-4 steps apart. All I have to do is open my eyes and wait for something interesting to come to me.

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