Monthly Archives: May 2022

Never Forget

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“World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial”
New York City

Now, on this Memorial Day more than ever, we all need to step back and remember what our Nation has gone through to establish and maintain our Democracy. We need to honor all who have given their lives to maintain our freedom. We need to thank those who have rebuilt our country and our sense of democratic freedom after attacks have been made.

Right now, the world is under attack by an autocrat in Russia who has ruthlessly invaded the Ukraine and who threatens to use nuclear weapons if anyone tries to stop him. Here at home, we are threatened by an autocrat who has denied the legitimacy of our election process (without any proof) and who has instigated an attack on our Capitol. On a personal basis, we are being held up by a gun lobby who will not back off supporting selling military grade weapons designed for the mass killing of people.

It is the time for us to stand up and bring back sanity and compassion to our Nation and World.

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A Gift From Nature

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“Red Tip Norway Spruce”
Heatherwood Spring

Nature constantly gives me little gifts of joy each day. As I walk slowly through our garden, my mind and eyes wander. Then all of a sudden something pops out and says, “Look at me, look at me!” Yesterday, I was walking through the garden looking for little vignettes of contrasting color and texture. Then all of a sudden these little red tips from a Norway spruce stood up and hollered, “Here I am, forget about all that other stuff and pay attention to me.” I did and used all that other color and textures as a soft background.

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Lawn Chicane

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“Lower Lawn Paths”
Heatherwood Spring

When asked why does the lawn have so many curves, I can come up with several plausible answers for the designer’s motivation: 1) he was under the influence, 2) he was creative and wanted to make a statement, 3) he was full of chicanery and was playing tricks, and 4) he loves to race his lawn mower through a challenging chicane course. For Heatherwood, it is the latter. I love to mow the lawn!

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A Special Place in My Heart

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“Pink Rhody”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

For many years, rhododendrons have held special places in our various gardens. Our first house in Seattle had a giant 10 ft. pink rhododendron guarding our front door. It came with the house and was the star of our front yard. We later moved into a new house without any landscaping. The first plants we put in were rhodies. When we moved to Washington, DC we fell in love with the rhododendron and azalea garden at the National Arboretum. And of course, we planted several in our new landscape. Moving back to the Northwest, we chose a home in Covington that was surrounded by rhododendrons in a woodland garden. A couple of years later we moved north to Woodinville into a new home that had a new landscape with several rhodies. During our 11 years there, we planted a separate rhododendron garden and also added several species into our back woodland. Then off to Philadelphia we went. Rhododendron gardens abounded all around us. And again we had to have ours as well. We had a large pink one like the image above along side our back porch. It was one of our favorite plants in the garden. Seventeen years later I moved back to the Northwest, this time in the dry Eastern Washington area. Rhododendrons have a difficult time in the dry, hot, and cold environment here. But they can survive if planted in protected spots. And once more, we have added several rhodies in our Heatherwood garden.

Over the years, I have so many happy memories of sharing enjoyment of rhododendrons with loved ones in various gardens located across the country as well as in our own personal gardens. They hold a special place in my heart.

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Progress

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“New Understory Plants”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden

Our 2022 spring planting project is completed except for a little barking touch up here and there. This year we added understory plants to our woodland garden. Last year we added standard maples, several dogwoods and Japanese maples, and a few shrubs along the garden edge and internal pathways. This year, we added shrubs and perennials to central part of the garden. It is starting to look a little more like a woodland. As the trees get larger, we will start to add more filtered shade loving woodland plants. But for now, most of the plants need to be sun loving. We need to be patient and wait for the trees, shrubs, and perennials to grow and mature a bit before we make significant additional contributions to the woodland. We will follow the shade.

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View for the Neighborhood Walkers

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“The Flume”
Heatherwood Spring

We have several walkers who daily walk through our neighborhood. This view is for them as they walk up the road past our driveway. At this point, a walker can look across the street and see another neighbor’s flume section and then look up over the street intersection and see yet another neighbor’s flume section. The three of us have been able to preserve a little bit of history that graced our hillside for over 100 years.

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Spring Surprise

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“Picea Pusch”
Heatherwood Spring

There is always a surprise almost everywhere we look in our spring garden. We have several of these little ‘Picea Pusch’ Norway spruce shrubs scattered along paths in Heatherwood’s Japanese garden. In the spring, vibrant red cones appear at the tips of new growth. By mid-summer, they turn to their brown seed cones. New spring growth abounds in our little Eden.

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Good Morning World!

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“View From My Office Window”
Heatherwood Spring

If I sleep in and get up at 7:00A, then go into my office to write, this is what greets me as I look out the window. It is always an inspiration to start my day thinking about what is right about the world that surrounds me. There is so much to be thankful for. Taking a moment each day to think about that prepares me to make the most of each new day in front of me.

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Spring View

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“Lower Falls View”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

As I walk along our garden path, this is one of my favorite vignettes. Looking up the hillside, Japanese maples, various evergreens, and the Kotoji frame in the rushing stream above the pond. Each season brings different color and form to this little view. Each year the trees and shrubs grow and provide a fuller picture. Only four years ago this hillside was simply covered with grass and was a &%#&!? to mow!

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Guardians

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“Kotoji & Orangeola Japanese Maple”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The Kotoji and Orangeola Japanese Maple are the guardians of Heatherwood’s stream and waterfalls. The Orangeola’s first breakout of leaves is a robust red. In mid-summer it transitions into a burgundy and green color. Then in the fall, it bursts out into a spectacular orange. Over time the Orangeola will grow and drape over the Kotoji.

This image illustrates some of our spring planting this year. Across the stream, white and pink phlox and kinnikinnick are starting to cover the ground. Siberian cypresses planted on both sides of the stream will gradually grow and flow down over the rocks to the stream. Some day, years from now, our Heatherwood Japanese garden will be filled with complementary vegetation from the ground to the sky. In the mean time, we will enjoy each day watching the garden grow.

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