Category Archives: Flora

The Magnolias Are In Bloom

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“Magnolia Stellata”
Heatherwood Spring

Our Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is the fourth major tree/shrub to bloom in our Heatherwood garden. The stellata follows our witch hazels, the cornelian cherry dogwood, and the forsythia in our late winter/early spring blooming cycle. Its sensitive blossoms are subject to evening freezes, the wind, and rain. Some years the bloom remains crisp for only a day or two. This year we have had very mild spring temperatures and no rain. The wind has been moderate. We have been blessed with blossoms that have lasted several days now. It is shaping up to be a beautiful spring!

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Early Morning Sunshine

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“Cornelian Cherry Dogwood”
Heatherwood Spring

Early morning sunshine backlit this emerging Cornelian Cherry dogwood blossom. The bright yellow color burst immediately caught my eye as I was taking an early morning stroll with my camera. It started my day with a flash!

The Cornelian Cherry dogwood is the first tree to bloom in our Heatherwood garden. Soon our flowering pear, cherries, and crabapples will be blooming along with other dogwoods and redbuds. This will be the first year that several of our new trees will be in bloom. I will try to keep a record of the sequence that each species bloom.

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Spring is Here!

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“Siberian Iris”
Heatherwood Spring

This little Siberian iris greets the first day of spring. They are sprouting and breaking out in bloom in our Heatherwood dogwood-redbud grove and along the front of the pond. To get a good eye to eye look, I had to lay down on my belly make the image.

Looking down from the top, the little iris has an interesting triangular form.

Each spring day brings new discoveries in the garden. Some new bud is flowering, leaves are opening up, perennials are starting to emerge. What will tomorrow bring? I’ll just have to wait.

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Spring Is Coming

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Purple & White Crocuses
Heatherwood

Tomorrow is the first day of spring. Signs of spring are popping up all over our Heatherwood garden. The first crocuses that bloomed were white, the second were purple, and now the third are our purple and white variety. Looking out over our garden I see little flashes of color around most of our rocks scattered around the landscape. These little “jewels” are a clear sign that spring is here!

Spring Jewels

Purple, white, and a flash of yellow
Spring up all about,
Warming the land and our hearts.

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Another Spring First

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“First Hellebore Bloom”
Heatherwood Spring

Our first hellebores just couldn’t wait for spring. I placed my iPhone on the ground and shot upward to the sky to get this image. There is no possible way to get my regular camera in this position. Every day, I take a stroll around the garden to see what is emerging. Something new is happening every day!

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Crocus and the Chief

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“First Crocus and Chief Joseph”
Heatherwood Spring

Last autumn we planted around 3,000 bulbs. I gave my gardening partner the assignment to go plant bulbs scattered around the garden. She took me for my word and now we are seeing little surprises popping up all over. This is one of the first blooms of the season.

Our Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine in its winter color gracefully watches over the baby crocus. It is like a guardian watching over its flock.

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So long …

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“Spent”
Heatherwood Rose Garden

I view this spent rose every time I look out our family room window. At times, I become fixated with it and imagine how I can best photograph it to convey what I see and feel. Waking up from a late afternoon nap, I looked out and saw the rose side lit by the late afternoon sunlight. The wind was still and I was able to grab my camera with a 400mm lens and isolate the hip through the family room window. In post-processing, I simplified the image converting it to black and white and added a simple vignette blur.

Our forsythia is getting ready to bloom. As the saying goes, when the forsythia blooms, it is time to prune the roses. Next week my winter attraction will be cut down to prepare for new spring growth. So long my friend …

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First of March

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“Winter Meadow”
Heatherwood

Today is the first of March, time to clean up the meadow and other planting beds. The weather here will be mild in the mid-50’s for the next week and a half. The garden is calling for attention. Grasses and perennials need to be cut back to make room for new growth. Trees and shrubs need to be trimmed to guide their shape as the new growth emerges. Winter weeds need to be extracted before they get carried away. Several of our shrubs need to be transplanted to accommodate the placement of new plantings. Some of our hardscape needs to be modified to allow for our landscape design plan changes. In an evolving garden, nothing remains constant.

And while all this is going on, the 2000 bulbs we planted last fall are sprouting! March will be a busy and exciting month at Heatherwood.

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Red Witch Hazel

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“Diane Witch Hazel”
Heatherwood Winter

Last spring we planted six small witch hazels, 3 red (Diane) and 3 orange (Jelena). The Jelena (shown in my 9 Feb posting) was the first to bloom. The Diane started to bloom about a week earlier. The blooms on both are now faded. The plants are small, only 12 to 18 inches tall. They are forming the start of an understory of shrubs for one of our planting areas in the lower Heatherwood garden. We are searching to add a yellow species to fill out the witch hazel color template: red, orange, and yellow.

As the witch hazels mature, they will provide a beautiful burst of mid-winter color in the garden. The will act as the harbinger of the coming spring.

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Wabi-Sabi

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Spent Rose
Heatherwood Winter

Nothing is perfect … nothing is permanent … nothing is complete. Wabi-sabi is a characteristic concept of our Heatherwood garden. I find beauty in every aspect of imperfection throughout our garden. This spent rose was a beautiful red flower in its prime. The summer flower’s fleeting beauty transitioned to these stems and rose hips in the fall and winter. In nature the hips would release the seeds to the ground. Its life is incomplete as the seeds create new plants.

I admire the beauty of this rose stalk and hips every day as I sit and read and look out our family room window. They fascinate me. I do not have the heart or desire to prune the winter roses to make them look neat. I just simply enjoy them as they are. There is plenty of time to prune the roses before the spring growth.

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