Category Archives: Flora

Brightness on a Dreary Late Fall Morning

Winter Garden Color in the Lower Garden
Heatherwood Autumn

We designed Heatherwood to have color throughout all four seasons. Color provided by the Midwinter Fire, red-twig, and yellow-twig dogwoods complements the brightness and textures of the ornamental grasses. In a few years, the evergreen trees will get taller creating a nice green background. Together they all provide brightness to a dreary late fall day.

This part of the garden is three years old. We have enjoyed watching the plants grow from one gallon pots to these mid-sized shrubs and grasses. It will take a couple more years for them to fill in and mature into “garden-sized” plants. By then, the evergreens will have grown several feet taller. Watching a garden grow provides so much enjoyment for Mary and I!

Related Images:

Look up!

Japanese Maple Leaf
Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle

As I walk along a trail, it so easy for me to focus my vision looking forward. I frequently just stop and look all around, up, down, side to side, and backwards. When I am with others, it drives them crazy … there he goes again! All I can say is that I see and enjoy what surrounds me much more.

I created this image when I glanced up and saw backlit maple tree leaves fluttering in a gentle breeze. I stopped along the path and watched the branches and leaves waving back and forth, surrounded by rays of light flickering through the canopy trees above. Before I raised my camera, I had to move aside on the path to let several people whisk by not realizing what they were missing.

Now the work began, I looked and looked to find that perfect leaf. After several minutes, I again realized that nature is not perfect. I closed my eyes and re-opened them, looking for something that caught my eye. I found this one fluttering leaf, moved around to get a good background, then just waited for the breeze to position it just right.

Related Images:

Looking Northeast from the Neighbor’s

Selah Bluff and Lower Garden
Heatherwood Fall

A neighborhood garden should be designed to be enjoyed from the outside looking in as well as internally. As we designed Heatherwood, we wanted to provide a separation between our property and our neighbor’s. At the same time, we wanted to present a pleasing view from our neighbor’s back yard through our garden up to the hills rising above. In this section we kept the planting height down with ornamental grasses and mid-sized deciduous shrubs. For winter interest, the yellows, reds, and oranges of the Midwinter Fire, red twig, and yellow twig dogwoods mixed between the ornamental grasses will provide a textured and colorful winter foreground for the bluff above.

During our design process, we reviewed our concepts with our neighbor over a glass of wine or two. They were happy with what we envisioned and we were happy that they could enjoy it as much as we would.

Related Images:

A Place to Relax and Dream

Woodland Stream
Bellevue Botanical Garden, WA

The filtered late afternoon light made this woodland scene in the Bellevue Botanical Garden come to life. Light and shadows created a beautiful contrast that captured my eyes and mind when I walked by. I moved off the main path to a small overlook to get a better view. A gentle breeze moved the leaves on the trees above creating the filtered light to move around the scene. The light seemed to jump from branch to branch. I took time to just enjoy the scene before I started creating images. After taking a few images, I closed my eyes and just listened to the water trickling over the rocks. My mind relaxed, then my neck, shoulders, and arms. What a wonderful little place!

Related Images:

Approaching Its First Winter

New Winter Garden in Autumn
Yakima Arboretum, Yakima, WA

In the spring of 2022, the Yakima Arboretum selected a Winter Garden for its first Master Plan project to be implemented. The project was conceptualized and designed by Epiklar Landscaping during the remaining part of the year. It was funded by Arboretum membership donations. Elegant Landscaping and Pendleton Excavating constructed the hardscaping early in the spring of 2023. A group of Arboretum volunteers then completed the planting and mulching. Volunteers continue to provide the new garden’s maintenance.

The new garden is establishing itself and preparing for its first winter. It will look a little bare for the first couple of years. Additional planting will be added as the first plants establish themselves. By the garden’s third year, the plants will begin their more rapid growth. By the fourth/fifth year, the garden’s basic form will be established.

Developing a garden takes time. Watching a garden mature is an enjoyable experience. It is a continuous learning experience. Some plantings do well; others do not. Part of the Arboretum’s mission is to pass this knowledge on for others to enjoy and learn how they can develop their own gardens.

Related Images:

Mary’s Creation

Under the Crabapple Tree
Heatherwood Early Autumn

The above intimate scene is Mary’s creation. As we have been developing Heatherwood, Mary has become quite a learning gardener. Moving from a small city lot with just a few shrubs and roses to a 4-acre plot, she has been with me as we designed and constructed our Heatherwood garden. Each day she learns a little bit more and becomes deeper involved. This year she selected a few annuals and planted them underneath a couple of trees in our Japanese garden area. They grace key areas and add extra interest. They are show stoppers as we walk through the garden.

Thank you Mary!

Related Images:

Late Afternoon Glow

‘Traveling Through the Yellow Mounds’
Badlands National Park, SD

The late afternoon sun warmed up the rolling hills near the Yellow Mound Area of the Badlands National Park. The warm sunlight warmed up the grass-covered hills creating a glowing gold scene. This image was created during my first evening in the Park. I came back several times to get different perspectives of this beautiful area.

Related Images:

Experimentation & Practice

‘Color Infrared Practice’
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I have been practicing infrared photography in preparation for an upcoming photography workshop in South Dakota’s Badlands. All of my previous infrared (IR) work has been in monochrome. I thought I would play around with a little color IR processing as a change of pace. This image was created using a color IR filter which adds a yellow/orange tint to elements that reflect IR and a blue tint to elements that absorb IR.

The jury is still out regarding the color processing.

Related Images:

The South Bed is Filling In

‘Jeffrey Pine & Friends’
Heatherwood Late Summer

It was a nice morning to take a little stroll along the the southern part of our garden. The bright new yellow blooms of the solidago (golden rod) complement the fading rudbeckia to provide a nice contrast with the purple Russian sage and green grass and conifers. The Jeffrey pine with its 8-9 inch needles is the star of the show. We still have a lot of bright colors in the garden as the summer approaches its end.

Related Images:

Purple and Gold

‘Sea Holly, Rudbeckia, & Russian Sage’
Heatherwood Meadow

Heatherwood is peppered with Purple and Gold. No one would guess that I am a died in wool University of Washington Husky!

This image is all about contrast. It represents contrast in color (yellow & purple), shape (globes, stars, and spikes), as well as texture (smooth, prickly, and soft).

This combination of plants also remind me of their spreading capability. When we planted the meadow three years ago, we had a couple of groupings of individual rudbeckia, sea holly and Russian sage. Today they are spread throughout our lower garden. By the end of the season we will have enough seedlings to share with our neighbors!

Related Images: