Category Archives: The Intimate Landscape

The small details, shapes, and textures that catch my eye.

It Doesn’t Get Much Better

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Japanese Garden Entry
Heatherwood Spring

Our spring weather has been beautiful in Eastern Washington. With the warm spring weather, the trees have been blooming and leafing out. The late afternoon sunshine brings out the warm colors along the entry path to our Japanese garden area. The brilliant red Bloodgood Japanese maple and the bright pink Don Egolf redbud frame the Hokkeji lantern and the Bosnian pine. Like a magnet, they pull a visitor into the garden.

On evenings like this we frequently stroll through or just sit in the garden reflecting on what a wonderful day it has been and what new experiences tomorrow will bring. It just doesn’t get much better.

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Tax Day …

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Sester’s Dwarf Blue Spruce & Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine
Heaterwood Spring

Many people experience April 15, tax day, as a rather gloomy day. I choose to view it as a day of opportunity. An early spring day is always an opportunity to step back and appreciate the wonderful world around us. Spring is a time of emerging life, new growth, bursting color and new opportunities to experience the wonders of life.

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Scolopendrifolium

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Fingerleaf Japanese Maple and Yukimi Lantern
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Scolopendrifolium … that is a mouthful! I would just rather call it a ‘Fingerleaf’ Japanese maple. This is one of my favorite little scenes in Heatherwood. It is what we see as we relax in our Adirondack chairs by the pond. It is a great place to have a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or just sit and enjoy nature and the sound of the falling water.

Tiny leaves are just emerging on the Scolopendrifolium as it starts to reach over the Yukimi lantern. We are training the maple to provide a gentle canopy over the lantern. Just give us 3-4 more years.

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Spring Blooms

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Akebono Cherry in Spring Glory
Heatherwood Spring

As the weeping cherries fade the Akebono cherries reach their peak. This is the first year that we have had a full bloom on our Akebono cherries. We planted them three years ago. They are already making their presence known in our garden.

Leaves are just starting to emerge on the maple, tulip treee, and plum ash in the background. This year we are planning on planting several additional trees to fill in the empty spots.

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It Is the Time of the Year…

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Path of Learning
Heatherwood Spring

It is the time of the year when something is changing every day. I have a difficult time keeping up with all the changes. This week, the pink ground phlox is reaching its peak as the blossoms of our weeping cherry are fading. Each year the plants cover more and more of the ground and the shrubs and trees grow. Just 5 years ago this was a grass hillside.

Our garden path curves up around the stepping stones of the path to never-ending learning.

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Remnants of Winter Color

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Midwinter Fire Dogwoods
Heatherwood Early Spring

Even in early April, the bright winter colors of our Midwinter Fire, Red-twig, and Yellow-twig dogwoods highlight our garden. Soon, leaves will be sprouting and subdue the bright colors of the twig bark. Before too much new grow starts, I will need to do selective pruning to trim out the older faded branches and make room for the bright new stems. This will keep me busy until we start planting later this month.

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Cornelian Cherry Abstract

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Cornelian Cherry Dogwood Abstract
Heatherwood Spring

Here is another abstract illustrating just how cloudy my mind gets at times. It feels good to just take a break from making standard images. The idea for this image came as I was looking for a good photo for our Cornelian cherry dogwood in bloom. I had one that was just so-so that provided a nice contrast of the yellow blooms against a dark blue spruce in the shade. I also had an interesting multi exposure abstract of the blooms of the dogwood. I put them together creating the above image. Magic!

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Happy Easter

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Daffodils in Bloom
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

Today is a day to take the time to give thanks for the wonderful world that our Lord has given us. It is a special gift to be able to enjoy our families, friends, and the world surrounding us. We are grateful to be able to share this little part of our personal Eden with family members on this special day. Happy Easter!

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Spring is Coming

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Emerging Daffodils
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

Today we change over to Daylight Saving Time. Spring is just around the corner! These emerging daffodils are harbingers of what will soon come.

We are far behind on our winter clean-up to prepare for spring. New growth is starting everywhere, but we have not started cutting back last years spent grasses and perennials. I have started a little pruning, but have a long, long way to go! We also have a lot of transplanting to do before we start our spring planting. The new plants are scheduled to be delivered in mid-April. I’m getting a little nervous.

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Winter Garden #10

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Grass Lined Garden Path
Heatherwood Winter

A grass-lined garden path wanders up from our meadow’s center circle. The path is bordered with ‘Piglet’ fountain grass. Red twig dogwoods and columnar Taylor junipers separate the path from the rest of the garden with contrasting colors and textures. During the winter, I can catch a glimpse of the garden beyond.

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