Hostas Along Secret Garden Path
Heatherwood Late Spring
At times I get a little moody, especially after a busy intense period. It feels good to just sit back and reflect. In this image I attempted to create this feeling by selecting a quiet corner and adding a little moodiness through texture overlays. Beauty still abounds in the world around us.
Garden Path Vignette
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Walking along our secret garden path I look down beneath a crabapple tree and discover this little vignette. Beneath the tree I see a combination of color, tones, shapes and textures with a little bit of garden art. The vignette is comprised of Japanese hollies, Japanese forest grass, white bleeding hearts, and an art piece from a local artist, Michelle Wyles.
Intimate vignettes like above usually cause me to stop and explore details of a garden. I sometimes drive my strolling partners nuts as they wander through the grand views of a garden. They have to wait for me to catch up. Many times, the detailed landscape views are what I recall from a garden or nature walk.
Secret Path Entrance
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Heatherwood has several paths that wind through the garden. Each curve introduces a sense of curiosity. Before exploring what is around the corner, I first stop and enjoy the scene of what is in front of me. Throughout the garden there are windows that guide a visitor’s view to another part of a garden to explore later. What I see through this window is a path that I may take tomorrow. But now, what is around the corner? The answer is … look back to my previous post.
Garden Path
Heatherwood Spring
This curving path winds through the most mature part of Heatherwood. It is my first attempt at designing a Japanese-influenced garden. Initiated in 2017, the trees, shrubs, and understory plants now fill around the eastern side of our home. The shade of the house provides an environment for a shade-loving plants. I look forward to several such little sanctuaries throughout our garden as it matures. For now, it is our little secret place.
Waterfall and Pond
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
I step back, open my mind, and see the big picture of what was beyond the corner from my 25 May post. The heart of Heatherwood’s Japanese influenced garden presents itself. A stream originating from above flows down the hillside. Two waterfalls plunge into the pond creating a rushing sound. Trees, shrubs, and ground covers frame the stream and pond. Japanese maples add splashes of colors. The Kotoji and Yukimi Japanese lanterns overlook the stream and pond.
I now sit down in a pond-side chair, relax, and just enjoy nature’s surroundings. I contemplate about the many things that are right about our world as I hear the sounds of birds chirping through the rushing water. What a great way to start a spring day!
Kotoji and Waterfall
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
From viewing the Yukimi and waterfall in my last post, I lift my eyes and see more beyond. The Kotoji Japanese lantern is the guardian of the stream and waterfalls. He straddles the stream’s edge with one leg in the stream and the other on land. In the evening, his light reflects along the rushing water.
Yukimi and Waterfall
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
From the Oribe and Tetsu Bachi in my last post, I can still hear the rushing water from behind. I turn and discover the source. Our little Yukimi Japanese lantern shaded by a Scolopendrifolium (I call it a ‘Fingerleaf’) Japanese maple overlooking a small waterfall flowing into the pond. The yellow orange spring color of the ‘Fingerleaf’ brightens up a shaded corner.
Oribe Guide Post, Tetsu Bachi Basin, & Kakehi Water Spout
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
A couple of days ago I posted an image of a garden path and asked, “What is beyond?” Taking a few steps down the path, I look to my left and see a set of Japanese stone sculptures peeking out behind a Japanese maple. The Oribe guide post directs me to a little side path while the Kakehi water spout and Tetsu Bachi welcomes me. The sound of rushing water gets louder. The water spout and basin is only a trickle. What is beyond?
Lower Garden Path
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Trees, shrubs, and ground covers frame the lower path of our Japanese garden area. I can hear water rushing, but there is no sign of it. What lurks around the corner of the path? Trees and carefully placed bends in the pathway obscure what is beyond.
The garden is filling in. It is hard to realize that only six years ago that this area was a grass lawn. ‘Visioneering’, imagination, design iterations, and some hard work formed the structure. Mother Nature did the rest!
Purple Rhody and Beyond
Heatherwood Upper Garden
Many times I stroll through the garden with my camera just enjoying the beauty without really searching for images. Then an image just pops up. I stop and enjoy the scene before me. I see shapes, textures, and colors. The individual subjects blend together to create a feeling of beauty. I enjoy the moment. Then I bring my camera up to my eye and create an image.