“Japanese Maple”
Heatherwood Winter
There is still a lot of winter interest in Heatherwood. The skeleton structures of the Japanese Maples provide interesting winter forms. The reds, yellows, and greens of the evergreen plants provide highlights through the garden. Good weather is predicted through the first couple weeks of March. It’s time to get our and start our winter/spring clean-up and pruning.
“First Crocus”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
After the shadow of record-setting freezing temperatures, our first crocuses start to emerge. They provide hope that spring is just around the corner. In a similar fashion, I contemplate and pray that our world’s humanity will overcome the shadow that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is causing.
“Spent Hosta Leaves”
Heatherwood Winter
As I write this post, Russia is invading Ukraine. The world is a crazy place right now. I have the hope that “cool heads” around the world will prevail and that a global crisis will be avoided.
“Blue Rug Juniper and Woolly Thyme”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Many times I walk through our garden with my camera focusing on a simple objective. Contrasting colors and textures in our winter garden was my photographic theme during this day’s garden stroll. I consider our Heatherwood garden as one big experiment. This little vignette is the result of two seasons growth of a creeping juniper and a soft-textured thyme. It provides a tight contrasting ground cover in our Japanese influenced garden. More thyme has been ordered for this year’s planting project to provide additional interesting ground cover for the garden.
“Ajuga et al”
Heatherwood Winter
Every stroll through our Heatherwood garden presents little “treats” of joy. The above image is from a shady part of our Japanese garden.
Nature’s Cycle
New and old mix together,
From decay, emerges new,
Another season ahead.
“Rock Garden Path”
Heatherwood Winter
The snow is gone, at least for the time being. I left home two weeks ago and the ground was covered with snow. When I returned home this week, only a few patches of snow remained. What a pleasant surprise it was. Winter color still abounds, but small traces of the coming spring were evident. We have a little over four weeks until the first day of spring. If the mild weather continues, we will start cleaning up the spent perennials to prepare for the spring emergence and spring planting.
“Bleeding Hearts”
Heatherwood Spring
Bleeding Hearts have always been a symbol for Valentines Day even though they bloom in May. This Bleeding Heart was the first plant that I planted in our garden after moving to Selah in 2016. Each year I anxiously await for it to present its spring glory.
“Limelight Hydrangea and Yellow -Twig Dogwood”
Heatherwoood Winter
One of my favorite winter vignettes in the garden is the combination of the spent hydrangea flower heads and the yellow branches of the yellow-twig dogwood along the cherry allee. In the summer the view is quite different with the white flowers of the limelight hydrangeas contrasting with the bright green leaves of the yellow-twig dogwoods. Multi-season interest is one of the highlights of Heatherwood.
“Wireless Zelkova and Meadow”
Heatherwood Winter
This tree is one of a pair of Wireless Zelkovas that frame a neck of grass which connects two of our larger lawn areas. This one anchors the meadow, and its twin sister anchors the crabapple grove. Together, some day in the future, they will form an arch over the lawn path.
“Stick Trees”
Heatherwood Winter
Sometimes beauty is in simple peace. This is the feeling that I had as I stood at the entrance to the center circle planting area of our lower garden. The simple forms of the grasses aligning the path and the background trees in our and our neighbor’s gardens beckoned me to walk in and enjoy the peaceful setting.
Here’s the story behind the image’s title, “Stick Trees.” A very close friend of ours had spent all her early years in the Northwest where the natural vegetation is an abundance of tall beautiful evergreens. She got married and the first thing she and her husband did was to move to a woodland area in New Jersey in the middle of winter. When they arrived, she was very disappointed as she exclaimed that their woodland area was only “stick trees”. They did not stay there very long and soon moved back to Seattle and the tall evergreens, where they have happily lived ever after.
Whenever I see a grouping of deciduous trees without their leaves, I think of her.