Category Archives: The Intimate Landscape

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

It Is Hard to Let Go

“Winter Color”
Heatherwood Meadow

As the winter season gets ready to turn to spring, Heatherwood’s winter color continues to become more dynamic. It is hard for me to let go of the winter color and start to trim the winter grasses and last year’s perennials back to make room for the new growth. But spring is rapidly approaching and I must start cutting back last year’s spent growth. The garden will look a little bare for 3-4 weeks, but soon the new growth will start to present itself for the glory of spring.

Related Images:

Late Winter Interest

“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.

Related Images:

Shadows Beget Hope

“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.

Related Images:

Purple & Green

“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.

Related Images:

Color Mixture

“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.

Related Images:

No More Snow!

“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.

Related Images:

Happy Valentines Day

“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.

Related Images:

Winter Beauty – 8

“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.

Related Images:

Winter Beauty – 7

“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.

Related Images: