Category Archives: The Intimate Landscape

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

Look up!

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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.

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Light, Shadows, and Nature

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Japanese Maple Collection
Washington Arboretum, Seattle

Light, shadows, and nature in a beautiful garden setting instills excitement within and brightens my day! As I round the bend from the access road, I face this scene. Tall canopy trees filter soft light from the sky. Beyond the Japanese maples, lies a quiet pond in the shade. It is a wonderful welcome to the Arboretum’s Japanese maple collection.

These trees are special to me. They remind me of a family happily congregating together.

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Looking Northeast from the Neighbor’s

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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.

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A Place to Relax and Dream

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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!

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Approaching Its First Winter

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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.

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Abandoned

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Old Homestead
South of Odessa, Eastern Washington

Roaming around back roads in eastern Washington, I discovered this old abandoned homestead house. At one time it was a quaint setting surrounded by trees. A curving path led up to the front door. What was once a front yard is now covered by tumbleweeds. I wonder how many families over the years resided here. How long has it been abandoned? Many such little pieces of history sprinkle the eastern Washington farm lands.

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Looking Under the Cottonwood Tree

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View from the Visitors Center
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Photographing in infrared is perfect for midday. All I need are a few clouds in the sky and some interesting foliage. This framed view is directly across the park road from the Visitors Center. It is great place to catch a little food and a photo or two.

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Fall Color is Peaking

View From the Perch
Heatherwood, Autumn

Fall color in Heatherwood is peaking! The garden is full of bright fall colors. They seem to be a couple weeks earlier than normal this year. The warm days and cool nights are probably the driving force. The night time temperature is forecast to drop below freezing in the next couple of days. In a few weeks, the color sadly will probably fade away. But then, the winter color and textures will take over to create their own beauty. Every season in Heatherwood has its own special characteristics.

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A Great Place to Relax

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Pond from Above
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The chairs next to the pond are a great place to relax and enjoy our Heatherwood Japanese garden. Frequently we start our day with a cup of coffee looking across the pond to the waterfalls above. In the late afternoon during a summer day it is great to enjoy a glass of wine or other beverage to mark the end of a work day. In the spring and fall when the harsh sun in not beating down, it is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy nature any time of the day.

A few days ago, we enjoyed sitting here and recalling good times with a wonderful long-term friend. We shared a bottle of wine that we had previously purchased on a road trip together a couple of years ago. These were precious moments.

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