“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.
“Lenticular Sunrise”
Heatherwood Winter
Winter is the season for amazing sunrises over Eastern Washington. Winter is the time when we have many cloud covered skies. This one with a lenticular cloud formation hanging above the tree grove silhouette was spectacular this morning. It triggered my imagination to visualize a large spaceship looking for a place to land. It was an exciting way to start the day!
“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.
“Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine Peak”
Alabama Hills, California
Boulders of the Alabama Hills frame Lone Pine Peak on the left and Mt. Whitney on the right. From this position, Lone Pine Peak (elev. 12,949 ft) looks significantly higher than Mt. Whitney (elev. 14,505 ft) in the background. It is just a matter of perspective.
“Mt. Whitney”
Eastern Sierras, California
The Mt. Whitney hike starts here in the Alabama Hills west of Lone Pine, CA. I reflect back to my younger days knowing that I could have made it to the top. Those years are long gone. Now I look up and just dream of what it would be like to be at the top looking down over the surrounding Sierras.
“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.
“Mono Lake”
Eastern Sierras, California
I’ve driven by Mono Lake three times in the last four years in the February/March time frame. This year with the combination of the skies and the snow, the view was striking. A few moments after I took this image, a breeze came up and the clearness of the reflection was gone. Sometimes, I just lucky to be at the right spot at the right time. Thank YOU!
“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.