The arms of this beautiful Weeping Douglas Fir reach out greeting the garden stroller to another beautiful view. Many beautifully sculptured trees are strategically placed throughout the gardens. They captured my sight as I walked along the paths. They made me stop and admire the specimen and how it was placed in the landscape. I scrambled to see the specific cultivar or variety, many of which I had not previously seen. I noted many that I plan to search for to add to our Heatherwood garden.
Autumn Garden Overlook Vista Gardens, Bremerton WA
I recently spent two days exploring the beautiful and educational Albers Marcovina Vista Gardens in Bremerton, Washington. It is a meticulously designed 4-acre hillside landscape overlooking Dryers Inlet off Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the distance. The garden displays a multitude of species and cultivars that can be grown in the Pacific Northwest. It focuses on sustainable landscape design that can support plant species which require no or minimum supplemental water. Plants are intertwined together which stabilizes a relatively steep hillside. Hand-laid stone and gravel paths meander throughout the garden to provide close access to the various plants. Artwork is incorporated into the landscape to provide special highlights.
From one perspective, the garden is absolutely beautiful throughout the four seasons. From my novice background, I found the garden a deep educational experience as well. John Albers, the founder and curator of Vista Gardens considers the garden as his laboratory to test plants and environmental ideas. The result is a display garden of unique resilient plants and sustainable landscape design concepts. I anxiously look forward to my next visit.
Vista Gardens is open to the public. Educational tours are also available. To plan a visit, go to their website: VistaGardens.org.
Looking Up Into the Japanese Garden Heatherwood Fall
Colors abound as we look from the back yard up into the Japanese inspired area of our Heatherwood garden. The reds of the Autumn Brilliance maples and the yellows of the linden and other Japanese maples provide the bright color. The blues and greens of the various conifer trees and shrubs fill in the gaps. The bright orange of the heather provides a special accent in the bottom center. The tan of the background hill sets off the garden colors. The Japanese Kotoji lantern stands out to orchestrate the changing colors. Soon the chartreuse of the Wintersonne mugho pine on the left and the green of the Saratoga ginkgo in the center will turn to brilliant yellows.
The autumn colors seem to change every day. Our daily walk through the garden is always full of surprises!
We have been blessed with many beautiful blue-sky early fall days this year. Some trees have already turned color and lost their leaves. Others are just starting to turn into their fall colors. Soon many of the orange maples will turn into scarlet red. We always enjoy the contrast of the garden colors with the stark beauty of the hill above accented by the bright blue sky.
It seems like I returned back home to Selah, Washington from Doylestown, Pennsylvania just yesterday. It has been a little over ten years! The years have flown by so very, very fast. Throughout my life, we have developed personal gardens in each location that we have lived in. It all started from a little bed we planted with daffodils and tulips in Richland, WA. Over 50 years our gardens have evolved through eight locations moving from Richland to Seattle to Washington, DC to Kent, WA to Woodinville,WA to Doylestown, PA and finally back to my home town, Selah, WA. The journey has culminated in our little Eden we call Heatherwood.
The above image is from our patio looking over our lower garden to the valley and hills to the south. Nine years ago this was a simple pasture similar to our neighbors. Slowly we added lawn grass, multiple planting beds, and a lower patio. As plants, trees, and shrubs have grown it has matured into a multidimensional landscape. Each year we add a little more here and there. It is hard for us to believe how much things have changed from when I first moved in. The image below is what the lower property looked like before we started re-landscaping in 2018. What a difference eight years has made.
The Meadow and Countryside Beyond Heatherwood Late Summer
One of my favorite places to sit and enjoy our Heatherwood Eden is from our lower patio overlooking the meadow and the countryside beyond. I am at peace as I gaze over the waning colors of the meadow up to our neighbor’s freshly mowed pasture. The grove of trees on the ridge of the hill adds a spot of interest and curiosity. As I sit and enjoy the setting, time flies by and the problems of the world subside. I dream on what is right about our world rather than focus on the difficulties.
Cherry Allee & Neighbor’s Pasture Heatherwood Spring
With all the turmoil surrounding us, it is important to step back and reflect on what is right about the world. What is better to be thankful for than a peaceful sunny late afternoon with a blue sky above. This is just the spot to relax and enjoy the day and nature’s landscape surrounding our home. Soon the blossoms of the Pink Flair cherries will fall. Leaves of the cherries and birches and oaks below will emerge. A little later, the planting bed between the cherries will be full of colorful perennials. Horses will be grazing in the pasture. You will find us sitting on the rocks dangling our feet amongst the flowers.
Late afternoon sunshine brings warmth to our Heatherwood garden. This was taken at about 5:30P just before the sun set behind the hills to the west. The yellows and reds of the yellow and red twig dogwoods highlight the scene. The Selah Ridge above sets the background. The curving grass walkway provides an entryway to the garden from the road. It gives a peek into the garden for walkers as they pass by.
I’ve spent the month of January away from our Heatherwood Eden. We missed our garden so we took a jaunt out into the natural garden of the Joshua Tree National Monument. Joshua Tree is in the southern portion of the Mohave desert in California. It is a land of its own with cactus-like forests and strange rock formations in a desert landscape. It is a wonderful place to just walk and explore. As I wander about, each turn of my head opens up my eyes to new visions. The Joshua trees look like stick figures in all different forms. The rock formations look like faces, animals, architectural structures, and even monsters here and there. My imagination wanders from scene to scene. A simple one hour walk turns into a 2-3 hour adventure through a land of wonder.
Looking East from Col Solare Red Mountain, SE Washington
Some of the best Cabernet Sauvignons in Washington are from Red Mountain near Benton City in SE Washington. The Col Solare winery and tasting room sits on the top of the mountain. Several other great boutique wineries lay in the valley below.
The fall is a beautiful time to visit with all the various shades of the vineyards throughout the area. Mary and I frequently take the 1.5 hour drive down to enjoy the scenery, taste the excellent wine, and pick up our quarterly allocations. It is a great way to spend a sunny day!
