Category Archives: The Grand Landscape

The overview of the natural landscape.

Disappointment Followed by “Ah Ha!”

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Devil’s Tower
Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming

On my recent trip to the Badlands, I took a several hour detour to see Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. I drove into the park and was disappointed when I encountered a stopped line of traffic. After what seemed to be an eternity, I slowly moved around a corner and saw a sign, “One Hour to Parking Lot”. I grumbled and turned around and started driving back to the park entrance. After a bit, I broke out into the open from the tree lined road. I looked up and saw this sight. Ah ha!!! It was worth the drive.

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Brightness on a Dreary Late Fall Morning

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Winter Garden Color in the Lower Garden
Heatherwood Autumn

We designed Heatherwood to have color throughout all four seasons. Color provided by the Midwinter Fire, red-twig, and yellow-twig dogwoods complements the brightness and textures of the ornamental grasses. In a few years, the evergreen trees will get taller creating a nice green background. Together they all provide brightness to a dreary late fall day.

This part of the garden is three years old. We have enjoyed watching the plants grow from one gallon pots to these mid-sized shrubs and grasses. It will take a couple more years for them to fill in and mature into “garden-sized” plants. By then, the evergreens will have grown several feet taller. Watching a garden grow provides so much enjoyment for Mary and I!

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Blue Sky Day

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Blue Sky Over Cherry Allee
Heatherwood Autumn

Some days are stunning. Heatherwood and the surrounding hills were absolutely beautiful on this late afternoon. Colors just popped out, especially the golden browns of the ornamental grasses and the panicle hydrangeas. The blue skies said summer, the garden colors said fall. I just strolled through the garden absorbing the warm afternoon sun and the colors of autumn. It was a great day!

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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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Islands in a Sea of Grass

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Stacked Eroded Hills
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Looking southwest at the end of the Badlands, I saw this series of eroded hills sticking up from a grass covered plain. They looked like islands rising above a sea of yellow. There is so much to see in the Badlands. I can’t wait to go back and do more exploring!

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Good Morning World !

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Sunrise Over the Garden
Heatherwood, Early Autumn

We were given a glorious Good Morning gift a few days ago. It was a wonderful way to start the day. As the sun rose, the sky was a beautiful pinkish gold. Through the clouds it cast a warm pink blanket over our Heatherwood garden and the valley below. As the day’s beauty was released, it gave me a feeling of warm peace. Even with all the strife that is currently going on, there is still a lot of wonder and beauty that reminds me of the many things that are right about our world. It is all our challenge to spread this among the peoples of our world.

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A Little Rain Drizzle Pops Out the Color

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‘Selah Ridge Bluff’
Heatherwood, Early Fall

When I walk out to our driveway to get into my car, I look up and see this stately bluff looking over me. A little rain drizzle perks up the colors in our Heatherwood garden. Soon the dogwood will brighten up with its reddish purple leaves and bright red berries. Behind, the large maple tree will turn to a brilliant red.

P.S. The little black spec in the upper right corner of the sky (if you can see it) is one of our neighborhood red-tail hawks.

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Peace in the Afternoon

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‘Purple and Yellow Mounds’
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

It was late in the afternoon and the sun had gone behind the clouds. It felt like rain was coming. There were few cars passing along the adjacent road. No one was stopping to enjoy the beauty of the colorful hills. Alone, I had this wonderful panorama in front of me. I felt at peace in one of nature’s wonderlands.

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Who Said the Badlands Look Dull?

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‘Mid-morning Sunlight on the Purple Mounds’
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Pastels proliferate the hills of the Badlands during mid-morning sunlight. The golden and green grasses in the foreground set the stage. The yellows, oranges, reds, and purples of the different sediment layers of the mounds provide the center focus. The purple striped rugged mountains and blue cloud covered sky creates an intriguing background setting.

Millions of years of creation stand directly in front of me. I dream of the wonder of nature and the beauty it brings.

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Late Afternoon Glow

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‘Traveling Through the Yellow Mounds’
Badlands National Park, SD

The late afternoon sun warmed up the rolling hills near the Yellow Mound Area of the Badlands National Park. The warm sunlight warmed up the grass-covered hills creating a glowing gold scene. This image was created during my first evening in the Park. I came back several times to get different perspectives of this beautiful area.

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