Category Archives: Trees

Looking Up Through the Garden

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View Looking Up Through the Meadow
Heatherwood Fall Colors

More color is bursting out every day! There is something new to capture my interest every morning. I need to get out and photograph every day. A little rain here and there coupled with wind knocks the leaves off quickly. One day our stewartia was covered with bright orange leaves. The next day after an evening wind, only a few leaves were left. The constant change is part of the glory of autumn. Each day Heatherwood delivers a new gift. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

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Fall Glory

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Japanese Garden Entry
Heatherwood Fall

I started the day walking into the garden with my garden tools. I was planning on doing a little work. I did not get very far. The sun softly peeked through the light cloud cover. The colors of the garden were gorgeous. I turned around, put my tools away, and grabbed my camera. Three hours later I came in for lunch.

I have been working on our garden for ten years now. Our efforts are gradually taking effect. I had pretty much a clean slate to work with. For the first three years, this hillside was just a green lawn. In 2019, we tackled this area and started to create a Japanese inspired garden. Six years later most of this upper area is covered with maples, conifers, and ground covers. We sit back and enjoy just watching the area mature. As the conifers get larger and produce more shade, there will be room for a few more Japanese maples who are less tolerant to the bright eastern Washington sun.

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Around the Corner

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Japanese Garden Path
Heatherwood Autumn

Walking around the corner of Heatherwood’s Japanese garden path, I immediately am attracted to the fall color beauty of our variegated dogwood. I pause and enjoy the colors, shapes, and textures of the overall garden scene. The dogwood leaves and berries draw me in for a closer look.

‘Cherokee Daybreak’ Flowering Dogwood

Red berries pop out along the branches. Pink fall color takes over the leaf margins. It’s a pretty sight to see!

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Around the Corner

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Japanese Garden Path
Heatherwood Autumn

Morning sunshine flows through the Japanese maples and conifers along the garden path. The maples are beginning to transition to their bright fall color. The ground covers and green shrubs and conifers are holding on to their summer greens.

As I walk along the path I look side to side and enjoy the various plants up close. I look forward along the curving path and anticipate what is around the corner … next post.

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Fall is Here!

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Early Fall Colors
Heatherwood NW Corner

Heatherwood is starting to transition into its fall colors. The maples are gradually turning color branch by branch. A little color from the yellow rudbeckia and purple Russian sage remains to provide a little splash of color. A few recent sprinkle of rain has encouraged the lush green lawn to put out its last spurt of growth. A few fallen red maple leaves sprinkle the green grass. Autumn is well on its way.

This little scene looking through the northwest corner of Heatherwood is one of my favorites. The planting bed around the flume is maturing nicely. We have added a few amsonia in the back to brighten it up a bit from the street view. The flume itself is a little bit of history dating back around 100 years when it was the new source of irrigation water in our area.

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Cloudy Day in the Badlands

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Across from the Visitor’s Center
Banlands National Park

During my workshop in the Badlands, our group passed by the Visitor’s Center almost daily. This scene is just across the road from the center. Every day it had a different perspective. On my last day in the park, it was cloudy. The clouds and the filtered light accentuated the contrast between the hills and the sky as well as the trees. Infrared made the contrast even greater. I was thankful that I stayed an additional day in the park.

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Blue Sky Summer Day

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Color Against the Conifers
Heatherwood Summer

The sky is pure blue without a cloud. The eastern Washington summer is in full force. It has been very warm with the temperatures in the 90’s. The summer perennials are out in their full glory.

On a day like this, the garden opens up its full beauty. It provides a beautiful foreground to the surrounding hills as well as focused vignettes like the one above. Strolling around the garden brings me peace. I become absorbed in the environment surrounding me. I first take in the panoramic view of the garden and hills rising above. I get a feeling of perspective. After a bit of walking, little things pop up before me as small vignettes appear. I stop, observe, move around, and sometimes take a photo or two. Many times I move in and just touch the leaves, needles, or bark. Each plant has its own feeling. Some are soft and fuzzy, some have sharp points and are prickly, others are smooth, others are rough, and some even smell really good. The confusion of the world around me disappears. The clarity of nature’s beauty takes over. I am at peace.

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A Different Way of Looking at Things

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Tricolor Beech and Linden
Heatherwood Garden

Too often we get trapped looking at something from only one way. Yesterday I was creating early summer images around the garden. I was intrigued with the multicolored leaves of our Tricolor Beech tree. I took several images of the leaves. The linden tree provided a soft background. As I took my last image of the leaves, I looked through them and saw a unique perspective of the linden tree. The pink of the beech framed the green-toned details of the linden. I created additional images from this second perspective. Sitting at my computer I could not make up my mind what image I liked the best. Why not combine them together into one image. I feel that the combined multi-exposure is better than either of the separate images.

This lesson can be applied to solving most issues. One does not necessarily need to choose between two good solutions. Many times a combined solution is the best.

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Time to Turn the Corner

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Garden Path
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today is the summer solstice. The garden is turning the corner from spring to summer. The new growth on the trees and shrubs are maturing into their summer shades. The perennials are starting to progress through their blooming schedule throughout the garden. As one fades, another picks up. The garden meadow areas are becoming a flush of colors and textures.

On the personal side, it has been one week since the Yakima Arboretum tour of gardens. The weeks of time in preparation have led a very successful tour of our Heatherwood garden and other gardens in the area. It’s time to turn the corner from a very busy time of garden preparation to a more relaxed time of enjoyment and contemplation in our Heaterwood Eden. Summer is here!

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Even on a Cloudy Day

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Looking Out My Office Window
Cloudy Heatherwood Day

Heatherwood brightens my morning even on a cloudy day. After finishing my daily journal entry, I turn around and view the beauty of our garden through my office window. The spring colors of the Japanese maples draw my attention. I gaze deeper and explore the various conifer shrubs and other trees. I look up and see the Selah ridge rising above into the sky. The scene entices me to get up, grab a cup of coffee and take a morning stroll with my dear Mary!

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