“Redbud Getting Ready to Burst”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden
The buds on our Redbud trees are almost ready to burst out in bloom. I walk down almost every day to check their progress. Any day now they will be covered with pink and magenta blossoms. When they do, the woodland garden will come to life. I love spring!!!
“Woodland Garden in Early Spring”
Heatherwood
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. I took the opportunity to walk around our woodland garden area with my camera. My focus was to try to capture the feeling of various sections of the garden in the early spring before the majority of the trees were in bloom or leafed out. I also was attempting to create a baseline perspective of the garden prior to the additional planned plantings for this year.
When I first moved to Selah in 2016, this area was part of a pasture. The only trees were the birches in the left background. The next year, I added a small grove of October Glory maples next to the birches. The following year I planted the area in grass and added underground irrigation. In 2020, we started converting the area into a woodland garden theme, removing grass and adding red buds, a couple of dogwoods, and a few evergreens. Last year we continued to add standard maples, Japanese maples, several deciduous shrubs, and grasses to the area. This year, our plan is to add more understory deciduous shrubs and ground covers to frame in the pathway through the area. In the fall if we have the energy, we plan to add several more spring bulbs. This area will continue to be a “works in progress.” It will continuously be in a state of change as the trees grow and create more shade. The understory shrubs will transition from sun loving to filtered shade tolerant species. We will patiently enjoy watching it mature and change over time.
“Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry”
Heatherwood Spring
I love to let my imagination flow as I walk through our garden. As I gaze at our Snow Fountain cherry, I squint my eyes and can visualize a mass of large snow flakes flowing out of a fountain.
This is the start of the third season in Heatherwood for this cherry. Each year the blossoms become more profuse. It anchors one side of a garden path separating a meadow area from a tree and shrub area. Its early blooms make the tree stand out in our lower garden.
“Rainier Vista Without the Mountain”
University of Washington
Yesterday was a special day! Several of our precious group of college friends gathered at the University of Washington to dedicate a bench for one of our own. It was a beautiful day. The sun broke out and spread its gentle warmth on the blooming cherry trees on the beautiful campus. The only thing missing was the “Mountain” on the horizon beyond the fountain.
“Daffodils in Crabapple Grove”
Heatherwood Spring
One more day and all the daffodils are in bloom. From the time that the first daffodils bloomed it only took four days for the whole daffodil drift to bloom. In the same time period several of the crabapples started to leaf out. Shortly they will start to bloom one by one.
“Forsythia Tree”
Heatherwood Spring
This bright little forsythia tree was the first plant to bloom in our garden when I first moved back to Selah in 2016. A couple of years ago we added a Cornelian Cherry Dogwood to the garden. The dogwood now is the first tree to bloom. But the forsythia is still the harbinger of spring to me as it tells me that it is time to prune the roses.
“Birches and Fence”
Heatherwood Winter
Our garden birches hide our neighbors white fence during most of the year. From December through March, the white ranch-style fence peeks through the branches of the trees. I stand just enjoying the form of the white winter birches, then squint my eyes. A different abstract perspective appears. The background horizontal lines of the fence appear. The natural, slightly curving vertical lines of the birch trees contrast with the hard straight lines of the fence. I contemplate …
“West Bank”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
“Fill in the blanks” is the motto for our 2022 Heatherwood landscape projects. This section of our garden was constructed in 2019. The land was shaped and the base structure of trees and evergreen shrubs were planted. During the next two years additional trees, deciduous shrubs, and limited ground covers were planted to balance the structure and form the garden borders. This year our plan is to fill in the blank spots with various ground covers and just watch the garden grow. It is our vision to have the garden fully covered with various vegetation and understory shrubs shaded by a canopy of evergreen and deciduous trees. It will take years to achieve the vision. Patience will be a virtue as we enjoy watching the garden mature. We are planting for the future generation!
“Japanese Maple”
Heatherwood Winter
There is still a lot of winter interest in Heatherwood. The skeleton structures of the Japanese Maples provide interesting winter forms. The reds, yellows, and greens of the evergreen plants provide highlights through the garden. Good weather is predicted through the first couple weeks of March. It’s time to get our and start our winter/spring clean-up and pruning.
“Reminder”
Tulip Tree Bloom, Heatherwood
It is hard to believe that spring is only three weeks away. Yesterday we took a long walk through the garden with a notebook in hand. We made a survey of the garden and jotted down all of the little things that we needed to do in the garden in the early spring. We have a lot of work to do. We plan to start our winter/spring clean-up this week.
During our walks in the garden I always note special little things that catch my eye. The image above is a spent bloom of a tulip tree we planted last spring. It is a reminder of the tree’s beautiful blooms that will come out this summer. Last year, we got busy and missed the peak of the bloom. This year, we will keep our eye out for the two or three blooms that may emerge on our “baby” tulip tree.