Category Archives: Trees

Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #17

“Turn Ahead”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Looking up the hill, our stroller sees the top curve in the S-shaped path. The sides of the path are framed by basalt boulders and filled in with ground covers and specimen evergreen shrubs. Over time, all the spaces between the rocks will be filled with interesting vegetation. The back side of the hill is planted with various evergreen shrubs and trees. These will also fill in over time creating a border for the Japanese garden.

The stroller pauses and questions, “What is around the corner?”

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #16

“Tobiosho Japanese Maple & Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Japanese maples and evergreen conifers line the hillside on the northwestern side of the path. Our visitor stops and examines the various textures and shades of green on the hillside vegetation. During the spring, the light chartreuse of the Tobiosho maple and the bright pink of the creeping phlox add a bit of brilliance to this scene. In the winter, the Chief Joseph pine turns to a brilliant yellow. Red twig dogwoods in the background loose their leaves and add a flash of red to the scene.

The stroller takes a few more steps up the hill and glances toward the sound of flowing water. A small window opens up to present a glimpse of the waterfall and pond.

“Window to the Pond”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The east side of path is lined with various evergreen trees and shrubs which shield the view of what is beyond to the stroller on the path. Several small windows allow the stroller to peek through to see vignettes of the garden and stream. This window is a “works in progress.” Our design plan is to have low-growing evergreens and and other creeping shrubs create a bed of shades of green and various textures leading to the pond.

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #13

“NE Corner – Work In Progress”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

After our visitor finished enjoying the vignette of the waterfall and Yukimi, they turn back up the hill and continue their stroll upward. A stepping stone path appears on their left. Where does it lead?

A Japanese lantern appears at the end of the path. It beckons our stroller to climb up to the top.

This hillside part of the Heatherwood Japanese garden is a “works in progress.” This spring we added the stepping stone path, several trees and shrubs, and started planting ground covers. Our vision is that this will be a natural border for the Japanese garden, fully covered with trees, shrubs, and vegetation. As the trees get bigger and provide shade, we plan to add shade-loving azaleas and rhododendrons.

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #10

“Path to ???”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

After a while sitting by the pond and waterfall, our visitor decides to continue their stroll through the garden. He/she looks around and notices this little path headed off to the East. “I wonder where this will lead, I’ll take it.”

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #7

“Left to the Pond – Right to Continue”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

After catching a glimpse of the water, our stroller continues down the curving path to come to a second division. The rushing water and the waiting Adirondack chairs pulls him/her to the left. The Oribe guide post, Tetsu Bachi basin, and Kakehi water spout draw the guest in to prepare for a relaxing pause.

As time passes and the young trees mature, they will enclose this sitting area and make it more private. But for now, it is pretty much wide open and provides a wide angle view of the Japanese Garden’s star attraction.

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #4

“Decision”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Walking further down the entry path, the stroller now needs to make a decision: right around the hill or left up the hill. The design for this division in the path hides what is beyond. The stroller needs to decide to follow the sound or climb to get a better view. The little lantern marks the decision point as well as provides light in the evening. The extended limbs of the Shishigashira Japanese maple behind the lantern seems to point to the two different paths.

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #3

“Hana Matoi”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Across the path from the Hokkoji, a Hana Matoi Japanese maple, captures our strollers eye. It is planted on the hillside and surrounded with rocks, ice plants, and thyme. The vignette created by the maple and ground covers can be seen from multiple spots through out the Japanese garden. It is one of the key focal points of interest. Below are a couple of highlights:

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Heatherwood Japanese Garden Stroll #1

“Hokkeji Welcome”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

A Hokkeji lantern welcomes our garden’s visitors with a glimpse of what is to come. A newly planted (2021) Japanese Pagoda tree and Akebono Flowering Cherry tree leads (and disguises) a walker around to a viewing area overlooking a pond and waterfall. The viewing area is surrounded by a mature linden tree and several young Japanese maples and a Japanese Stewartia. Over time these will provide a living enclosure around a peaceful viewing area.

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IR Practice

“Woodland Garden Path”
Heatherwood, Summer

I am getting ready for an infrared photography workshop with Tony Sweet on Whidbey Island. I thought I needed to do a little practicing. In this section of Heatherwood, we are trying to create a woodland garden. It is a work in progress, and right now we have only small trees and a few “sun-loving” shrubs planted. The dark bark provides a striking contrast to the IR highlighted trees. In a few years, hopefully the ground will be covered with shrubs, ground cover, and shade-loving perennials. The envisioned garden path will provide the contrast needed for an IR image.

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Sad…

“Last Days”
The Palouse, Washingto
n

For years, this tree was a cornerstone of a SW view from Steptoe Butte. It anchored a vignette of lush green (spring), golden tan (harvest), and contrasting dark and light browns (after plowing). I had last seen it during the fall of 2019, pre-Covid. It still had all its leaves and looked healthy (at least from a distance). When I saw it from Steptoe this spring during a severe draught, it had lost most of its leaves. I am afraid that this stately giant is in its last days.

On the last day of our workshop, several of us went out to photograph the tree up close. I made images from several different perspectives, but nothing seemed to express the sadness I felt seeing the tree in its dying state. Most of my images were of the lone tree against a background of rolling green hills and a cloud dotted sky. It seemed lonely, just left to die. Then I looked up and zoomed in to focus on the strong stately branches still reaching out. This is how I want to remember it.

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