“Snow Dusted”
Heatherwood Meadow
A light dusting of snow amplifies the contrast of textures in our garden’s meadow. The shapes of the spent flowers and leaves pop out. The oranges, golds, and browns of the grasses are framed by the white of the snow dusting. The bright green of the lawn grass in hidden providing a contrast to the meadow areas.
“First Snowfall of the Season”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
I woke up on Election Day to see a few snowflakes fall. I sat in my office gazing out the window watching the snow start to collect on the ground. I had a quick cup of coffee, grabbed my camera, and took a jaunt in the garden. The snow continued to fall for about 30 minutes while I was outside. By the time I finished it had already started to melt. After a bowl of cereal, I looked outside and the snow was gone.
Even a little dusting of snow changes the feeling of the garden. Some plants really pop out, while other small ground covers become quickly hidden. I enjoy trying to catch small changes in the garden. They brighten my days!
“Rock Garden”
Heatherwood Autumn
Heatherwood’s rock garden is full of color now. But, it will go through more color change as fall progresses into winter. The leaves of the deciduous shrubs will fall exposing bright red dogwood branches and purple elderberry and nine bark branches. Some of the conical shaped shrubs will turn from green to golden bronze. Other conifers will turn to yellow. The ice plant ground covers will turn to a bright orange while some of the thymes will turn yellow. The blues and dark greens of other conifers will provide a subtle contrast. There is much more to come!
“Rock Garden & Beyond”
Heatherwood Autumn
A vignette opens before my eyes.
A rainbow of color appears .
The glory of nature warms my heart.
“Japanese Garden Waterfall Hillside”
Heatherwood Autumn
This week Heatherwood seems to be at its peak in color. The temperatures are dropping below freezing at night. Leaves are rapidly falling. Small patches of ice have formed at the edges of the waterfall. Is it time to turn off the water to the main falls and prepare the pond for winter?
Nah, I think I can wait a few more days until all the leaves have dropped. It is still just too beautiful to turn off.
“Lower Lawn”
Heatherwood Autumn
Our autumn color is changing so fast. Last night the temperature dropped down into the mid-20’s. This morning, two of three of our ginkgos dropped all their leaves. We have one left that still has not turned yellow yet. For the next several days, I will need to photograph both in the morning and in the afternoon to create a record of our fall garden.
“The Path Around the House”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
This little path leads from our back patio to the front entryway of our house. It is always a nice little diversion to walk along. In the morning, light softly filters through the trees to the path. The backlit leaves are stunning. On a summer afternoon, the area is in shade. It is one of the few areas in Heatherwood where we can grow shade plants.
This area is where I first started developing a little Japanese inspired garden. The dark purple Japanese maple in the upper left is the first tree I planted when I moved back to Selah in 2016. The next year, we started work on the surrounding area, building the path and adding a few trees along it. Each subsequent year, we have added a little more. We are now at the stage where we need to do a little transplanting to optimize the design as well as add a few more shade plants as the trees grow and provide more shade. A garden is never finished!
“Glorious Fall Color”
Heatherwood Autumn
Temperatures have been dropping down into the low 30’s for a week or so. The trees and shrubs are rapidly displaying their glorious autumn brilliance.
Our Heatherwood landscape is quite a contrast to the dry rock-covered hills that surround us. To bridge the gap, we have placed many rocks in our landscape. They help tie the hillsides and our garden together. It is amazing how a little water during the summer months can turn our semi-desert surrounds into a lush landscape.
Every day brings more and more color. The garden should be at its peak color in about a week. Some days are changing so much that I feel like I need to take a little photographic walk both in the morning and late afternoon. Today is one of those days.
“Cherokee Daybreak Dogwood”
Heatherwood Autumn
Several of our flowering dogwoods have transitioned to their full autumn glory. This species is one of my favorite. Its variegated leaves are gorgeous. In the spring breaks out in light pink with white edges. It transitions to green with white edges in the summer. Then in the fall it bursts out in deep magenta with pink edges. It is a brilliant star in Heatherwood’s Japanese garden.
“Hill of Learning”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
The reds are coming out on our Japanese maples. It will be a couple more weeks before they are in their autumn prime. Each day I notice a little more color. Tonight it is forecasted to drop down into the low 30’s. More and more color will emerge.
Paths in our Japanese garden are becoming more pronounced as the ground covers continue to mature along the path edge. This past spring we added a lot of additional ground cover in the Japanese garden. Next year we are planning on adding a couple more Japanese maples in this area. The once grass covered hillside is gradually taking shape and evolving into our vision of a Japanese garden.