“Coralburst Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Spring
The ‘Coralburst’ crabapple is a little guy. Right now the tree is only about 5-feet tall with an 18-inch spread. It is a slow grower reaching only 10-feet tall and 12-feet wide. It maintains its dense growth habit into maturity. It will be a real contrast to the rest of the crabapples in the grove.
“Show Time Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Spring
“Show Time” is the fourth crabapple in our garden to breakout in full bloom. So far, the first three are still retaining their spring blooms. With a little luck, I hope that the full grove will be blooming at the same time.
Yesterday, I went to the Yakima Area Arboretum to enjoy their crabapple grove. It is quite a difference to see a mature grove in bloom as compared to what seems to be a few scattered young trees. We will patiently await to enjoy each new blooming cycle in the coming years as the Heatherwood Crabapple grove matures.
Still more crabs to come …
“Double Weeping Cherry and Naches-Selah Irrigation Flume”
Heatherwood Spring
As I look over our Double Weeping Cherry, I enjoy its beauty against the surrounding hills and the old Naches-Selah irrigation flume. But my heart also saddens. We have received information that the flume will be replaced with a pressurized pipeline this winter if the funding is approved. One of the first things that attracted me to this property was the beautiful hillside with the historic structure hugging its side. The need for efficiency and cost prevails and the historic flume built in the 1890’s will see its last use through this spring and summer. I will do my best to record this last remaining section of flume with my camera to remind me of a bygone era.
“Perfect Purple Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove
This is the third crabapple in our Heatherwood crabapple grove to come into full bloom. Last year, the trees were planted after the blooms had faded. Each of the new trees is significantly different from each other in their blooms, foliage, bark color, and form. It is such a treat to experience their first year of blooming in our Heatherwood garden.
More “crabs” to come …
“Spring Snow Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove
The first month of spring has just passed us by. Heatherwood’s early flowering cherries have bloomed and faded along with the serviceberries. The flowering pear and flowering plums have similarly progressed through the blooming cycle as well. Now the crabapples are in their progression. Soon the redbuds and dogwoods will follow.
More to come!
“Marilee Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove
We have had exceptional warm temperatures during the last couple of weeks. Our flowering trees are rapidly coming into full bloom, one right after another.
Last summer we created a small crabapple grove, planting seven different crabapple species. This is one of the first bloomers. All our trees are small, it is time to visit the Yakima Arboretum to see its premier grove of mature trees.
Pruned Roses
Heatherwood Spring
As the old saying goes, “When the forsythia blooms, it’s time to prune the roses.” Before I learned this bit of advice, I tended to wait too long to prune our roses. Now, I have an automatic alarm clock right next to our rose garden to remind me. The timing has been perfect.
Throughout the year, this is one of my favorite scenes. In the spring, the freshly pruned roses compliment the flowering star magnolia and our forsythia tree. In the summer, I overlook the colorful roses with the birch trees as a background. In the fall, the changing color of the birches and our neighbor’s apple trees add to the remaining roses. In the winter, I enjoy the contrast of the stark rose canes with the bare white limbs of the birches. And all year along, our neighbor’s white fence and pasture provide background interest.
“Looking North”
Heatherwood SE Corner
This is one of the areas that we will be trying to “finish off” during our 2021 landscaping project. Our plan is to fill in this center section with additional perennials and ground cover. We will create a natural path through the area and add some specimen conifers. This image was taken from the location of our Adirondack settee viewing position. Behind and to the left, we will replace a large Zelkova which did not make it through the previous year. This will be a great place to sit down on a hot summer afternoon in the shade, enjoying a cool glass of ice tea (or other beverage).
“Hana Matoi Corner”
Heatherwood Spring
Spring planting is underway! We have set an ambitious project for this spring. However, it is much, much smaller than our projects over the last two years. The major hardscape projects have been completed. This year’s project is to fill in around the design that we have currently have in place. We will be adding about 40 trees, 150 shrubs, and a lot of perennials and ground covers. Gradually we will be filling in the understory of the garden. We hope to finish the bulk of the project by mid May instead of having it extend through the summer like we have for the past two years. We hope to spend much more time enjoying the garden as opposed to working every day developing it.
For the section shown in this image, we will be adding shrubs and ground covers to fill in the open barked areas.
“Siberian Iris and Yukimi”
Heatherwood Spring
Spring highlights always get me excited for new garden projects. We planted these Siberian iris last fall. Their first spring bloom exceeded our expectations as they highlighted the Yukimi Japanese lantern and our pond and stream. Finishing this area of our Japanese garden will be one of our major spring projects. Our focus will be to transform this area into a protected contemplative sitting area where Mary and I can enjoy an afternoon glass of wine together or with a couple of friends.
Our plan is to add a couple of trees around the sitting area, stone paths leading to the pond, and unique plants and ground covers. We will be adding plants along the edge of the stream and pond that will extend over the rocks to the water. Additional shade trees will be added to help separate the stream and pond from the other parts of the garden. Over time as the trees, shrubs, and plants mature, we hope to have a semi-secluded place to sit and reflect on the wonderful world that surround us.