Category Archives: Our Garden

Images taken in our Pennsylvania garden

Spring Cleaning Time Is Here

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“Snow-Covered Meadow”
Heatherwood Winter

The snow is gone and the temperature is rising. February ends today and March starts tomorrow. In the garden, February is time to relax and plan for the coming gardening year. March is time to get out and work to prepare the garden for spring.

We have enjoyed the winter interest created by last year’s spent flowers and grasses. We consciously chose to let their shapes, textures, and muted colors decorate the winter landscape. But in March, we have to pay the price and trim back the perennials to prepare for the new growth starting this month. It is also time to transplant some of the hardier plants as well as pull the winter weeds.

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Just a Peek

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“View Through Rock Garden”
Heatherwood Winter

As I have commented several times before, every time I walk through our garden I see something from a different perspective. Many of the views through Heatherwood have been planned as part of the design. The one above is an unplanned gift, looking through the lower rock garden northwest to the surrounding hills and our neighbor’s cherry orchard.

We have several such views since our newly planted trees are relatively small. Over the years, the tree canopies will grow and block many of these “peek” views. In turn, they will frame and highlight other views. The garden will continuously change bringing new surprises. Exciting!

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Red Witch Hazel

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“Diane Witch Hazel”
Heatherwood Winter

Last spring we planted six small witch hazels, 3 red (Diane) and 3 orange (Jelena). The Jelena (shown in my 9 Feb posting) was the first to bloom. The Diane started to bloom about a week earlier. The blooms on both are now faded. The plants are small, only 12 to 18 inches tall. They are forming the start of an understory of shrubs for one of our planting areas in the lower Heatherwood garden. We are searching to add a yellow species to fill out the witch hazel color template: red, orange, and yellow.

As the witch hazels mature, they will provide a beautiful burst of mid-winter color in the garden. The will act as the harbinger of the coming spring.

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Wabi-Sabi

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Spent Rose
Heatherwood Winter

Nothing is perfect … nothing is permanent … nothing is complete. Wabi-sabi is a characteristic concept of our Heatherwood garden. I find beauty in every aspect of imperfection throughout our garden. This spent rose was a beautiful red flower in its prime. The summer flower’s fleeting beauty transitioned to these stems and rose hips in the fall and winter. In nature the hips would release the seeds to the ground. Its life is incomplete as the seeds create new plants.

I admire the beauty of this rose stalk and hips every day as I sit and read and look out our family room window. They fascinate me. I do not have the heart or desire to prune the winter roses to make them look neat. I just simply enjoy them as they are. There is plenty of time to prune the roses before the spring growth.

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On a Crisp Winter’s Morning …

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“Neighbor’s Cherry Tree”
Heatherwood Winter

On a crisp winter’s morning, I gaze out over the Heatherwood landscape. I look over our immediate landscape to the hills surrounding our grounds. My eyes stop and become fixated on our neighbor’s beautiful cherry tree. It is the last standing memory of a bygone cherry orchard of the past.

We frequently walk by the tree on the way to pick up the mail. We stop and admire the tree throughout the year. Zelda, our neighbor’s Black Labrador, frequently greets us yearning for a pet.

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Snow, Winter Color, and Kotoji

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“Kotoji in Winter”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The Kotoji Japanese lantern is probably the most frequent single element that I have photographed in our Heatherwood Japanese Garden. It sits in a prominent spot overlooking the stream and waterfalls. One leg is in the stream while the other sits solidly on land. From every angle it seems to be a sentinel guarding the stream and pond below. The Kotoji can be seen from multiple places around the Japanese garden as well as as from the lower Heatherwood meadow and garden. Even in winter it is a dominant focal point in the landscape. At night its internal light shines through the lantern openings while an external flood lamp highlights the lantern and stream.

Many mornings we have started the day enjoying a cup of coffee overlooking the Kotoji from the “Perch” above. In the late afternoon/early evening we have sat below looking up over the pond and waterfalls to the Kotoji as we sip a glass of wine toasting to another beautiful day.

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Winter Beauty

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Snow-covered Hydrangeas
Heatherwood Winter

I don’t know which I enjoy the most: the snow-covered panicle hydrangeas in winter or the profuse white blooms in the summer. Each conveys a different feeling: one a quiet, peaceful, solemn feeling, the other a robust splurge of brightness. The more I think about it, the easier the answer is. I like both for the enjoyment they bring.

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Snowing Again

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“Snowing in Our Rock Garden”
Heatherwood Winter

We continue to get a little more snow. It is light enough not to incur any real inconvenience. Even though I anxiously anticipate the spring bloom, I appreciate the beauty of the winter season, especially with a blanket of fresh snow. Each season has its unique beauty. All I have to do is to look out our windows to discover little vignettes that highlight our garden.

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Happy Valentine’s Day

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“Bleeding Hearts”
Heatherwood Spring

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Hearts and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand. Our Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra) symbolize the Holiday. May your Valentine’s Day be a beautiful one filled with love and happiness.

A Little Trivia on the “Romantic” Valentine’s Day

The romantic Valentine’s Day was first brought to the public’s attention by Geoffrey Chaucer in his 1375 poem “Parliament of Foules.” Valentine’s greetings were introduced in the Middle Ages. Written greetings came after 1400. The oldest existing greeting is from 1415 in a poem by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Valentine’s Day celebrations began in the 1600’s. The next century small tokens and handwritten notes were popular. Printed cards started to replace handwritten notes by 1900. Printed cards along with lower postal rates contributed to sending Valentine’s cards by mail. Ester A. Holland introduced mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards in 1840. Today an estimated 145 million Valentine’s cards are sent each year.

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More Winter Color

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Berginia and Yellow Twig Dogwood
Heatherwood Winter

The deep reddish purple winter color of the bergenia provides a striking contrast to the yellow winter color of the yellow twig dogwood. In the spring the Bergenia turns to a deep green as it prepares for its deep pink flowers. Spring brings green leaves and white delicate flowers to the dogwood. Over time we plan to add various ground covers to provide additional color and texture contrasts.

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