Antique Furrower
Eastern Washington Farm Lands
As I was driving along back roads in Eastern Washington, I saw what I thought was an old abandoned farm implement standing alone in a field. To my surprise, even though this old furrower was heavily rusted, it was still in working order. The evidence was the recently plowed field and the stretched out cables that were ready to hook up to a tractor.
Looking in from the Driveway
Heatherwood Autumn
This is one of the several views that we have designed into our Heatherwood garden. Its purpose is to create an interesting view into the garden from the street as walkers stroll past our driveway. Late autumn provides beautiful color contrasts with the whites of the birch limbs against the reds of the Autumn Glory maples. The foreground of grasses, perennials and evergreen shrubs give it a little extra punch.
It is our pleasure to share the garden with our neighbors to brighten their days as well as ours.
Path to Center Circle
Heatherwood Autumn
Oranges, reds, yellows, and browns are the colors of Thanksgiving. Heatherwood, in the late fall, displays these colors throughout the garden. We cook our Thanksgiving turkey outside. So even with all the football games going on, we venture out every half hour or so and enjoy the fall colors around us.
We have so much to be thankful for, including this little spot of Eden. We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving as you enjoy it with family, friends, loved ones, and each other!
K & M
Winter Garden Color in the Lower Garden
Heatherwood Autumn
We designed Heatherwood to have color throughout all four seasons. Color provided by the Midwinter Fire, red-twig, and yellow-twig dogwoods complements the brightness and textures of the ornamental grasses. In a few years, the evergreen trees will get taller creating a nice green background. Together they all provide brightness to a dreary late fall day.
This part of the garden is three years old. We have enjoyed watching the plants grow from one gallon pots to these mid-sized shrubs and grasses. It will take a couple more years for them to fill in and mature into “garden-sized” plants. By then, the evergreens will have grown several feet taller. Watching a garden grow provides so much enjoyment for Mary and I!
Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine & Sester’s Dwarf Blue Spruce
Heatherwood Autumn
I woke up this morning and read the news headlines. My spirits were down in the dumps. To bring my spirits up, I started reviewing my images of our garden that I created earlier this week. I stopped when I saw the image above and started to contemplate. Here are two completely different species growing up side by side, complementing each other in complete harmony with the other trees and plants in the landscape around them. Why can’t we do the same?
Blue Sky Over Cherry Allee
Heatherwood Autumn
Some days are stunning. Heatherwood and the surrounding hills were absolutely beautiful on this late afternoon. Colors just popped out, especially the golden browns of the ornamental grasses and the panicle hydrangeas. The blue skies said summer, the garden colors said fall. I just strolled through the garden absorbing the warm afternoon sun and the colors of autumn. It was a great day!
Japanese Maple Leaf
Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle
As I walk along a trail, it so easy for me to focus my vision looking forward. I frequently just stop and look all around, up, down, side to side, and backwards. When I am with others, it drives them crazy … there he goes again! All I can say is that I see and enjoy what surrounds me much more.
I created this image when I glanced up and saw backlit maple tree leaves fluttering in a gentle breeze. I stopped along the path and watched the branches and leaves waving back and forth, surrounded by rays of light flickering through the canopy trees above. Before I raised my camera, I had to move aside on the path to let several people whisk by not realizing what they were missing.
Now the work began, I looked and looked to find that perfect leaf. After several minutes, I again realized that nature is not perfect. I closed my eyes and re-opened them, looking for something that caught my eye. I found this one fluttering leaf, moved around to get a good background, then just waited for the breeze to position it just right.
Japanese Maple Collection
Washington Arboretum, Seattle
Light, shadows, and nature in a beautiful garden setting instills excitement within and brightens my day! As I round the bend from the access road, I face this scene. Tall canopy trees filter soft light from the sky. Beyond the Japanese maples, lies a quiet pond in the shade. It is a wonderful welcome to the Arboretum’s Japanese maple collection.
These trees are special to me. They remind me of a family happily congregating together.
Selah Bluff and Lower Garden
Heatherwood Fall
A neighborhood garden should be designed to be enjoyed from the outside looking in as well as internally. As we designed Heatherwood, we wanted to provide a separation between our property and our neighbor’s. At the same time, we wanted to present a pleasing view from our neighbor’s back yard through our garden up to the hills rising above. In this section we kept the planting height down with ornamental grasses and mid-sized deciduous shrubs. For winter interest, the yellows, reds, and oranges of the Midwinter Fire, red twig, and yellow twig dogwoods mixed between the ornamental grasses will provide a textured and colorful winter foreground for the bluff above.
During our design process, we reviewed our concepts with our neighbor over a glass of wine or two. They were happy with what we envisioned and we were happy that they could enjoy it as much as we would.
Woodland Stream
Bellevue Botanical Garden, WA
The filtered late afternoon light made this woodland scene in the Bellevue Botanical Garden come to life. Light and shadows created a beautiful contrast that captured my eyes and mind when I walked by. I moved off the main path to a small overlook to get a better view. A gentle breeze moved the leaves on the trees above creating the filtered light to move around the scene. The light seemed to jump from branch to branch. I took time to just enjoy the scene before I started creating images. After taking a few images, I closed my eyes and just listened to the water trickling over the rocks. My mind relaxed, then my neck, shoulders, and arms. What a wonderful little place!