“Trimmed Grass-Lined Path”
Heatherwood, Early Spring
This little s-curve leads a walker from Heatherwood’s central meadow area to an open grass area with a woodland area in the background. When one starts on the path they do not have an idea of what is around the bend. As they move through the corner, the view opens up to a conifer lined path framing the lawn and the woodland. Surprise!
“Spring Cleanup”
Heatherwood Meadow
Spring is just five days away and we are making progress getting ready for the spring emergence! Grasses and perennials are being cut back, trees and shrubs are being pruned, and leaves and clutter are being raked up. Every day things are looking more neat and tidy.
“Ground Cover ?”
Yakima Area Arboretum, WA
Meandering along in the Yakima Arboretum Japanese garden, I looked down and saw this stringy ground cover. It was full of oranges, purples, greens, yellows, and turquoise colors. I don’t have any idea of what kind of ground cover it is, but I really need to get some for our Heatherwood garden.
“Yellow and Red Twig Dogwoods”
Heatherwood Winter
Friday morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow. By Saturday afternoon the snow had melted. The sun came out and the winter colors beamed.
“New Blanked of Snow”
Heatherwood Meadow
I woke up this morning to a new blanket of snow. It was beautiful, but … my spring clean-up crew was scheduled to start cutting back the grasses and perennials. I guess I will have to wait for a few more days.
The beauty of the new snow blanketing Heatherwood was worth the delay. I enjoyed a two hour walk around the garden with my camera. Each day is a gift. My challenge/opportunity is to make the best of each day. Yesterday was a great day!
“Future Garden Room”
Heatherwood Lower Garden
Throughout our Heatherwood Garden, we have designed several sitting areas that have a nice view of the garden and the surrounding hills. This area is in the southwest corner of the property looking east over an in-process garden room area and toward the background bluff. As we fill in the planting areas around the lawn and behind the chairs, this sitting area will be a secluded peaceful retreat. It will be a special place to watch the morning sunrise or a late afternoon’s amber glow on the garden and bluff.
“Fountain Grass”
Heatherwood Meadow
Even though we have had a lot of snow and strong wind through the winter, this stately fountain grass still stands tall with its head held high. We have started pruning and cleaning our Heatherwood garden. By the end of the week, most of the grasses should be cut back ready for their spring growth surge. We have only a little over two weeks before the first day of spring.
“Winter Grasses and Perennials”
Heatherwood Meadow
What a difference one day will make! This image was created on 1 March. Compare with the image in my last post, taken on 28 February. We woke up to two inches of snow on the morning of the 28th. By the next day, all the snow was gone and the temperature rose to 47 degrees. Mother Nature is very fickle!
Today we will start our winter cleanup. The pruning and hedge trimming shears will be busy for the next couple of weeks. By mid-March, we hope to have given Heatherwood its late winter haircut.
“Late Winter Snow”
Heatherwood Meadow
Mother Nature gave us a little warning on this last day of February, “Don’t get too excited about spring, we still have three weeks of winter left.” I have been getting ready to start cutting back Heatherwood’s grasses and perennials. The temperatures have increased from the 20’s last week to the 40’s this week. Yesterday, I was out in the yard with my pruners. Luckily this is the last snow predicted for our 10 day forecast. And, the temperatures are predicted to rise back up into the 40’s. Hopefully we will be able to start our clean-up later this week.
In the meantime, I took the opportunity to walk through Heatherwood for a couple of hours this morning with my camera. There were plenty of opportunities to create images from a late winter snow. The light snow was a heavenly gift.
“Winter Grasses and Perennials”
Heatherwood Winter
Sometimes it is not color that captures my interest. This vignette portrays the primary contrast of tones and textures. The layers of yarrow and rudbeckia in the front and sides along with the Russian sage in the back surround the grasses in the center. Soon this vignette will be gone. Within the next week or so, we will be cutting back the perennials and grasses and cleaning the beds to prepare for the surge of spring growth.