“Waterfall and Maple”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
The Japanese maple shown in my last post shields a secondary waterfall from a walker on the garden path. The curious can leave the path, walk up close and peek through the tree to see the lower falls. Walking about ten yards more along the garden path, the falls are fully revealed. There is often a surprise as one turns a corner in the garden.
“Japanese Maple and Waterfall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
This morning’s garden stroll was focused on little vignettes of Japanese maples in our Japanese garden. This is one that I frequently turn to. This maple stands alongside our smaller waterfall. Its shape and green dissectum leaves provide a calm contrast to the rushing water.
“Front Yard Planting Area”
Heatherwood Spring
I try to be mindful when I make a photograph. I ask myself why do I want to take an image before I snap the shutter on my camera. There is nothing really unique about this image. It does not have any special composition or a single subject of interest. It certainly is not an iconic view. It was not taken during exceptional lighting giving it a moody feeling. It does have contrasting colors, shapes, and textures. When it comes down to the reason I took the image, I guess it was simply that I liked the view looking into our garden from the front yard planting area into the beginning of our woodland garden.
“Spring Vignette”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Spring is a beautiful time in our Heatherwood Japanese garden. The various trees and shrubs blend together to provide a beautiful patchwork of colors. As I peek through the trees, my eyes take a circuitous route through the vignette. They first focus to the left on the bright pink of a Shin deshojo Japanese maple, then move up to the magenta of a flowering crabapple. They move to the right corner to see the deep purple of a Bloodgood Japanese maple and then down to the rhododendrons that are just about ready to burst in bloom. They next move up to the center to see the white flowers of a fothergillia. Finally they move up a little more and see the chartreuse of a Shigasura Japanese maple. I squint my eyes and see a blurred impressionistic patchwork of color.
The image above is from the most mature area in our Japanese garden. The flowering crabapple was here when I moved in during 2016. The first tree I planted in the garden in 2016 was the Bloodgood Japanese Maple. The following year, I received the Shin deshojo Japanese maple from wonderful friends. In 2018, I added the rhododendrons and the Shigasura. And then in 2019, we planted the fothergilla. Now after three years, we have an intriguing combination of colors, shapes, and textures.
“White Kousa Dogwood”
Heatherwood Spring
Here come the dogwoods joining the blooming crabapples and redbuds. Individually each tree has its unique character. Together they yell out “Its Spring” in our Heatherwood garden!
Over the years, I have become addicted to dogwoods. The first dogwood tree I remember is a small pink one that Dad planted in our yard in the early 60’s. I received my first real appreciation of their collective beauty when we moved back to the Washington, DC area in the early 80’s. We planted a white Florida dogwood as a center piece in our front yard. It was so little when we left. Years later in the late 90’s, I drove by our past home and saw that it had matured into a beautiful tree that had was the star of the front yard. Since then we have planted several dogwoods in our Kent, Woodinville, and Fountainville homes as we moved back and forth between the East and West coasts. And now in Heatherwood, we have planted ten dogwoods. I can’t get enough and plan to plant several more throughout Heatherwood as the years go by.
“Blooming Redbuds”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden
The woodland is coming to life with the blooming redbuds and the new understory that we have been planting during the last two years. It will take 3-5 years for trees to get large enough and the understory to fill in to be able to start to get the feeling that we are walking through a woodland. In the meantime we will enjoy the blooming young trees and understory highlights and dream what it will be in the years ahead. Patience! Patience! Patience!
“Irrigation Flume Section”
Heatherwood Garden
Our neighborhood was sad to see the historic Selah Naches irrigation flume taken down. What is left is a scar along where the flume gracefully stood for over 100 years. It will take many, many years (longer than my lifetime) for the scar to transition to a natural vegetation state.
Several of our neighbors were able to get a section of the flume and preserve a little history in our gardens. At Heatherwood we will add additional trees and shrubs that will highlight and frame the flume segment. We also plan to add trees to shield the scar that remains in areas where we had previously created windows to view the flume .
“Yukimi and Waterfall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Early morning light reflecting off the falling water and pond stopped me dead in my tracks during a stroll through our garden. My mind wanders. I notice how the little Yukimi watches over the fish in the pond and gazes at the sparkling waterfall as in turn the Akebono Cherry gently watches over the lantern.
“Entryway Redbud”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Our redbuds are finally in bloom! This one brightens the entry to our Japanese garden as the morning light shines through the pathway. We have five different species scattered throughout the garden. Each one starts blooming at slightly different times.
In a few days, the crabapple behind and to the left of the redbud will be in full bloom. Together, they make a striking entrance to the spring garden!
“Hokkeji and Japanese Maples”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
The early spring color of our Japanese Maples highlight our garden. These two frame in the Hokkeji lantern beside the Japanese garden entry path. We enjoy the nice flash of contrasting color as we enter the garden.
Japanese maples are one of my weaknesses. Heatherwood has several throughout the garden. However, whenever I see something a little different, I want to add it. We are at the stage in our garden development that I need to have patience and wait for some of our shade trees to grow to provide the right condition for some of the less sun tolerant species.