Tag Archives: Autumn

Brightness on a Dreary Late Fall Morning

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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!

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Blue Sky Day

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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!

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Look up!

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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.

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Looking Northeast from the Neighbor’s

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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.

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Fall Color is Peaking

View From the Perch
Heatherwood, Autumn

Fall color in Heatherwood is peaking! The garden is full of bright fall colors. They seem to be a couple weeks earlier than normal this year. The warm days and cool nights are probably the driving force. The night time temperature is forecast to drop below freezing in the next couple of days. In a few weeks, the color sadly will probably fade away. But then, the winter color and textures will take over to create their own beauty. Every season in Heatherwood has its own special characteristics.

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A Great Place to Relax

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Pond from Above
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The chairs next to the pond are a great place to relax and enjoy our Heatherwood Japanese garden. Frequently we start our day with a cup of coffee looking across the pond to the waterfalls above. In the late afternoon during a summer day it is great to enjoy a glass of wine or other beverage to mark the end of a work day. In the spring and fall when the harsh sun in not beating down, it is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy nature any time of the day.

A few days ago, we enjoyed sitting here and recalling good times with a wonderful long-term friend. We shared a bottle of wine that we had previously purchased on a road trip together a couple of years ago. These were precious moments.

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Mary’s Creation

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Under the Crabapple Tree
Heatherwood Early Autumn

The above intimate scene is Mary’s creation. As we have been developing Heatherwood, Mary has become quite a learning gardener. Moving from a small city lot with just a few shrubs and roses to a 4-acre plot, she has been with me as we designed and constructed our Heatherwood garden. Each day she learns a little bit more and becomes deeper involved. This year she selected a few annuals and planted them underneath a couple of trees in our Japanese garden area. They grace key areas and add extra interest. They are show stoppers as we walk through the garden.

Thank you Mary!

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Good Morning World !

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Sunrise Over the Garden
Heatherwood, Early Autumn

We were given a glorious Good Morning gift a few days ago. It was a wonderful way to start the day. As the sun rose, the sky was a beautiful pinkish gold. Through the clouds it cast a warm pink blanket over our Heatherwood garden and the valley below. As the day’s beauty was released, it gave me a feeling of warm peace. Even with all the strife that is currently going on, there is still a lot of wonder and beauty that reminds me of the many things that are right about our world. It is all our challenge to spread this among the peoples of our world.

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Garden Design In Progress

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Stream & Pond Edge
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

We continually add young plants to our Heatherwood garden. A year ago, we planted two Japanese maples next to our stream and pond area. The one on the right side of the image is a Ryu Sei. It will grow about 4-6 ft. tall then weep down onto the stream’s edge. The one on the top left of the image is a Scolopendrifolium, commonly called a Fingerleaf Japanese maple. It will grow to about 5 feet tall and form an umbrella over the Yukimi Japanese lantern. Our design intent is to create a naturalistic environment where plants, rocks, water, and structures all blend together to develop a peaceful feeling.

Each year we watch how the plants mature as well as add a few new plants to fill in some of the bare areas. Slowly and patiently we enjoy how the garden gets closer and closer to our vision. Now, we will grab our morning coffee and sit by the stream.

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