Tag Archives: color

Color in the Badlands

‘Light Rain Over the Badlands’
Badlands National Park
, SD

I just returned from a great workshop with Tony Sweet and Sue Milestone in the Badlands of South Dakota. During our last day, we had some light rain which highlighted the striking colors over the terrain. The slight moisture brought out the normally subdued colors. What a beautiful sight!

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Thoughts on “Bright and Shiny”

‘Cherry Allee’
Heatherwood Summer

Mid-summer is the peak of color which gives Heatherwood’s Cherry Allee its nick name, ‘Bright and Shiny’. When we were defining the conceptual design of the lower garden area, we asked Mary what she would like to see. She quickly said, “Something bright and shiny.” Three years after planting, here it is.

We envisioned creating a framed-in colorful view from our house level which included both a near field interest of color as well as a bucolic view of the background farms. Pink Flair cherry trees frame the planting area and lead a viewer’s eyes through the scene to the sky above. The shaped lower lawn separates the foreground from the background. We planted oak and birch trees to separate Heatherwood from the neighbor’s pasture. The trees at the top of the hill provide additional interest as they break the horizon line.

We added ‘sitting rock’ benches at the top of the garden to immerse the viewer into the bright flowers. Lilies planted just right of the stone benches provide a sweet aroma. It is easy to get lost in the beautiful colors and sweet smells.

All season interest was also in our minds when we designed ‘Bright and Shiny’. In the early spring, the cherries break out in beautiful pinkish white blooms. Later in spring the perennials start to bloom in color profession. In summer the perennials reach their peak as different plants come in out of their prime colors. In autumn, the cherry trees and the background trees burst out in brilliant fall color. And in winter, the red bark of the cherries and the yellow bark of the yellow twig dogwoods frame the view while the different forms and textures of the spent perennials provide winter interest. When snow covers the ground and trees it is like a winter wonderland.

Mary is happy!

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I don’t know what it is, but it’s sure pretty.

“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.

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If You Want to See Color

“A Rainbow Excursion”
Burano, Italy

Burano is a small fishing Villiage located about 4 miles north of Venice in the Venetian Lagoon. It is called the Rainbow Island. If you want to see color, visit Burano! The homes, businesses, and public buildings are painted in bright colors. Even in side streets like the one in the image above, homes are bright. Each adjacent building is a different color. We only had a couple of hours to explore on our tour. I could have spent the whole day there!

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Summer Color in the Meadow

“Soft Summer Color”
Heatherwood Meadow

Walking through our Heatherwood meadow in the early morning when the sun just rises and softly grazes over the meadow flowers is a calming experience. The various colors, textures, and shapes pull me into the scene.

The summer scenes change daily. Some flowers fade, new flowers emerge. Grasses grow taller providing new backgrounds as well as blocking and framing other views. This year the scorching summer direct sunlight is causing many flowers to fade prematurely, but others burst out just as quickly. We are always in a dilemma, should we deadhead plants to make the garden look pretty and force new blooms, or should we just let them take their natural course and fade then spread their seeds in the fall and winter. Mostly, we just let things mature naturally.

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Color, Color, Color, and More Color

“Color in the Meadow”
Heatherwood Summer

Fourth of July was a beautiful day here in Eastern Washington. After a morning cup of coffee sitting out in the garden, I took off for a stroll with my camera. Everywhere I looked summer color was brightly shining throughout the garden. In this little spot in our meadow we have orange red-hot pokers, purple bee balm, red bee balm, purple salvia, white daisies, yellow yarrow, yellow red-hot pokers, and various shades of green grasses. We peacefully gaze and enjoy the wonderful gift in front of us.

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A Beautiful Winter Day

“Winter Color”
Heatherwood Rock Garden

December 31 was a beautiful winter day and a great way to end the year in the garden. The temperature was in the mid-40’s and the sky was bright blue. Mary and I took a walk around the neighborhood and then settled into our Adirondack rockers or our lower patio. We closed our eyes and cherished the warm sun as it beamed down on our cheeks. It was a time for quiet and a little reflection on things that we were thankful for during the past year.

Peacefully sitting in our garden enjoying the warmth and beauty of nature, it just doesn’t get any better.

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Monet’s Interpretation

“The Meadow”
Heatherwood Summer

We just finished carving out and planting a new meadow in the lower section of Heatherwood. The colors are already bursting out for its first summer season. Reds, purples, yellows, blues, oranges, and all different shades of greens are scattered about. We have a lot of bark covered ground showing through most of the areas. It will take a few years for the perennials to fill in. We have patience and are enjoying the individual plants as each one breaks into bloom. Hopefully we will have a flow of changing color throughout the summer and early fall. This is just a start. We will record the activity of the meadow and adjust as we go along. It will also be a “Never Ending Journey.”

I created this image today. It was my first time out photographing since I had my foot operation. I’ve been hobbling around for the past three plus weeks. I still can’t put any weight on my foot, so I got a little creative and hopped on my lawn mower and drove around our new garden meadow. I stopped and recorded many images from above. Getting the best perspective and composition was very difficult, and sometimes impossible. But, I just had to get out with my camera. When I started processing the images, I noticed that they were all a little out of focus. I guess the high frequency vibration of the lawn mower didn’t help my unsteady hand. So, I decided to cheat a little and convert the images into a blurred impressionistic versions. Thank you Topaz!

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Color

Whitman College Library Mobile
Walla Walla, Washington

Color, color everywhere. The central skylight and abstract mobile spreads light and color through the central area of the Whitman College Library. It provides such a warm and energy charged feeling that a student could not help from absorbing the surrounding stacks of knowledge.

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When Something Catches My Eye

Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden

A splash of white and pink,
Against a sea of red, blue and green,
Is a pleasure to be seen!

Clusters of orchids were everywhere. Tourists and other photographers were lined up to get that “perfect” orchid image. I stepped back and walked away when I saw this lone flower standing out all by itself. Behind it several feet, were other blooms and foliage of various colors. I walked around the flower to get an interesting combination of color as a background. I used a wide aperture to separate the flower and blur the background. It looked great on my camera display. I was happy!

But when I got home and viewed the image on a large monitor, I was disappointed. By using a wide aperture and blurring the background, the flower itself was not as sharp as I would like. I could not give up on the image and used a little Topaz Impression to add an artistic perspective.

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