Tag Archives: Fall Color

Light, Shadows, and Nature

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.

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Looking Northeast from the Neighbor’s

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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Mary’s Creation

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 !

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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Soft

“Late Fall Softness”
Heatherwood Meadow

At this time of the year, there is a warm softness through our Heatherwood meadow. The warm colors blend together into soft yellow-brown hues. The spent flowers and grasses merge together into a homogenous mass to the eye. The autumn plumes of the ornamental grasses are soft to touch. Gentle breezes blur the grasses and flowers together on a warm sunny late fall afternoon.

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More Mid-Fall Colors

“Garden Path”
Heatherwood Fall

Various paths weave their way through our Heatherwood garden. Some of the paths are formal stone paths, some are gravel, some are bark mulch, and some are simple unplanted passage ways through the various plantings. Most paths wind through planted areas to destinations unknown. The paths are not designed to get from point A to point B. They are laid out to provide different views and perspectives as one strolls through the garden. There is usually a little surprise around each corner.

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More Fall Colors

Hokkeji in Fall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Our Heatherwood Japanese garden is peppered with all the colors of the rainbow. We have them all; yellow, green, red, orange, magenta, and purple. We are just missing blue. We are rapidly loosing the color with the rain and wind we recently been having. One day a tree or shrub is at its peak, the next day the leaves are on the ground leaving bare branches. The garden is changing color so quickly that I have a hard time keeping up with my photographs.

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