Kotoji and Waterfall
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
From viewing the Yukimi and waterfall in my last post, I lift my eyes and see more beyond. The Kotoji Japanese lantern is the guardian of the stream and waterfalls. He straddles the stream’s edge with one leg in the stream and the other on land. In the evening, his light reflects along the rushing water.
Yukimi and Waterfall
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
From the Oribe and Tetsu Bachi in my last post, I can still hear the rushing water from behind. I turn and discover the source. Our little Yukimi Japanese lantern shaded by a Scolopendrifolium (I call it a ‘Fingerleaf’) Japanese maple overlooking a small waterfall flowing into the pond. The yellow orange spring color of the ‘Fingerleaf’ brightens up a shaded corner.
Oribe Guide Post, Tetsu Bachi Basin, & Kakehi Water Spout
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
A couple of days ago I posted an image of a garden path and asked, “What is beyond?” Taking a few steps down the path, I look to my left and see a set of Japanese stone sculptures peeking out behind a Japanese maple. The Oribe guide post directs me to a little side path while the Kakehi water spout and Tetsu Bachi welcomes me. The sound of rushing water gets louder. The water spout and basin is only a trickle. What is beyond?
Lower Garden Path
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Trees, shrubs, and ground covers frame the lower path of our Japanese garden area. I can hear water rushing, but there is no sign of it. What lurks around the corner of the path? Trees and carefully placed bends in the pathway obscure what is beyond.
The garden is filling in. It is hard to realize that only six years ago that this area was a grass lawn. ‘Visioneering’, imagination, design iterations, and some hard work formed the structure. Mother Nature did the rest!
Filigree Japanese Maple
Heatherwood Japanese Maple
During the last couple of weeks our Japanese maples have been gradually leafing out in their beautiful spring attire. Seventy Japanese maples grace the Heatherwood landscape with their beautiful colors and shapes. Their colors are constantly changing throughout the seasons spring through fall. Through the winter their bark and irregular branch structure add special interest to the landscape.
We planted this weeping Filigree maple last year to complement a mountain lantern along our upper Japanese garden path. In years to come its branches will flow over the rocks above the path providing even more interest.
This year we have added five maples in our southwest garden plus two more in our upper northwest lawn. In addition, we are nursing two small baby maples in pots. Adding new maples is always a challenge in our harsh shrub steppe environment in Central Washington. Finding just the right places to shield the maples from the harsh summer sun is getting difficult as the garden fills up. As the conifers and deciduous trees mature and get taller, new opportunities arise.
Looking Through the Japanese Garden
Heatherwood Spring
A narrow stone path leads around the corner of our house. Immediately my eyes are flooded with spring color from Japanese maples, a flowering viburnum, a Japanese umbrella pine, and a weeping white pine. Then the Kotoji lantern by our hillside stream pops into view. It feels like the lantern is a scout looking over the garden.
The view as I walk around the corner is almost too much to take in all at once. Do I focus on the trees, shrubs, and ground covers that surround me? Or, do I look up through the trees and see the surprises peeping out through the foreground? Or, do I just pause and take it all in one little piece at a time? I usually do the latter.
Winter Ground Covers
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
A touch of frost highlight these winter ground covers. These three ground covers add a little winter flare to the garden. The foreground Siberian Cypress changes from its summer grey-green to its winter bronze color. The Mahonia in the center adds red, oranges, and purples to its winter cloak. In the background, the Blue Rug juniper adds a cool blue to the scene. Winter is not dull in Heatherwood.
Akebono Cherry, Fingerling Japanese Maple, Yukimi & Kotoji Lantern
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
I was sitting in my office doing a little work and looked out the window. The morning light covered the garden outside my window. The heck with work … I grabbed my camera and started playing in the soft light. The color was amazing, I moved from one position to another searching for little vignettes. Three hours later, my creative juices stopped flowing. I had covered less than one-third of the garden. Well, there is always tomorrow morning to do some additional exploring.
Viridis Japanese Maple
Heatherwood Early Fall
Our green Viridis maple is changing to its fall orange as it patiently watches over our garden waterfall. Each year it extends further toward the falling water. The combination of the flowing water and the flowing branches of the Viridis is one of my favorite scenes I keep coming back to.
Waterfall Abstract
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Sitting by the waterfall, I continued to play with long exposures. I was looking for interesting vignettes that I could isolate with my telephoto lens. I created several images of this rock with the water flowing around its edges. By itself, it was interesting but not eye stopping. Later when reviewing my images of the morning’s session, something caught my eye. I squinted and saw a face with long white hair sweeping down along each side. The more I looked at it, the more my imagination wandered.
Can you see it ???