Tag Archives: Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Uplift

Leave a reply

Golden Joy Juniper & Manyo No Sato Japanese Maple
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

This little vignette greets me as I start up the path to the top of our Heatherwood Japanese Garden. The warm early morning sun graces the Golden Joy juniper and the Manyo No Sato Japanese maple. I feel the golden palm and outreaching fingers of the Golden Joy uplifting the Manyo No Sato like a gentle hand. An early morning stroll through the garden is a wonderful way to greet the coming day and all the opportunities it brings.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Who’s Watching

Leave a reply

Oribe Lantern Peeking Through
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I was walking through our Heatherwood Japanese garden and stopped to admire the emerging leaves of one of the Japanese maples. Moving my camera around to find a nice leaf macro image, I noticed the Oribe lantern behind the maple. I paused as I felt that the little lantern was watching me with his single big eye. It is amazing what a person can see by taking his/her time and letting their imagination freely flow.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Time to Paint

Leave a reply

Framed Waterfall
Heatherwood Spring

This vignette of Heatherwood’s waterfall framed by a Shin Deshojo Japanese maple and a Norway Spruce is one of my favorites. Most every time I walk by with my camera (or iPhone), I stop and create an image. A little side path provides a little peak from the main pathway. In spring and fall the scene is the most dramatic with the contrasting colors of the Japanese maple.

When I was editing this image, I felt like doing something a little different. I thought I would take the opportunity to practice a little photographic painting. Topaz Impression software and my imagination merged together to create this image.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

It Doesn’t Get Much Better

Leave a reply

Japanese Garden Entry
Heatherwood Spring

Our spring weather has been beautiful in Eastern Washington. With the warm spring weather, the trees have been blooming and leafing out. The late afternoon sunshine brings out the warm colors along the entry path to our Japanese garden area. The brilliant red Bloodgood Japanese maple and the bright pink Don Egolf redbud frame the Hokkeji lantern and the Bosnian pine. Like a magnet, they pull a visitor into the garden.

On evenings like this we frequently stroll through or just sit in the garden reflecting on what a wonderful day it has been and what new experiences tomorrow will bring. It just doesn’t get much better.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Scolopendrifolium

Leave a reply

Fingerleaf Japanese Maple and Yukimi Lantern
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Scolopendrifolium … that is a mouthful! I would just rather call it a ‘Fingerleaf’ Japanese maple. This is one of my favorite little scenes in Heatherwood. It is what we see as we relax in our Adirondack chairs by the pond. It is a great place to have a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or just sit and enjoy nature and the sound of the falling water.

Tiny leaves are just emerging on the Scolopendrifolium as it starts to reach over the Yukimi lantern. We are training the maple to provide a gentle canopy over the lantern. Just give us 3-4 more years.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

It Is the Time of the Year…

Leave a reply

Path of Learning
Heatherwood Spring

It is the time of the year when something is changing every day. I have a difficult time keeping up with all the changes. This week, the pink ground phlox is reaching its peak as the blossoms of our weeping cherry are fading. Each year the plants cover more and more of the ground and the shrubs and trees grow. Just 5 years ago this was a grass hillside.

Our garden path curves up around the stepping stones of the path to never-ending learning.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Last Stroll of the Year

Leave a reply

Kotoji and Dry Winter Stream Bed
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today is December 31st, the end of the year. How fast the year has flown by. It just seems like yesterday that we were cleaning the garden to prepare for spring. Heatherwood is still full of winter color. We anxiously wait for the first major snow storm of the new year.

Just like the year has flown by, my strolls through the garden flash by as well. Today I started out for a quick stroll to create a few foggy images. Two and a half hours later, I came in. It is so easy for me to get lost in thought as I walk through the garden with my camera. I see one interesting vignette, then another, then another. Today, I started out with a thin layer of fog covering the garden. I could not see the surrounding hills. By the time I finished, the fog had moved through the valley leaving the hills projecting up over the garden. It was a wonderful last stroll through the garden for 2023.

Related Images:

A Great Place to Relax

Leave a reply

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.

Related Images: