Tag Archives: Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Here and Gone

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“First Snowfall of the Season”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I woke up on Election Day to see a few snowflakes fall. I sat in my office gazing out the window watching the snow start to collect on the ground. I had a quick cup of coffee, grabbed my camera, and took a jaunt in the garden. The snow continued to fall for about 30 minutes while I was outside. By the time I finished it had already started to melt. After a bowl of cereal, I looked outside and the snow was gone.

Even a little dusting of snow changes the feeling of the garden. Some plants really pop out, while other small ground covers become quickly hidden. I enjoy trying to catch small changes in the garden. They brighten my days!

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Time to Shut Off the Waterfall???

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“Japanese Garden Waterfall Hillside”
Heatherwood Autumn

This week Heatherwood seems to be at its peak in color. The temperatures are dropping below freezing at night. Leaves are rapidly falling. Small patches of ice have formed at the edges of the waterfall. Is it time to turn off the water to the main falls and prepare the pond for winter?

Nah, I think I can wait a few more days until all the leaves have dropped. It is still just too beautiful to turn off.

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A Nice Diversion

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“The Path Around the House”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

This little path leads from our back patio to the front entryway of our house. It is always a nice little diversion to walk along. In the morning, light softly filters through the trees to the path. The backlit leaves are stunning. On a summer afternoon, the area is in shade. It is one of the few areas in Heatherwood where we can grow shade plants.

This area is where I first started developing a little Japanese inspired garden. The dark purple Japanese maple in the upper left is the first tree I planted when I moved back to Selah in 2016. The next year, we started work on the surrounding area, building the path and adding a few trees along it. Each subsequent year, we have added a little more. We are now at the stage where we need to do a little transplanting to optimize the design as well as add a few more shade plants as the trees grow and provide more shade. A garden is never finished!

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Red & Pink

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“Cherokee Daybreak Dogwood”
Heatherwood Autumn

Several of our flowering dogwoods have transitioned to their full autumn glory. This species is one of my favorite. Its variegated leaves are gorgeous. In the spring breaks out in light pink with white edges. It transitions to green with white edges in the summer. Then in the fall it bursts out in deep magenta with pink edges. It is a brilliant star in Heatherwood’s Japanese garden.

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Changing Autumn Color

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“Hill of Learning”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The reds are coming out on our Japanese maples. It will be a couple more weeks before they are in their autumn prime. Each day I notice a little more color. Tonight it is forecasted to drop down into the low 30’s. More and more color will emerge.

Paths in our Japanese garden are becoming more pronounced as the ground covers continue to mature along the path edge. This past spring we added a lot of additional ground cover in the Japanese garden. Next year we are planning on adding a couple more Japanese maples in this area. The once grass covered hillside is gradually taking shape and evolving into our vision of a Japanese garden.

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Crisp Autumn Morning

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“Pond & Waterfall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Our “Indian Summer” ended yesterday. We received our first rain since May and the temperature dropped 20 degrees. But we still had a beautiful crisp autumn morning today. We had nice patches of clouds that made the sky interesting while still letting in the beautiful sun rays to brighten the landscape.

Now that the temperatures have fallen and approach freezing at night, we should start to see the colors change more rapidly. I will have to be on my toes every morning and try to create images that reflect the rapid change in color.

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Another New Addition

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“Amber Ghost Japanese Maple”
Heatherwood Hill of Learning

We planted this beautiful Japanese maple a couple of weeks ago. It has already started to change into its autumn glory. We now have 44 Japanese maples planted throughout Heatherwood. This Amber Ghost will accentuate the view out of my office window. Every morning when I write, I turn and gaze out over the “Hill of Learning” to get a little inspiration of what is to come during the emerging day.

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Early Fall Color

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“Early Morning Sunlight”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The color is starting to change in our Heatherwood garden. The early morning sunlight brightens up the colorful leaves. Every day brings a change in the colors. For the next several weeks I will be out in the garden continuously. Every day presents a gift of something new.

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New Addition

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“Kotoji, Red Dragon and Ryu Sei Japanese Maples”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The Kotoji Japanese lantern is flanked by the ‘Red Dragon’ Japanese maple on the left and the new ‘Ryu Sei’ maple on the right. The Red Dragon was planted in 2019 when the Japanese garden was first constructed. The Kotoji lantern was added the next spring. We just planted the Ryu Sei this summer. The Ryu has a weeping form. Over time it will grow and gracefully bend over the stream below the Kotoji.

Heatherwood is constantly changing and growing. As long as my imagination continues, I hope to continuously add to to the garden.

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A New Member to the Garden

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“Yukimi and Scolopendrifolium”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Last week I added a new member to Heatherwood’s Japanese garden. It has quite a tongue-twister name: Acer Palmatum ‘Scolopendrifolium. Being an engineer, I have a hard time pronouncing a word with more than three syllables.

I planted the maple just south of the Yukimi to give the lantern a little protection. As the maple matures, it will form an umbrella shape weeping over the lantern and pond. From different view points it will help separate and frame the two waterfalls feeding the pond. Three years ago when we first build the pond, I imagined a lantern at the pond’s edge sheltered by a weeping Japanese maple. I was conflicted between having a wide-open view of both waterfalls or framed view of each. This summer, I finally made the decision to add the maple.

The structure of Heatherwood is pretty much in place. I enjoy walking around the garden searching for places where new plants, shrubs, and trees will enhance the overall garden. At the same time, I critically assess if a specific plant needs to be moved to a more suitable location. I feel lucky to be able to simultaneously enjoy what is in place and imagine what the garden will evolve to given time and a little help.

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