Tag Archives: Heatherwood Meadow

First of March

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“Winter Meadow”
Heatherwood

Today is the first of March, time to clean up the meadow and other planting beds. The weather here will be mild in the mid-50’s for the next week and a half. The garden is calling for attention. Grasses and perennials need to be cut back to make room for new growth. Trees and shrubs need to be trimmed to guide their shape as the new growth emerges. Winter weeds need to be extracted before they get carried away. Several of our shrubs need to be transplanted to accommodate the placement of new plantings. Some of our hardscape needs to be modified to allow for our landscape design plan changes. In an evolving garden, nothing remains constant.

And while all this is going on, the 2000 bulbs we planted last fall are sprouting! March will be a busy and exciting month at Heatherwood.

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Spring Cleaning Time Is Here

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“Snow-Covered Meadow”
Heatherwood Winter

The snow is gone and the temperature is rising. February ends today and March starts tomorrow. In the garden, February is time to relax and plan for the coming gardening year. March is time to get out and work to prepare the garden for spring.

We have enjoyed the winter interest created by last year’s spent flowers and grasses. We consciously chose to let their shapes, textures, and muted colors decorate the winter landscape. But in March, we have to pay the price and trim back the perennials to prepare for the new growth starting this month. It is also time to transplant some of the hardier plants as well as pull the winter weeds.

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Abstract Thinking

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“Rudbeckia Cezanne Style”
Heatherwood Meadow

As I was reviewing some of my past images, I saw this one and immediate thought of an Impressionistic painting. Topaz Impression and Cezanne came to my aid. Magic happens.

Below is the original image straight out of the camera.

“Original Image”

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Brightness to Start My Day

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“Early Morning Beauty”
Heatherwood Meadow

Yesterday I woke up to a bright and brilliant early winter day. The skies were bright blue without a cloud. Sun was streaming down on our Heatherwood meadow. I grabbed my camera and went exploring. Many times when I wander through the garden I pick a certain photographic aspect that I want to practice. Yesterday I chose close-up isolation using depth of field. I chose a 100-400mm lens as my tool.

So off I went looking for a spent flower highlighted by the beautiful early morning sunlight with an interesting background. This is one of the “beauties” I found. It was a wonderful way to start my day.

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Heatherwood Fall Colors #8

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“Liatris Glory”
Heatherwood Meadow, Fall

These Liatris were once a brilliant purple in their summer prime. Their beauty remains even after the blooms have long shed their color. Part of nature’s glory in our meadow is what is left behind. The late afternoon sunlight creates an emphemeral feeling of fleeting moments. I anticipate the liatris will present a different version of beauty as the late fall frost and winter snow decorates them.

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Thistle by Georgia

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“Thistle Impression”
Heatherwood Meadow, Summer

It’s time to come back home and add a couple more images from our Heatherwood garden. I used to think thistles were just weeds, but we decided to plant a couple of different varieties in our meadow. This one is planted between white daisies and yellow yarrow. It provides a nice contrast in the meadow. With the hot temperatures (>100 degrees) these thistles have quickly bloomed then lost their color. To accentuate the artistic flair of the thistles, I added a little Georgia O’Keeffe impressionism to it.

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Playing in the Sprinklers

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“In the Sprinkers 1”
Heatherwood Meadow

I have been trying to create the essence of what I see in the meadow for the last couple of weeks. My results have not been satisfying. I am still making my images from my mower since I cannot walk around unaided yet. My prior images have not been as crisp as I would like. I converted several into abstracts to make up for their softness.

For this next set of images, I focused on isolation using a long lens and a narrow depth of field. I also timed taking the images when the meadow was being watered with sprinklers.

In my youth, the highlight of a warm summer day was running through sprinklers in our yard with my brother and sister. I guess I have never outgrown those special times.

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