Tag Archives: Heatherwood

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“Rock Garden Hillside”
Heatherwood Late Spring

After exploring another garden, it is always good to come back home and see what is happening here at Heatherwood. This is especially true in late spring when it feels like the garden is going to burst out in full bloom at any moment.

This rock garden area separates the lawn at the house level from the lawn and meadow below, which I used to refer to as the “Lower 40”. A path, edged with basalt boulders, winds down back and forth from the upper to the lower lawn. Various creeping thymes, cotoneasters, and sedums fill in between the rocks and onto the recessed gravel pathway. Other perennials and evergreen shrubs provide contrast and stability to the garden. We constructed and planted this area only two springs ago. It is hard to believe how fast it is filling in.

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What is Beauty?

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“Full Moon Japanese Maple and Fern”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

What is beauty? Beauty is hard to explain. Everyone has their own perspective of what beauty is. Beauty applies to all five senses. I am a visual person, so seeing beauty is my dominant perspective. It lies in the vision of a grand vista of a natural landscape or in small vignettes of companion plants like in the above image. It can be a large architectural structure or a small piece of sculpture. It can be man-made or nature or a combination of both. It can be a person or an inanimate object. As I keep my mind and eyes open, I can find some kind of beauty everywhere I look.

Many times when I see beauty, I stop and contemplate. My other senses then kick in, and I notice the beautiful feeling of a breeze on my cheek or the sounds of a gurgling stream. I can smell the wonderful aroma from a street food cart as I look up at a skyscraper or from the scent of a flower as I walk through a garden. I can see the beauty of a young mother holding her young child and feel the love between them. Beauty is a gift that surrounds us at all times. Enjoy the moment!

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It is Hard to Believe …

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“Looking Into the Woodland”
Heatherwood Spring

It is late spring and we are through with our planting projects for now. It is hard to believe that just a little over two years ago, this area was all grass. Spring of 2020 we started carving up the lawn and making planting areas in our lower property. We planted a few trees at that time. In 2021 we added several additional trees and started planting the beginning of an understory. This year we added several more plants to the understory. It is beginning to look like a small woodland.

We just added an Adirondack settee and now can just sit back and enjoy the evolving woodland garden.

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A Little Rest

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“Southeast Corner Rest Station”
Heatherwood Spring

We call the southeast area of our garden the “Conifer Corner.” We planted a row of conifers around the southeast corner of our garden to create a little privacy from our neighbors. Within the corner, we also have planted additional specimen conifer trees and shrubs. We added bright ground covers and perennials to give it a little pizzaz. We finished it off with a little rest area tucked into the corner. Many times after walking down to the bottom of our property, I take a little break before walking back up the hill. More times than not, I get sidetracked and wander into a little day dream. Sitting in the Adirondack settee, I look up and gaze into the scene below.

“Wide Angle View Looking Up the Hill”

You can see how easily I could fall into a day dream!

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Shades of Green, Blue, and a Splash of Red

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“Decision, Relax or Explore”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today I have two thoughts to share regarding this image. First, is my initial reaction to this scene when I created this photograph. The contrasting splash of Japanese maple’s red color among the various shades of green and blue is what captured my eye and enticed me to create the image.

Second, is the landscape design intent for creating this view. This point is a transition point. To the left is a peaceful private sitting area that overlooks the japanese garden pond and waterfall. To the right is a path that leads to an open area and the exit of the Japanese garden. If I take the path to the left, I can sit, relax, and enjoy the water rushing over the rocks into the pond. If I take the path to the right, I can continue to explore and discover new things beyond.

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Grasses, Yarrow, and Color

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“Transition Ridge”
Heatherwood Spring

Here comes the color! June is the month for Heatherwood’s display of color. The ornamental grasses are growing, the perennials are breaking out in their spring bloom, the shrubs are flowering, and the evergreens are showing off their new growth. The garden is becoming a full color palette.

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Transition

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“Transition”
Heatherwood Meadow

Our Heatherwood garden is comprised of several different areas. Between the areas we have created multiple transitions for one area to flow into another almost seamlessly. The image above illustrates how the meadow area consisting of perennials and grasses transition to a layer of medium sized deciduous shrubs and evergreens. The transition area serves as a background to keep focus on the meadow and separate it from a lawn and woodland area beyond.

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Welcome June

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“Lower Yard Wide Angle View”
Heatherwood Spring

As I make my first morning cup of coffee, I wander to our family room window and look over Heatherwood’s lower yard. It is a wonderful way to welcome the day. Today is the first day of June. Late spring is a beautiful time of year in our garden. In a couple of weeks most of the perennials will be showing off their blooms. Heatherwood’s peak color will be here in a couple of weeks. Welcome June!

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A Gift From Nature

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“Red Tip Norway Spruce”
Heatherwood Spring

Nature constantly gives me little gifts of joy each day. As I walk slowly through our garden, my mind and eyes wander. Then all of a sudden something pops out and says, “Look at me, look at me!” Yesterday, I was walking through the garden looking for little vignettes of contrasting color and texture. Then all of a sudden these little red tips from a Norway spruce stood up and hollered, “Here I am, forget about all that other stuff and pay attention to me.” I did and used all that other color and textures as a soft background.

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Lawn Chicane

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“Lower Lawn Paths”
Heatherwood Spring

When asked why does the lawn have so many curves, I can come up with several plausible answers for the designer’s motivation: 1) he was under the influence, 2) he was creative and wanted to make a statement, 3) he was full of chicanery and was playing tricks, and 4) he loves to race his lawn mower through a challenging chicane course. For Heatherwood, it is the latter. I love to mow the lawn!

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