Tag Archives: Heatherwood

Enjoyment and a Little Sadness

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“Double Weeping Cherry and Naches-Selah Irrigation Flume”
Heatherwood Spring

As I look over our Double Weeping Cherry, I enjoy its beauty against the surrounding hills and the old Naches-Selah irrigation flume. But my heart also saddens. We have received information that the flume will be replaced with a pressurized pipeline this winter if the funding is approved. One of the first things that attracted me to this property was the beautiful hillside with the historic structure hugging its side. The need for efficiency and cost prevails and the historic flume built in the 1890’s will see its last use through this spring and summer. I will do my best to record this last remaining section of flume with my camera to remind me of a bygone era.

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Spring Glory 3

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“Perfect Purple Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

This is the third crabapple in our Heatherwood crabapple grove to come into full bloom. Last year, the trees were planted after the blooms had faded. Each of the new trees is significantly different from each other in their blooms, foliage, bark color, and form. It is such a treat to experience their first year of blooming in our Heatherwood garden.

More “crabs” to come …

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Spring Glory 2

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“Spring Snow Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

The first month of spring has just passed us by. Heatherwood’s early flowering cherries have bloomed and faded along with the serviceberries. The flowering pear and flowering plums have similarly progressed through the blooming cycle as well. Now the crabapples are in their progression. Soon the redbuds and dogwoods will follow.

More to come!

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Spring Glory 1

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“Marilee Flowering Crabapple”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

We have had exceptional warm temperatures during the last couple of weeks. Our flowering trees are rapidly coming into full bloom, one right after another.

Last summer we created a small crabapple grove, planting seven different crabapple species. This is one of the first bloomers. All our trees are small, it is time to visit the Yakima Arboretum to see its premier grove of mature trees.

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“When the Forsythia Blooms …”

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Pruned Roses
Heatherwood Spring

As the old saying goes, “When the forsythia blooms, it’s time to prune the roses.” Before I learned this bit of advice, I tended to wait too long to prune our roses. Now, I have an automatic alarm clock right next to our rose garden to remind me. The timing has been perfect.

Throughout the year, this is one of my favorite scenes. In the spring, the freshly pruned roses compliment the flowering star magnolia and our forsythia tree. In the summer, I overlook the colorful roses with the birch trees as a background. In the fall, the changing color of the birches and our neighbor’s apple trees add to the remaining roses. In the winter, I enjoy the contrast of the stark rose canes with the bare white limbs of the birches. And all year along, our neighbor’s white fence and pasture provide background interest.

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Lot of Work to Do

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“Looking North”
Heatherwood SE Corner

This is one of the areas that we will be trying to “finish off” during our 2021 landscaping project. Our plan is to fill in this center section with additional perennials and ground cover. We will create a natural path through the area and add some specimen conifers. This image was taken from the location of our Adirondack settee viewing position. Behind and to the left, we will replace a large Zelkova which did not make it through the previous year. This will be a great place to sit down on a hot summer afternoon in the shade, enjoying a cool glass of ice tea (or other beverage).

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I Bet You Can’t Guess What This Flower Is …

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Perrotia Persica ‘Vanessa’ Bloom
Heatherwood Spring

I thought the perrotia blossoms I posted several days ago were the the mature bloom. I was totally surprised when I saw these little flowers. What I had seen previously were only the red tips. Like I have said many times before, I discover something new every time I walk through our garden. Now I know what a mature parrotia bloom looks like.

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Clouds, Trees, and a Fence

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Neighbor’s Pasture
Heatherwood Spring

The clouds make this infrared image of our neighbor’s pasture. We “borrow” this scene for our lower Heatherwood garden. We are surrounded on three sides (N,E, and W) by hills and look over a valley to the south. In the design of Heatherwood, we have opened up and framed vistas of the surrounding countryside. There is always something interesting to explore with our eyes and imagination.

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It Was a Sunny Afternoon …

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“Overlooking Heatherwood and the Valley Below”
Heatherwood Spring

It was a sunny late afternoon. The lower yard was in bright sunlight and the valley below was covered with clouds. I had not photographed in infrared in over six months, so I decided to grab my IR camera and play with the light and shadows.

Spring is the time to work with infrared photography as all the green emerge from the deciduous trees and the spring grasses. I look forward to experimenting and improving my IR skills as the hills turn green around us.

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The Value of a Daily Stroll

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“Perrotia Persica”
Heatherwood Spring

I take a stroll in our Heatherwood garden almost every day. As I walk around I casually enjoy the garden surroundings. I am always looking for something new emerging. I have had my eye on this Perrotia persica for about three weekends waiting for its tiny flower buds to form and bloom. We planted this tree last summer after it had bloomed. Seeing these tiny one-half inch flowers is a real treat. They are very short lived, my daily “inspections” paid off!

In our previous garden in Pennsylvania, we had a Perrotia for over ten years. I never saw the full bloom. Thank you Heatherwood!

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