Tag Archives: Heatherwood

Heatherwood Fall Colors #1

Leave a reply

Oribe Japanese Lantern
Heatherwood Fall

The Oribe guide post lantern leads one to a quite place dedicated to a tea ceremony. The form was created by Lord Furuta Oribe (1544-1615). Lord Oribe was a famous tea master who practiced the Sukiya way of life. In our Heatherwood Japanese garden, the Oribe marks a wash basin for one to wash their hands prior to a tea ceremony. At this point, Heatherwood deviates from a traditional Japanese garden. Instead of a tea house, we have a lounging area with Adirondack chairs were we frequently have a glass of wine instead of a cup of tea.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Harbinger of a Beautiful Day

Leave a reply

Cherry Tree Silhouette Against Early Morning Sunrise
Heatherwood Fall

As I watched the sun rising, the cloudy sky turned a brilliant yellow orange. I just knew it was going to be a crisp beautiful autumn day. As soon as it got light enough, I grabbed my camera and went out to try to capture a feeling of the changing colors in our Heatherwood garden. I will follow up with some of the color I witnessed in my next several posts.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Early Morning Sunrise

Leave a reply

Sunrise on Southern Ridge
Heatherwood

As the sun rises over the eastern hills, these lenticular clouds lit up like they were on fire. A glorious fall day was on its way.

I saw the sun rising to the east as these clouds were moving in from the west. I quickly grabbed my camera with a long telephoto then stood and waited until the clouds moved over the trees on the southern hill crest. A few seconds later the clouds broke up and the sun rose above the western hills. The moment was gone.

It pays to have a camera with the right lens ready when the moment arises. I typically have 3 cameras with different lenses ready most of the time.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

A Little Brightness for the Day

Leave a reply

Yellow Rose
Heatherwood Rose Garden

Our rose garden is still full of color. However, most of the blooms are past their prime and are a little tattered. It is hard to find a full crisp fresh rose without a few defects in the petals. So with my macros, my focus is on color, shape, and lines. I am continuing to work with creating “softness” with some of my rose images. I combined two images, one in focus, and one out of focus and blended them together to achieve the above result.

So here’s a little brightness for your day! There is always something in the world to celebrate.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Soft

Leave a reply

“Soft Beauty”
Heatherwood Rose Garden

As I was photographing in our rose garden, I came across these two roses snuggled together. I remember thinking, “How soft and peaceful.” In post processing I tried to enhance that feeling.

There are so many interesting things to focus on in our Heatherwood garden. I have a difficult time really working a specific image since there are so many other distractions all around me. I tend to hop from one flower to another flower, vignette, or view constantly. When doing so, I tend to fall into a “photo-snapping” mentality and loose my contemplative creativity. I really need to work on this.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Blue Skies and Green Grass

Leave a reply

“Future SW View Area”
Heatherwood

After 3 weeks of smoke-filled skies and hazardous air quality warnings, blue skies finally emerged. The local and other western state wild fires had filled our little place of peace with a heavy layer of smoke. It was hard to spend much time outside without a burning sensation in my lungs. Finally a strong breeze pushed the smoke out of †he valley. It felt so good to walk around our garden and breath fresh clean air.

The point where this image is taken is the future site of a small outdoor room/sitting area from which we can hide and enjoy a peaceful view of our garden, house, and ridge above. The lawn area will be closed in with shrubs and small trees providing a private shady area for a cozy bench. It will be a peaceful area to take an afternoon break in the shade and enjoy the scene above. Planning for the future keeps my imagination going.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

Hmmmmm

Leave a reply

“Hummingbird and Bee Balm”
Heatherwood Meadow

One of my favorite memories of our garden in Eastern Pennsylvania was watching hummingbirds flicker from bloom to bloom in our patch of red bee balm (Monarda). Having a grouping of bee balm in our Eastern Washington Heatherwood perennial meadow was a priority. We planted about 6 plants and sure enough, bees and hummingbirds flocked to sample the sweet nectar.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

What I Am Trying to Achieve (Continued)

Leave a reply

“Lower Waterfall in Early Morning Sun”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Continuing from my prior post, this image illustrates the design opportunities that we have to create my vision for the stream, waterfall, and pond. We have laid the foundation for the stream’s surrounding areas with a few conifer trees and shrubs. To compliment these, we need to add contrasting shapes and textures along with a lot of ground cover. I hope to achieve this with interesting evergreen and deciduous shrubs and a few more deciduous trees. I am looking also for fast-growing ground covers to keep the bark in place. When we have a strong wind, the surrounding bark is blown into the stream and pond, causing quite a mess and a lot of maintenance work. While adding framing plantings, we need to make sure that we allow “windows” for morning and afternoon sun to highlight the flowing waterfalls. Plant placement will be critical.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

What I Am Trying to Achieve

Leave a reply

“Japanese Maple & Waterfall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

My vision of our Heatherwood Japanese Garden stream and waterfall is to have the stream encased by green trees, spreading evergreen shrubs, and ground covers flowing over the stream edges. I want to create a feeling that the stream and surrounding plants and rocks are a single complementary element. In this image, the Japanese Maple flows into the stream. What is missing is something to cover the ground beneath the maple that will spread over the rocks.

Over the past year I have been gazing over the stream to define the “vignette” that I am looking for. I feel that I am ready to start moving forward. We are currently in the planning process to develop the specific plant selection for next year’s Heatherwood project. The stream bed and surrounding area will be our top priority.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1

A Start

Leave a reply

“Yukimi and Waterfall”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

In the summer of 2019 we built a stream, waterfall, and pond for our Japanese Garden. We also added several Japanese lanterns and small trees. This year we added a little ground cover. Our vision is to have the pond and stream lined with lush evergreen shrubs, trees, ground cover, and textured perennials that will cascade over the stream and pond’s edge. Additional trees will be planted to create a shaded environment. Time, a little work, and patience along with nature’s care is all that it will take to fulfill our vision. Our enjoyment will be to watch it evolve over time.

Related Images:

200507_LongExp_WtrFall__Kotoji 200506_LongExp_WtrFall_1