Tag Archives: Heatherwood

Spring Color #4

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Pink Flair Cherries in Late Afternoon
Heatherwood Spring

Nothing is more beautiful than late afternoon sunshine raking across our garden as a last hurrah on a cloudy day. Flowering cherries are the main subject again in our spring landscape. Eight Pink Flair cherries form an allee border for our perennial garden. As the trees mature, they will form a wall of color along the garden hillside.

These trees are a haven for spring nesting. Last year, I counted around a dozen nests. Robins are constantly fluttering about building new nests. Soon the allee will become a hatchery.

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Spring Color #3

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Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Heatherwood Spring

The Cornelian Cherry dogwood, star magnolias, and the forsythia are the first trees to display their blooms. They shortly follow the witch hazels in the sequence of color in our Heatherwood garden.

The first Cornelian Cherry dogwood that I discovered was in the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia. I had no idea what it was. When it broke out in bloom it lit up the whole end of the Arboretum. I had to wait fifteen years to have one of my own!

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Spring Color #2

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Okame Cherry
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Strolling in the Yakima Arboretum, I noticed the bright pink of the Okame cherries in the flowering cherry collection next to the Japanese Garden. I just had to have one for our Heatherwood garden. This one, still in its pot, has since found a spot in our Japanese garden area. It adds to our collection of Akebono, Pink Flair, Kawansan, and two unknown varieties. We now have 17 flowering cherries that brighten our spring garden.

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Spring Colors #1

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Blue Spruces, Flowering Plum, & Louie White Pine
Heatherwood Spring

Early spring has brought a plethora of color to our Heatherwood garden. I have been so busy working in the garden expanding a new conifer garden that I have not taken the time to photograph the evolving spring color. Over the next several posts, I will try to record some of the spring evolution in the garden.

This image shows the mid-morning sunlight exposing the flowering plum, two blue spruces, a Louie Eastern White Pine and an Ivory Halo red-twig dogwood. The pink and chartreuse provide a nice contrast to the blue spruces. This is one of the colorful vignettes that we see from our upper patio.

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Waiting for Spring

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Robin in Cherry Tree
Heatherwood Cherry Allee

I noticed this robin searching around for a place to build her nest. Our rows of eight trees have been a popular place for nesting. I counted nine old nests scattered on the trees. I can imagine what is going on in the robin’s mind. “Should I remodel one of the existing nests or build a new one from scratch?”

Spring is right around the corner, less than a week away!

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Taking Time to Enjoy While Working

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Multiple Late Winter Colors
Heatherwood Side Yard

We have been busy working over our lower southwest garden area. Our vision is to create a conifer and Japanese maple retreat. While working, I enjoy taking a break and walking around other parts of Heatherwood to enjoy the progress that we have made in the last five to six years. When I first moved in, this area was a lawn area with two Colorado blue spruces. Our pump house was slightly behind and between the two trees. Five years ago, we took out a big chunk of lawn and planted various conifers, shrubs, deciduous trees, and ground covers. They have matured to create a beautiful all season background for our side yard. Five years from now, I vision our southwest corner will be at a similar state of maturity.

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Spring Is Emerging …

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Jelena Witch Hazel
Heatherwood Late Winter

The witch hazels are the harbinger of spring in our garden. They are usually the first blooms of the year. Soon they will be followed by our Cornelian Cherry dogwood and the star magnolias. We have already seen tiny tips of the crocus and daffodils popping up from the ground. Spring is just two weeks away!

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Grasses are Cut and the Beds are Clean

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Lower Yard
Heatherwood Late Winter

We are making progress on our late-winter/early-spring yard cleanup. The grasses are cut, key shrubs pruned, and the beds are cleaned. Now I will be pruning our Japanese Maples and preparing for our 2025 spring project. Spring is a busy and beautiful time in our Heatherwood Eden.

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Here Comes Spring

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Blue Ice Arizona Cypress
Heatherwood SW Conifer Corner

I visualize this beautiful Arizona Cypress holding out its arms (branches) welcoming the upcoming spring. We have just three weeks until the first official day of spring. With the recent nice weather, we have made good progress in our late winter/early spring garden preparation. The ornamental grasses, perennials, and several shrubs have been trimmed back. Next week I will start pruning the Japanese maples.

Heatherwood’s southwest corner, where this Arizona Cypress is located, is our next major project. Next week we will start to carve out a meandering path, add berms, and place rocks to prepare the area for spring planting. Our target is to create a special place to enjoy specimen conifers and Japanese maples.

Spring is just around the corner!

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