Sester’s Dwarf Blue Spruce & Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine
Heaterwood Spring
Many people experience April 15, tax day, as a rather gloomy day. I choose to view it as a day of opportunity. An early spring day is always an opportunity to step back and appreciate the wonderful world around us. Spring is a time of emerging life, new growth, bursting color and new opportunities to experience the wonders of life.
Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine & Sester’s Dwarf Blue Spruce
Heatherwood Autumn
I woke up this morning and read the news headlines. My spirits were down in the dumps. To bring my spirits up, I started reviewing my images of our garden that I created earlier this week. I stopped when I saw the image above and started to contemplate. Here are two completely different species growing up side by side, complementing each other in complete harmony with the other trees and plants in the landscape around them. Why can’t we do the same?
“Chief Joseph and Sester’s Dwarf”
Heatherwood Winter
Today was a bright, breezy, and chilly winter day. The temperature did not get above freezing. We will be planting a Winter Garden at the Yakima Area Arboretum this spring. Many of the plants we have chosen for the Arboretum are ones that we have planted at Heatherwood. I am preparing educational material for the garden, starting by collecting images for the various plants that we will be planting at the Arboretum. What a better place to start than in my home garden. So off I went, all bundled up, with my camera to create some images. Because of the cold, I was planning on just staying out for a half hour. Three hours later Mary came out to check on me. I was able to make a walk around our whole Heatherwood garden collecting images of winter color and textures.
One element of a winter garden is contrasting colors of various conifers. The image above is one of the most interesting contrasts of yellow and blue. The bright yellow of the Chief Joseph lodgepole pine makes a striking contrast with the bright blue of the Sester’s Dwarf blue spruce. Both are now the same size and are slow growing. We are looking for them to grow up together over the years. While the Sester’s Dwarf retains its blue color throughout the year, the Chief Joseph will turn back to green for the summer. They are a great pair for the garden.