Tag Archives: snow

First Real Snowfall of the Season

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“Almost Winter”
Heatherwood

Yesterday we got our first real snowfall of the season. When we got up, 4-5 inches of snow covered the ground. It was beautiful.

It is great to be retired. Instead of shoveling out the car to go to work, I grabbed my camera and strolled through the garden making tracks in the pristine layer of snow. It was a much nicer way to start the day. Snow plowing could wait until I got finished enjoying the fresh snow.

I purposefully set out to do my best to create images that represent the beauty of a winter garden. I focused on shapes, forms, residual color, and contrasts. Hopefully I was able to create enough images for a winter garden chapter in by annual Heatherwood Highlights book.

Today’s image focus is shapes and forms, contrasts of the white snow on the evergreens, and the contrast of a lush garden environment against the barren background hill. The scene is one of my favorite views year around from our garden.

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Snow Contrast

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“Snow Dusted”
Heatherwood Meadow

A light dusting of snow amplifies the contrast of textures in our garden’s meadow. The shapes of the spent flowers and leaves pop out. The oranges, golds, and browns of the grasses are framed by the white of the snow dusting. The bright green of the lawn grass in hidden providing a contrast to the meadow areas.

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Here and Gone

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“First Snowfall of the Season”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I woke up on Election Day to see a few snowflakes fall. I sat in my office gazing out the window watching the snow start to collect on the ground. I had a quick cup of coffee, grabbed my camera, and took a jaunt in the garden. The snow continued to fall for about 30 minutes while I was outside. By the time I finished it had already started to melt. After a bowl of cereal, I looked outside and the snow was gone.

Even a little dusting of snow changes the feeling of the garden. Some plants really pop out, while other small ground covers become quickly hidden. I enjoy trying to catch small changes in the garden. They brighten my days!

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A Little Brightness

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“Neighbor’s Willow”
Heatherwood View

Our neighbor’s willow tree brightens my day. Most mornings while I am waiting for my early morning coffee to brew, I walk to our living room window and look over our garden and up the hillside above. This willow always draws my gaze. Even on a dreary early spring day, the tree’s brightness is a harbinger of a good day ahead. Thank You!

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What?

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“Daffies in Snow”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

What is going on? A week ago it was beautiful spring weather. Spring buds were bursting open. This week it snowed. The snow melted, then it snowed again. It started to melt once more. Now the forecast is for more snow.

I think nature is trying to tell me that it is not time to plant yet. This crazy week has caused us to delay our spring planting for a week. It is hard to adjust the irrigation sprinkler system when the lines and drippers are covered with snow.

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Spring or Winter?

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“Spring Snowfall and Cherry Blossoms”
Heatherwood Spring

Just when I was getting ready to go outside and work in the garden, the skies darkened and this funny white stuff started to fall again. This time it was with big snowflakes. Is it spring or is it winter? This flash of winter-like weather has many orchardists in our area very worried. It is occurring at a time when the new buds are emerging. They are cautiously checking for any frost damage potential to this year’s crop. More snow and below freezing is forecast for the balance of the week. I am considering delaying the start date for my spring planting for a week or so.

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Change in Plans!

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“Spring Snow Dusting on Daffodils”
Heatherwood Spring

My plans for the day were to get down on my hands and knees and adjust our irrigation sprinklers. Surprise, not today! The snow is scheduled to turn to rain this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow we will be able to work on the sprinklers. Our plants for our spring project arrive on Friday. We hope to start planting next Monday!

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Winter Beauty – 8

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“Limelight Hydrangea and Yellow -Twig Dogwood”
Heatherwoood Winter

One of my favorite winter vignettes in the garden is the combination of the spent hydrangea flower heads and the yellow branches of the yellow-twig dogwood along the cherry allee. In the summer the view is quite different with the white flowers of the limelight hydrangeas contrasting with the bright green leaves of the yellow-twig dogwoods. Multi-season interest is one of the highlights of Heatherwood.

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Winter Beauty – 7

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“Wireless Zelkova and Meadow”
Heatherwood Winter

This tree is one of a pair of Wireless Zelkovas that frame a neck of grass which connects two of our larger lawn areas. This one anchors the meadow, and its twin sister anchors the crabapple grove. Together, some day in the future, they will form an arch over the lawn path.

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Winter Beauty – 6

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“Stick Trees”
Heatherwood Winter

Sometimes beauty is in simple peace. This is the feeling that I had as I stood at the entrance to the center circle planting area of our lower garden. The simple forms of the grasses aligning the path and the background trees in our and our neighbor’s gardens beckoned me to walk in and enjoy the peaceful setting.

Here’s the story behind the image’s title, “Stick Trees.” A very close friend of ours had spent all her early years in the Northwest where the natural vegetation is an abundance of tall beautiful evergreens. She got married and the first thing she and her husband did was to move to a woodland area in New Jersey in the middle of winter. When they arrived, she was very disappointed as she exclaimed that their woodland area was only “stick trees”. They did not stay there very long and soon moved back to Seattle and the tall evergreens, where they have happily lived ever after.

Whenever I see a grouping of deciduous trees without their leaves, I think of her.

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