Tag Archives: Spring

Happy Mother’s Day

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Crabapple Blossoms
Heatherwood Spring

Mother’s Day is synonymous with the full Spring bloom. In the areas that I have lived, Mother’s Day weekend is the time to start planting annuals. I can visualize Mom bending over on her hands and knees working in her garden.

Mother’s Day has always been a special Holiday for me. It’s been a time when I would do little things that brought a bright warm smile to Mom’s face. All of us kids would fuss over Mom and thank her for all that she did. We could have never asked for a more wonderful, warm, supportive, and loving mother. She was always there for us, no matter the situation. She was the balance in my life as I was growing up and also as I faced challenges throughout my adult life.

So on this special day, let’s all cherish all that our mother’s have given us. Reflect, be thankful, and give Mom all the love in our hearts.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom! My love is always with you!

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A Little Brightness

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Pinus cembra ‘Algonquin Pillar’
Heatherwood Spring

Today’s post is for my friends in the Northeast. From what I see in the news your are being hit with an Arctic blast with some temperatures below freezing and maybe even a little snow. It’s the first week of May … this is not suppose to happen. Today in Eastern Washington, we expect to see temperatures in the high 70’s. So I thought you would appreciate a little brightness and warmth.

This image is the tip of one of our speciality pine tree branches breaking out in new needles and cones. We have selected several non-common pine and spruce species to create a little evergreen grove on the southeast corner of our property. This little guy is showing off its spring glory. I look forward to watching as it matures through the season.

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Golden Hour

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“Selah Ridge Golden Hour”
Heatherwood Spring

This image was also taken from our view point shown in my 29 April post. From our “Perch” I look up and see history in front of me. Selah Ridge is part of the Yakima Folds running East and West. The rock outcroppings are part of the Columbia Basin basalt flows which occurred around 18 million years ago. Beneath the basalt there are layers of sandstone that once were part of the Pacific Ocean. The brown structure in the lower right is a piece of more recent history. It is part of the Naches-Selah irrigation canal built in the 1890’s. It still has a few years left until it will be torn down and replaced with a “modern” underground pipe. I will hate to see it go!

The day I created this image was a very unusual afternoon. It had been dark and cloudy for most of the day. Then around 5:00 PM the sun broke out and lit up the ridge in a golden orange-brown. The contrast between the warm orange ridge and the dark blue sky was breathtaking. There is always something interesting going on here at Heatherwood.

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Our Little Friend

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“Lacey and the Lilacs”
Heatherwood Spring

Our little friend, Lacey, loves to join us while we sit in our upper view point. She loves to explore the area around us. The water intrigues her. I just wait for her to plunge into the stream. She hasn’t gained enough courage yet. Birds are always flying about and settling on the small trees and waters edge. She is fascinated and tries to slowly sneak up on them. No such luck! Just watching her explore and play is entertainment as we enjoy the garden and countryside.

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View From Above #1

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Kotoji and Japanese Maples
Heatherwood Spring

This view of the Kotoji Japanese lantern and the spring-colored Japanese maples is just one of the several focal points that we can see from our view point shown in my previous posting. The afternoon sun makes the reds of the Japanese maples glow as well as highlights the Kotoji. Spring at Heatherwood is brilliant. A glass of red wine goes well with the red Japanese maples. Here’s a toast to Spring!

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Peaceful Hideaway

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“Hideaway”
Heatherwood

This is a secluded little alcove at the top of our Japanese garden. The embankment curves around the sitting area, blocking the view of the houses above. Trees have been planted to further seclude the Adirondack setee. The top of our stream and waterfall is tucked in behind and flows alongside the chair. From this view point, we can overlook our Japanese garden and stream as well as look beyond to the lower property. From here we can gaze above to view the Selah Bluffs and then beyond to see the Selah-Yakima gap.

It is a private and peaceful place to view the surrounding landscape, listen to the rushing water, and watch the birds flutter about. It is a wonderful place to start the day with a cup of coffee, end the afternoon with a glass of wine, or to just sit and be grateful for all that surrounds us.

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Patience Pays Off

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“Viburnum in Full Bloom”
Heatherwood Spring

Remember back in a previous post (March 22) I presented a viburnum that was just getting ready to bloom? I thought it would burst open the next day. I kept going out every day checking for its progress. Leaves started to come out, but nothing seemed to be happening with the blossom buds. Then last week, all of a sudden the whole plant burst open in bloom. Well it took almost 4 weeks for the viburnum to reach its full bloom. Patience pays off! One week later, most of the blooms have been blown off the plant. Oh well … It was beautiful!

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Sweet Blossoms

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Crabapple Blossoms
Yakima Arboretum, Washington

Walking around the Yakima Arboretum’s crabapple collection is a real treat. I made three trips there this Spring. One day I noticed a young lady walking around and taking closeup images of the crabapple blooms with her i-Pad. Her partner was patiently sitting on a bench waiting for her to finish. The next day I came back again and saw the same lady taking more photos with her i-Pad. And, her partner was sitting on the bench again. Beauty attracts photographers. If it weren’t for “social distancing” I would have asked her if she was just enjoying the beauty of the garden like I was, or was she doing some special project.

The beauty of the majestic ancient crabapples in the Yakima Arboretum has inspired me over the years. It is one of the largest crabapple collections in the country. Almost all of the trees are very old. Some are on their last leg. Over the years the Arboretum has not added new trees to take place of the ones which are past their healthy prime. This will be one of the challenges that the Arboretum will address in the new Master Plan. Anyway, the grove still inspires me to the point that I have decided to create a small crabapple grove of my own in the “lower 40” of Heatherwood. One dark pink crabapple was planted in the garden by the previous owner. It anchors the northeast corner of our house. This spring we will plant a white weeping cherry to complement it. On the “lower 40” we are planting a mini-collection of seven different crabapples to frame in our meadow area. Some are blooming now, so we can get a glimpse of what is to come in the years ahead.

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To All Us Bleeding Hearts

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“Bleeding Hearts”
Heatherwood

Here is a little bit of brightness for your day …

Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra) have always been one of my favorite spring flowers. It was one of Dad’s as well. I can remember when I was just a little tyke, Dad would grab me and take me out to see the first blooms. I can remember him planting the Bleeding Heart in our small garden at the “little house” up at the ranch. When we moved into the “City” (Selah, WA), we built a rock garden in the back yard by our patio. A Bleeding Heart was one of the first plants Dad and Mom planted.

After I was out on my own, it was many years before I planted my own Bleeding Heart. I planted one in our first house in Seattle. our house in Bothell, our house in Fairfax VA, our house in Kent, our house in Woodinville, and our house in Fountainville PA. We were in Fountainville for 17 years where our Bleeding Heart grew into a rather large plant. It provided a beautiful contrast among a bed of pachysandra under a blue atlas cedar. It was the highlight of the spring bloom in its own corner for Karen and me.

The first plant I planted when I moved back to Selah was the Bleeding Heart. I did not have a good shade location to plant it, so I planted it next to the house in a little corner between rhododendrons and sword ferns. It is making its home there, but it is a little hidden. As we finish our Japanese garden, I will find a place for it where it can shine.

Over the years, I have photographed our Bleeding Heart from many different perspectives. I have made several greeting cards using it as the subject. They always come in handy for that special greeting to someone that means very much to me.

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