Tag Archives: Spring

Scolopendrifolium

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Fingerleaf Japanese Maple and Yukimi Lantern
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Scolopendrifolium … that is a mouthful! I would just rather call it a ‘Fingerleaf’ Japanese maple. This is one of my favorite little scenes in Heatherwood. It is what we see as we relax in our Adirondack chairs by the pond. It is a great place to have a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or just sit and enjoy nature and the sound of the falling water.

Tiny leaves are just emerging on the Scolopendrifolium as it starts to reach over the Yukimi lantern. We are training the maple to provide a gentle canopy over the lantern. Just give us 3-4 more years.

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Spring Blooms

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Akebono Cherry in Spring Glory
Heatherwood Spring

As the weeping cherries fade the Akebono cherries reach their peak. This is the first year that we have had a full bloom on our Akebono cherries. We planted them three years ago. They are already making their presence known in our garden.

Leaves are just starting to emerge on the maple, tulip treee, and plum ash in the background. This year we are planning on planting several additional trees to fill in the empty spots.

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It Is the Time of the Year…

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Path of Learning
Heatherwood Spring

It is the time of the year when something is changing every day. I have a difficult time keeping up with all the changes. This week, the pink ground phlox is reaching its peak as the blossoms of our weeping cherry are fading. Each year the plants cover more and more of the ground and the shrubs and trees grow. Just 5 years ago this was a grass hillside.

Our garden path curves up around the stepping stones of the path to never-ending learning.

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Remnants of Winter Color

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Midwinter Fire Dogwoods
Heatherwood Early Spring

Even in early April, the bright winter colors of our Midwinter Fire, Red-twig, and Yellow-twig dogwoods highlight our garden. Soon, leaves will be sprouting and subdue the bright colors of the twig bark. Before too much new grow starts, I will need to do selective pruning to trim out the older faded branches and make room for the bright new stems. This will keep me busy until we start planting later this month.

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After Spring Cleaning

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Lower Yard and Meadow
Heatherwood Spring

The meadow looks bare after the spring clean-up. We were able to get the grasses and perennials cut back to make room for the new growth as the first week of spring greeted us. Our irrigation water will be turned on the first week of April. As soon as we check it out, we will start transplanting several of our existing shrubs and perennials to create the right space for this year’s new additions. Our new plants and trees will arrive the middle of April. Then the real work begins as we plant all of our new garden additions. April will be a busy month!

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Cornelian Cherry Abstract

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Cornelian Cherry Dogwood Abstract
Heatherwood Spring

Here is another abstract illustrating just how cloudy my mind gets at times. It feels good to just take a break from making standard images. The idea for this image came as I was looking for a good photo for our Cornelian cherry dogwood in bloom. I had one that was just so-so that provided a nice contrast of the yellow blooms against a dark blue spruce in the shade. I also had an interesting multi exposure abstract of the blooms of the dogwood. I put them together creating the above image. Magic!

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Happy Easter

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Daffodils in Bloom
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove

Today is a day to take the time to give thanks for the wonderful world that our Lord has given us. It is a special gift to be able to enjoy our families, friends, and the world surrounding us. We are grateful to be able to share this little part of our personal Eden with family members on this special day. Happy Easter!

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Late Fall vs Early Spring

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Woodland Path in Late Fall

Woodland Path in Early Spring

I love the four seasons. Above is one of the reasons. In early spring the red buds are bursting and the daffodils are blooming. Leaves on the woodland maples are just starting to emerge. Six months later, the leaves on the red buds have dropped and the leaves on the maples have turned brown and are just starting to drop. The foliage on the perennials have turned brown and are starting to die back. As winter moves in, the branches of the red and yellow twig dogwoods along with the red winterberries will provide winter color to the woodland.

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Experimentation & Practice

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‘Color Infrared Practice’
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I have been practicing infrared photography in preparation for an upcoming photography workshop in South Dakota’s Badlands. All of my previous infrared (IR) work has been in monochrome. I thought I would play around with a little color IR processing as a change of pace. This image was created using a color IR filter which adds a yellow/orange tint to elements that reflect IR and a blue tint to elements that absorb IR.

The jury is still out regarding the color processing.

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