Summer Color
Heatherwood Meadow
Heatherwood’s summer meadow is like a painter’s palette full color. The colors are brilliant and constantly changing. They blend into each other creating a vignette that reminds me of a Monet painting. My imagination wanders as I envision how Monet might view the scene.
Garden Meadow
Monet’s Perspective
Early Morning View Over Lower Garden
Heatherwood Summer
Today will be another hot one with the temperature forecast to reach 104 degrees. The early morning, around 7:00, is the most comfortable part of the day to be outside. I took the opportunity to stroll around the garden with my camera. This is the first scene that I encountered after I walked out to the upper yard. It was a great way to begin my morning walk.
Now it is time to put on my farmers straw hat and mow the yard.
Lower Meadow Area
Heatherwood Summer
The temperatures are in the mid-100’s. We are watering 24 hours per day to keep the garden healthy. The heat is taking its effect, but so far we have not lost too many plants. Even with the heat, the garden continues to put on its beautiful display of color. We try to get out in the more comfortable times of the day to enjoy its gift us.
Cherry Allee
Heatherwood Early Summer
Two weeks ago, I posted a similar image with the start of our perennial bloom. In the time that has passed since then, the whole Cherry Allee is full of summer blooms. As the summer progresses, some blooms will fade, others will take their place. The nickname for this perennial bed is “Bright and Shiny”. It fits its name.
Early Morning Glow
Heatherwood Japanese Garden
Nothing is better than an early morning stroll through the garden to start a new day. The early morning sunlight filters through the leaves of the deciduous trees and shrubs. It sparkles around the edges of the conifers. The garden bursts out in life. As I look east through the garden, I feel the gentle morning sun on my face. I take deep breaths and become one with the nature that surrounds me. Today is going to be a great day!!!
‘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.
‘Jeffrey Pine & Friends’
Heatherwood Late Summer
It was a nice morning to take a little stroll along the the southern part of our garden. The bright new yellow blooms of the solidago (golden rod) complement the fading rudbeckia to provide a nice contrast with the purple Russian sage and green grass and conifers. The Jeffrey pine with its 8-9 inch needles is the star of the show. We still have a lot of bright colors in the garden as the summer approaches its end.
‘Southeast Corner Rest Stop’
Heatherwood Summer
This quiet spot is in the southeast corner of our garden. We planted a set of various conifers and a few deciduous trees to provide a cosy corner to rest and view the lower section of Heatherwood. The corner is highlighted with several uncommon conifers that provide special interest as we sit and enjoy the sights.
In the spring we admire the blossoms from a field of daffodils and trees from our crabapple grove. In the summer we view our multicolored meadow as we gaze up to our house above. In the fall, splotches of yellow, orange, red, and purple of the fall foliage pepper the garden in front of us. During the winter, the green and yellow conifers dominate the view complemented by the red, yellow, and oranges of the red, yellow, and midwinter fire branches of the dogwood shrubs. It is a great place to just sit and enjoy the world around us.
‘Japanese Garden Waterfall in IR’
Heatherwood Summer
I am working hard to learn and experiment what makes an interesting infrared image. I look for contrasts that infrared will highlight. In this image the infrared pulls out the greens and yellows of the trees and shrubs surrounding the dark shade of the pond, rocks, and sky. The reflections from the water makes the stream flowing over the rocks and the ripples on the pond stand out.
“Dog Days of Summer”
Heatherwood Lower Yard
This week has been a scorcher with temperatures rising above 105 degrees! By 10 AM, the temperature reaches above 90 degrees. It is really too hot to do much of anything outside. But, it is a great time to create a few infrared images. I need to do a little IR photography practice as I prepare for a workshop in the Badlands of South Dakota in September.