Tag Archives: winter

Just a Peek

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“View Through Rock Garden”
Heatherwood Winter

As I have commented several times before, every time I walk through our garden I see something from a different perspective. Many of the views through Heatherwood have been planned as part of the design. The one above is an unplanned gift, looking through the lower rock garden northwest to the surrounding hills and our neighbor’s cherry orchard.

We have several such views since our newly planted trees are relatively small. Over the years, the tree canopies will grow and block many of these “peek” views. In turn, they will frame and highlight other views. The garden will continuously change bringing new surprises. Exciting!

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Red Witch Hazel

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“Diane Witch Hazel”
Heatherwood Winter

Last spring we planted six small witch hazels, 3 red (Diane) and 3 orange (Jelena). The Jelena (shown in my 9 Feb posting) was the first to bloom. The Diane started to bloom about a week earlier. The blooms on both are now faded. The plants are small, only 12 to 18 inches tall. They are forming the start of an understory of shrubs for one of our planting areas in the lower Heatherwood garden. We are searching to add a yellow species to fill out the witch hazel color template: red, orange, and yellow.

As the witch hazels mature, they will provide a beautiful burst of mid-winter color in the garden. The will act as the harbinger of the coming spring.

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Wabi-Sabi

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Spent Rose
Heatherwood Winter

Nothing is perfect … nothing is permanent … nothing is complete. Wabi-sabi is a characteristic concept of our Heatherwood garden. I find beauty in every aspect of imperfection throughout our garden. This spent rose was a beautiful red flower in its prime. The summer flower’s fleeting beauty transitioned to these stems and rose hips in the fall and winter. In nature the hips would release the seeds to the ground. Its life is incomplete as the seeds create new plants.

I admire the beauty of this rose stalk and hips every day as I sit and read and look out our family room window. They fascinate me. I do not have the heart or desire to prune the winter roses to make them look neat. I just simply enjoy them as they are. There is plenty of time to prune the roses before the spring growth.

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On a Crisp Winter’s Morning …

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“Neighbor’s Cherry Tree”
Heatherwood Winter

On a crisp winter’s morning, I gaze out over the Heatherwood landscape. I look over our immediate landscape to the hills surrounding our grounds. My eyes stop and become fixated on our neighbor’s beautiful cherry tree. It is the last standing memory of a bygone cherry orchard of the past.

We frequently walk by the tree on the way to pick up the mail. We stop and admire the tree throughout the year. Zelda, our neighbor’s Black Labrador, frequently greets us yearning for a pet.

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Snow, Winter Color, and Kotoji

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“Kotoji in Winter”
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

The Kotoji Japanese lantern is probably the most frequent single element that I have photographed in our Heatherwood Japanese Garden. It sits in a prominent spot overlooking the stream and waterfalls. One leg is in the stream while the other sits solidly on land. From every angle it seems to be a sentinel guarding the stream and pond below. The Kotoji can be seen from multiple places around the Japanese garden as well as as from the lower Heatherwood meadow and garden. Even in winter it is a dominant focal point in the landscape. At night its internal light shines through the lantern openings while an external flood lamp highlights the lantern and stream.

Many mornings we have started the day enjoying a cup of coffee overlooking the Kotoji from the “Perch” above. In the late afternoon/early evening we have sat below looking up over the pond and waterfalls to the Kotoji as we sip a glass of wine toasting to another beautiful day.

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Winter Beauty

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Snow-covered Hydrangeas
Heatherwood Winter

I don’t know which I enjoy the most: the snow-covered panicle hydrangeas in winter or the profuse white blooms in the summer. Each conveys a different feeling: one a quiet, peaceful, solemn feeling, the other a robust splurge of brightness. The more I think about it, the easier the answer is. I like both for the enjoyment they bring.

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Snowing Again

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“Snowing in Our Rock Garden”
Heatherwood Winter

We continue to get a little more snow. It is light enough not to incur any real inconvenience. Even though I anxiously anticipate the spring bloom, I appreciate the beauty of the winter season, especially with a blanket of fresh snow. Each season has its unique beauty. All I have to do is to look out our windows to discover little vignettes that highlight our garden.

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More Winter Color

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Berginia and Yellow Twig Dogwood
Heatherwood Winter

The deep reddish purple winter color of the bergenia provides a striking contrast to the yellow winter color of the yellow twig dogwood. In the spring the Bergenia turns to a deep green as it prepares for its deep pink flowers. Spring brings green leaves and white delicate flowers to the dogwood. Over time we plan to add various ground covers to provide additional color and texture contrasts.

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Winter Color

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Dwarf Blue Spruce and Ice Plant
Heatherwood Winter

We are now in the middle of winter. The temperatures are down in the 20’s and it is snowing again. My mind goes back to last weekend and the almost tropical weather (in the 40’s & 50’s) we were having. We had just completed marking out locations for trees and shrubs that we plan to add to the Japanese-style segment of the garden. We are ordering plants now for our spring project. Planting should start in about another month and a half.

Winter color is scattered across various parts of our Heatherwood garden. In one corner of the garden, we have a small planting area of dwarf conifers. Between the conifers we have added various ground covers. This image shows the contrasting colors of the dwarf blue spruce and the red winter color of the ice plants. In the spring, the ice plants turn to a light yellow-green tone providing a different striking contrast to the spruce’s blue.

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First Bloom of the Year

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Jelena Witch Hazel
Heatherwood Winter

Just before the arctic blast is suppose to hit us, our witch hazels are blooming. Over the years, witch hazels have been the harbinger of the coming spring in our winter gardens. We planted our first witch hazels in our Woodinville, WA garden. They were planted them later in the spring after their blooms had been replaced by leaves. I didn’t know what to expect the next winter, but in late January we were pleasantly surprised by the little fragile blooms. When we lived in the Philadelphia area, we frequently made the adventure down to Longwood Gardens to see and photograph the displays of large (10 foot) yellow, orange, and red witch hazels. Here at Heatherwood, we planted six Diane and Jelena witch hazels last spring and are enjoying their first winter bloom now. Our little guys are only 12-18 inches tall. They look a little lonely in the large open planting areas. Looking back on the Longwood Garden specimens, I can visualize the beauty in which they will grace our winter garden as they mature.

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