Tag Archives: winter

Start of Spring Cleanup

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Winter Color
Heatherwood Lower Garden

Warm weather over the weekend melted most of the snow. The winter colors of the garden add highlights throughout. We have enjoyed them through the season. Now it is time to start our winter/spring cleanup. Out come the pruning shears and hedge trimmers to cut back the grasses, perennials, and some of the deciduous shrubs. Cutting back the plants now will give them a head start to begin their spring growth. Soon, we will be starting our 2015 landscape project for our southwest corner.

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Goodbye … I hope

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Snow on the Shrubs
Heatherwood Winter

During the last couple of weeks we have had three snowfalls. Each one has been fairly light. They have rapidly melted as the temperatures have been in the mid 40’s. Next week the forecast is to be in the mid 50’s. I hope it will be goodbye to the snow for this season.

We will be starting our spring cleanup in our Heatherwood garden next week with pruning our red & yellow twig dogwoods and nine bark shrubs and cutting back our grasses and perennials. By mid-March, I hope to be carving out new paths and adding berms in the southwest portion of the property. My vision is to create a meandering path through a conifer display garden. The new plantings are targeted to begin in mid April when the irrigation is turned on. It will be a busy spring!

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Ground Covers Add Winter Color

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Winter Ground Covers
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

A touch of frost highlight these winter ground covers. These three ground covers add a little winter flare to the garden. The foreground Siberian Cypress changes from its summer grey-green to its winter bronze color. The Mahonia in the center adds red, oranges, and purples to its winter cloak. In the background, the Blue Rug juniper adds a cool blue to the scene. Winter is not dull in Heatherwood.

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Winter Colors, Textures, and Shapes

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Plethora of Color, Textures, and Shapes
Heatherwood Winter Garden

This small vignette in the lower garden has a little bit of everything. Russian sage and spent rudbeckia display blue and grey with a hint of brown as well as provide fine and course textures. Red twig, yellow twig, and Midwinter Fire dogwoods show a blast of color and texture. The grasses in the background are a break in the color and provide a contrast in form and texture with their flowing seed heads. The vertical conifer trees frame the image with varying textures and yellow, green, and blue colors. The dark green Mugo Pine anchors the center of the image and provides a sharp contrast in color against the dogwoods.

Later this winter the Russian sage, dogwoods, rudbeckia and grasses will all be cut back. In spring, new growth will emerge providing a fresh pallet of color, texture, and form.

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Planning for 2025

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Southwest Corner
Heatherwood Winter

We are almost three weeks into the new year, and we have been busy planning our spring project for Heatherwood. Over the last several years we have been adding several trees and shrubs in the lower southwest corner of the garden. Last year we removed several Green Giant arborvitae to make room for additional conifers. This year we have initiated planning to finish the area off with more conifers, Japanese maples, ground covers, and a meandering path. (Note the painted dashes that outline the future path.) Several of the grasses will be transplanted throughout other parts of the garden. This project will complete the base structure of our Heatherwood garden. A garden is never finished. Future projects will always be added to create additional highlights and incorporate new ideas.

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Brrr, It’s Cold Outside

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Burr Oak & Cranberry Viburnum
Heatherwood Winter

The sight of a leafless Burr Oak sends a winter chill through my spine. Of course the below freezing temperatures help a bit as well. The combination of the berries on the Cranberry Viburnum and the stark structure and bark of the oak create an interesting winter attraction in our Heatherwood garden. Many of our tree and shrub selections have been made to create a four season interest in the garden. Winter strolls are always a delight.

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New Year Snow

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Yukimi in Snow
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

A light snow turns Heatherwood into a winter wonderland. A light one-inch snow provided a garden treat on New Years Day. The snow was wet sticking to leaves and branches, creating several beautiful vignettes through the garden. I had a list of “to do’s” that I had set up to accomplish on New Years. But, I couldn’t pass the opportunity to walk though the garden with my camera. Those “to do’s” will just have to wait.

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Who Says a Garden in Winter Doesn’t Have Color?

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Yellow, Blue, and Green
Heatherwood in Winter

I took my last stroll of 2024 through our Heatherwood garden this morning. Sunrays filtered through the cloudy sky. Colors of the garden popped out. I started out for just a short stroll in the cool winter day (34 degrees). Two hours later I came in. Where did the time go? I got lost in the winter color and textures. It was a great way to start the day!

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Winter Color

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Winter Color in First Snow
Heatherwood

We just returned from a two week break in Palm Desert where the temperatures were in the high 70’s and low 80’s. We were welcomed by a little snow fall. It was a great way to experience a quick change of seasons.

Heatherwood is created to have color throughout the four seasons. In this scene, the berries of a cranberry viburnum provide a bright orange. The leaves of a sawtooth oak create the bronze. A yellow twig dogwood contrasts with a blue spruce. Oak leaf hydrangeas add a little red to the scene. The beauty of our garden is a treat to return to, even in winter.

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