Tag Archives: Yakima Arboretum

The Painter

The Painter
Yakima Arboretum, WA

On one of my autumn walks in the Arboretum, I saw this artist painting a colorful image in the maple grove. I paused and thought how relaxing and enjoyable it would be to just sit back, observe the world around me and slowly sketch an image of what I was feeling. So many times I see something that really grabs me and just pause and gaze. After a few minutes, I may pull up my camera and try to create an image that will represent what I see and am feeling. Then I quickly move on. It seldom occurs to me to stop and become one with the surroundings, then slowly create an image, or set of images, that will better represent what I have become immersed in.

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Approaching Its First Winter

New Winter Garden in Autumn
Yakima Arboretum, Yakima, WA

In the spring of 2022, the Yakima Arboretum selected a Winter Garden for its first Master Plan project to be implemented. The project was conceptualized and designed by Epiklar Landscaping during the remaining part of the year. It was funded by Arboretum membership donations. Elegant Landscaping and Pendleton Excavating constructed the hardscaping early in the spring of 2023. A group of Arboretum volunteers then completed the planting and mulching. Volunteers continue to provide the new garden’s maintenance.

The new garden is establishing itself and preparing for its first winter. It will look a little bare for the first couple of years. Additional planting will be added as the first plants establish themselves. By the garden’s third year, the plants will begin their more rapid growth. By the fourth/fifth year, the garden’s basic form will be established.

Developing a garden takes time. Watching a garden mature is an enjoyable experience. It is a continuous learning experience. Some plantings do well; others do not. Part of the Arboretum’s mission is to pass this knowledge on for others to enjoy and learn how they can develop their own gardens.

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I don’t know what it is, but it’s sure pretty.

“Ground Cover ?”
Yakima Area Arboretum, WA

Meandering along in the Yakima Arboretum Japanese garden, I looked down and saw this stringy ground cover. It was full of oranges, purples, greens, yellows, and turquoise colors. I don’t have any idea of what kind of ground cover it is, but I really need to get some for our Heatherwood garden.

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Change of Pace

“Japanese Garden”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

Today’s post moves away from Heatherwood to the Yakima Area Arboretum. Almost all of my recent photography work has been in our Heatherwood garden. I feel like I need a little change. Reviewing this week’s “Nature TTL” web site, I noticed the weekly challenge to be wide-angle images. It has been over a year since I created my last infrared images in the Palouse. So I gave myself the assignment to go to our local arboretum and photograph wide-angle infrared scenes. I quickly noticed how “out of practice” I was. I had to focus much harder on managing contrasts between tones, highlights and shadows, as well as details. Critiquing my work, I feel it was about a 3 on a scale of 10. But that is OK … it just means that I need to practice more! More to follow on future posts …

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Always Looking for New Ideas

“White and Pink Dogwoods”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

I enjoy walking through gardens and arboretums enjoying their beauty and creative insights. This springtime vignette of contrasting white and pink dogwoods at the Yakima Arboretum triggered my thoughts for future Heatherwood additions. In our garden we currently have seven white dogwoods and two pink dogwoods, all blooming at different times. The whites and the pinks are planted in different parts of the garden. On my future planting list, I will add a few new pink dogwoods to complement the whites.

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Woodland in Progress

“Don Egolf Redbuds”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden

Last spring we planted nine redbuds as part of our new Woodland Garden. The blooms were gone at the time we planted them. This spring they erupted in bright pink buds. It will take years for this part of the garden to mature. But. we look forward to seeing it evolve over the years to come. As a comparison, the following image from the Yakima Arboretum is what we may expect these young redbuds to mature into.

“Mature Redbud in Spring Glory”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

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A Different View

“Mary’s Perspective”
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

This image is Mary’s view for my previous post. She sees the world through “bright and shiny” lenses, hence the beautiful tones of aqua and yellow. The following is her perspective:

Extraordinary

Sometimes reality just doesn’t do it for me.
I want to see a world as I think it should be
and, maybe, not exactly as it is.

One of my favorite colors is teal or almost any
combination of blue and green.  Those colors conjure
both seawater and plants, some of the real necessities for life.

So why not make the tree leaves teal?
It’s true that they don’t usually come in that exact shade.  
I know that, but just once I want this tree to be how I want it to be.

Thank you for playing around with the color
and making blue/green leaves and warm, yellow light peeking through.
It’s a little thing and maybe a trick, but I think it is beautiful. 

For a few moments, this tree is just a little bit extraordinary. 

Mary Dahlin Graf

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Something a Little Different

Japanese Garden Entryway Gate
Yakima Area Arboretum, Washington

It was hot (>95F) and it felt good standing in the shade for a moment. Why did I take this image? I was drawn to the line of wisteria and the bright blue sky. It was another good opportunity for infrared photography to pull out the bright wisteria foliage and highlight the brilliant blue sky of a summer day in Eastern Washington.

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