Zafiro, Valley Cushion, and Red/Yellow Twig Dogwoods
Heatherwood, Winter
The combination of evergreens, ornamental grasses, and deciduous shrubs provide winter color and contrast to our Heatherwood garden. The blue, tight needled, Zafiro blue spruce and the green Valley Cushion mugo pine coupled with the yellow and red twig dogwoods and beige ornamental grasses create a colorful and textured contrast to this little vignette.
Midwinter Fire Dogwoods
Heatherwood, South Bed
The south planting bed separates Heatherwood from our neighbor’s yard. To maintain our neighbor’s view of the surrounding hills, we have planted a combination of various dogwood shrubs and ornamental grasses. The midwinter fire dogwoods provide an orange highlight along the border. They are grouped together with other yellow and yellow twig dogwoods. Together with the ornamental grasses, they provide both our neighbor and ourselves an attractive winter scene.
Red and Yellow Twig Dogwoods
Heatherwood Woodland Garden
Today I took a two hour stroll through our garden with my camera. With one month left in winter, I decided to focus on the winter garden highlights throughout Heatherwood. Throughout the woodland area we have planted red and yellow twig dogwoods. They provide an understory of winter color. Winterberry and mahonia (not show in the above image) provide additional winter color in other spots in the woodland.
Color in the Woodland
Heatherwood Woodland Garden
Heatherwood’s woodland is slowly maturing. Four years ago this area was a grass covered lawn. We first started converting the lawn by removing the grass and planting about 30 trees. Some were tall canopy trees others were understory trees. We then started adding shrubs and ground covers. Now the woodland is starting to take shape.
Throughout the woodland garden area, we added deciduous shrubs and trees that are characterized by their winter color. This scene is highlighted by the reds and yellows of red and yellow twig dogwoods and white bark of viburnums and redbuds framed by the bronze leaves of a scarlet oak. At the bend of the garden path sits an Adirondack settee, one of our favorite spots for a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon sip of wine.
“Mary’s Bright & Shiny Garden”
Heatherwood, Early Spring
Our Heatherwood garden is the least interesting at this point of winter’s transition to spring. All the grasses and perennials have been trimmed back. New growth is waiting for the warmth of spring to sprout up. Typically, this garden patch between the cherry trees and yellow twig dogwoods is full of color and textures. We will just have to wait for about a month for the new growth and blooms to emerge into Heatherwood’s spring beauty.
“Yellow and Red Twig Dogwoods”
Heatherwood Winter
Friday morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow. By Saturday afternoon the snow had melted. The sun came out and the winter colors beamed.
“Yellow and Red Twig Dogwoods”
Heatherwood Winter
Late afternoon sun spreads a warm glow across our winter Heatherwood garden. The bright yellows and reds of the yellow and red twig dogwoods are the stars of this image. The golden grasses provide a layer of contrast with the red twigs as the blue spruces in the background add a little color contrast.
“Yellow Twig and Others”
Heatherwood Winter Garden
Winter interest is not just color. The yellow twig dogwood blends into the winter colors of the Russian sage, yarrow, and panicle hydrangeas. The soft textures of the Russian sage provides a gentle foreground as the yellow branches of the dogwood contrast with seed heads of the yarrow and hydrangeas and the stems of spent daisies. Winter walks are always full of little discoveries.
“Daffies and Yellow Twig”
Heatherwood Woodland Garden
It is easy to become focused on looking up at all the trees when walking through a woodland. However, there is so much interest looking down at the ground level as well. We are trying to replicate this in our Heatherwood garden. We have planted about 25 various trees in our woodland garden area. Tall-growing standard maples and birches will provide the basic shade for the understory redbuds, dogwoods, and Japanese maples. We are now gradually filling in the middle and ground tier of vegetation. For the mid-tier we have yellow and red twig dogwoods, various viburnums, winterberries, buckthorns, beauty berries, ornamental grasses, barberries, and other shrubs. This year we hope to add a few hardy rhododendrons. For ground-level interest we currently have only a few spring bulbs. This year we will add Oregon grape and other low growing plants in addition to more bulbs.