Forests
A mixed forest of the large local species, both conifer and deciduous, surrounds the Kapowsin house.
Specimens of three evergreen species reach over 150 feet.
Douglas firs prefer the well-drained steep slopes on the property.
Hemlocks (above) and cedars (left) can tolerate the wetter conditions by the creeks. These old growth trees tower above the mature second growth forest around them.
The first branches on the larger firs are fifty feet from the ground.
Younger hemlocks grow on the narrow banks of Morgan Creek.
Cedars have the fattest trunks on the property.
Bigleaf maple, alder, and cottonwood are interspersed among the evergreens.
A curious phenomenon sometimes occurs when a falling tree knocks over a young neighbor but doesn't kill it. The bent-over saplings can curve in its reach for sunlight. This cedar must have had quite a struggle to get vertical, while the dogwood-douglas fir pair sent upright shoots from their graceful arches.
I used these three trees to make a native woods bench. The back arches are the fir (top) and dogwood, while the cedar S is the front. The armrest was cut from a hemlock that experienced a similar fate. All four trees grew within thirty feet of each other.
The bench moved to a native plants section of the Enumclaw garden. I added a hollow madrona log to the armrest.