Jacques Majorelle and his Blue Garden

Blue features are the most mysterious elements in a landscape.

Nowhere is this more true than in the magnificent ‘Majorelle Garden’ located in the heart of Marrakesh, Morocco. Originally created in the 1920’s by the French artist and gardener, Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962), this remarkable 12 acre haven has revolutionized the way we think of color in the garden. 

Majorelle was an avid plant collector and filled his botanical park, now open to the public, with exotic plant species from all over the world.  But the overriding feature in this hot and dry environment is Majorelle’s favorite color: a rich shade of cobalt blue. It embellishes buildings, pergolas, fountains and more.

Photo from Talking Dog UK

This alluring color comes out of the traditional Moroccan aesthetic but Majorelle used 'his blue' with great abandon.  It serves as a spectacular backdrop for multi-colored bougainvillea, bright orange nasturtiums and planters filled with pinks, yellows and apple greens that are scattered about the grounds. In fact, he used it so extensively in the gardens that it now has a trademark name called, fittingly, ‘Majorelle Blue’.

Jacques Majorelle's garden was saved by Pierre Berge and Yves Saint Laurent, the great French fashion designer. Today the Majorelle workshop houses their magnificent Islamic art colleciton.  Put this on your gardens to visit list as it is a place of great serenity, luxurious vegetation and powerful inspiration...and a lot of cobalt blue.

10 Great Garden Photos of 2011 - Serenity in the Garden

What makes a great garden photo? Anything that delights you!

But if I had to put my finger on it - salient aspects would be the quality of the light and the richness of color.   Also, composition would figure prominently.

That said, here are some memorable photographs that have been featured in this year's 'Serenity in the Garden' blog posts....my criteria? whatever grabbed my eye as I perused the photos...I hope you agree. 

Doug Thayer Bench

photo: Jan Johnsen

zen garden kyushu

 garden by Jan Johnsen

Jim's Poppies 2011 : Jan Johnsen

Allerton Gardens Kauai  photo:Jan Johnsen

photo: Jan Johnsen

from Apartment Therapy

Pablo Reinoso bench

Purple Angelonia and more in a Purple Garden

Johnsen Landscapes & Pools - Angelface Blue Angelonia and white Begonias

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 “If you pass by the color purple in a field and don’t notice it, God gets real pissed off.”

~ Alice Walker

Purple tickles the brain. It speaks to us of mystery and enlightenment.  Purple gardens evoke delight and sumptuousness.

Leonardo da Vinci said that light streaming through purple stained glass windows could increase the power of meditation ten fold. And scientists have found that purple stimulates the brain activity used in problem solving, integrating both hemispheres of the brain – the thinking left side with the feeling right side.  Stare at purple and your mind will stop chattering...Try it!

 In 2008, the ‘Color of the Year’ selected by Pantone was ‘Blue Iris’ (Pantone 18-3943), which combined, "the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple..."  So true - calming and mystical.

Indeed Blue/ Purple Iris are intoxicatingly beautiful. Especially Siberian Iris 'Caesar’s Brother' which is a velvety rich purple perennial that blooms profusely in late spring and is spectacular when planted in masses.  Very reliable, trouble free and grows zones 3 -9 in sun or part shade.   Also deer resistant and suitable for heavy soils! (photo from Bluestone perennials)

This is a must for a Purple Garden.

Purple Smokebush - Cotinus 'Royal Purple'

In feng shui, purple is used in healing and meditative spaces. In gardens it is used to create a luscious setting that captivates all who enter.

In my small front entry garden I have a purple Smokebush 'Royal Purple' (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple') which has beautiful, velvety, dark purple foliage throughout the growing season. It is  topped with smoky-purple flowers  in mid-summer creating a smoky cloud.  It is in the corner and is a wonderful accent  shrub. I prune it down in the very early spring to about 2 ft high and the new growth is gorgeous. Deer resistant too!

 Purple is a blend of stimulating red and calming blue, the proportions of which determine its hue. Shades range from an indigo blue-purple to a violet red-purple. In Hinduism indigo purple governs the pineal gland or third eye and Violet purple triggers the crown chakra at the top of the head. Focusing on these respective colors quiets the mind. 

 Okay - purple gardens rule!

Purple Gomphrena - 'Buddy Purple'

One of my favorite purple annual flowers - blooms until frost - is Gomphrena Buddy Purple or Purple Gnome. I plant it with everything - here it contrasts beautifully with Jack Frost Brunnera. And below I  paired with pink supreme roses, iris ensata and more...

 Purple flowers have been proved to be rich in nectar...that is why bees and butterflies love purple flowers. Here is a butterfly on a purple aster:

Purple Dome New England Aster is an outstanding compact perennial ( comes back every year) notable for its mounding habit and luscious deep lavender-purple flowers. 18” x 18” wide. Easy to grow in any decent soil and not bothered by mildew.

Purple Dome Aster courtesy of Plant Delights

Another great and easy pruple plant is Agastache 'Purple Haze'...One of the easiest and most rewarding perennials to grow! This new selection of Anise Hyssop produces darker purple flowers and looks amazing when planted en masse. Vibrant violet-purple flowers on strong, upright stems bloom from midsummer to early fall.   A great plus: The leaves smell like black licorice when cut or crushed.

Purple Haze Agastache courtesy of Acorn Farms

And by far one of my fave raves for purple in the garden is Angelonia - an annual flower that blooms throughout the season....Plant in beds or pots....This is Angelface Blue but it looks purple. I paired it with Silver Licorice Plant (Helichrysum) and Pink petunias.

Of course purple comes in all hues so here are a few more plants to add to a purple garden:

Variegated Iris

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Yin / Yang in the Garden - A Landscape Design Tip

The High Point / Shady Corner Balance – Serenity Assured

A truly harmonious outdoor space is a blend of both open space and shady shelter. The counterbalance of these two opposites can be seen as the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ of the landscape. 

Johnsen Landscapes & Pools - www.johnsenlandscapes.com

A high point or open level lawn is bright and forceful, ‘yang’. A sheltered shady spot is muted and soft or ‘yin’. Seeing the world through the complementary lens of yin and yang is an eye opening exercise. Gardens containing both qualities feel balanced and comfortable. Therefore shady sites near open sunny lawns are thoroughly enjoyable places to sit.

A note:  moderation is the key to a tranquil and harmonious outdoor space.  Stay away from extremes of ‘yang’ or ‘yin’. For example, if a high point is too high or too exposed, it can be feel scattered.  Likewise, if a low area is too deep or shady, it feels stagnant.  But an open lawn ringed by trees is a delightful balance of yin - shade and yang - openness.

You can create this juxtaposition in any size space. Below is a photo from Sevilla, Spain. The Moorish garden designers were masters of this counterbalance - open and closed, pooling and channelling, sunlight and shade.

A Glorious Fall Planting at the NY Botanical Garden

Recently I visited the Jane Watson Irwin Perennial Gardens at the New York Botanical Garden.

What a treat in November!

I was was so impressed I decided to share with you some of the plants in one corner of this wonderful garden space.  And to think this is in the Bronx, NY.....

Great Native Shrubs: Fothergilla 'Mt Airy and 'Blue Shadow'

I adore Fothergilla gardenii Mt Airy. (wonderful photo of fothergilla leaf from Quercus Design blog)

Fothergilla is native to the Appalachians, is deer resistant  and sports fragrant, honey scented, early spring flowers before the leaves come out.

The flowers are white, short bottlebrush spikes that light up a sunny to partial sun woodland corner. The flowers are followed by blue green, heavily textured foliage.

Photo from Robs Plants Website - http://www.robsplants.com/plants/FotheGarde

photo by Laura McKillop

'Mt Airy' is a dwarf form and got its name from the Mt. Airy Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio. When compared to the native species, Mt. Airy Fothergilla has more vibrant multicolored foliage in shades of yellow, orange and red in October through mid-November.

This fall color is the best! It is spell binding in the garden....

 Photo for Monrovia by Doris Wyjna

Photo by Plant Introductions, Inc

 I like to use 'Mt Airy' in combination with Fargesia, Manhattan Euonymus, hakonechloa, ferns and viburnums. I mass them in groups of 3 or more. They grow to 3 - 4 feet in height and tolerate moist soil...Zones 5-8.

photo from Sooner Plant Farm - http://www.soonerplantfarm.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/452/index.htm

 And now there is the fairly new cultivar ‘Blue Shadow’!  This exciting new introduction originated as a sport from Fothergilla major 'Mt. Airy' and is blessed with the same vigorous constitution and habit.. It has steely blue summer leaves with the same outstanding autumn display of rich yellow, red and orange.   Blue Shadow is a medium-size deciduous shrub 5 to 6' high and wide and easily adapts to sun or partial shade. It is tolerant to a wide range of soil and environmental conditions, needs little pruning and has no major disease or insect problems.

A MUST FOR FALL GARDENS.

Born with a Green Thumb - Jan Johnsen

The most recent edition of a local magazine '914Inc' featured 28 of Westchester County's accomplished women entrepeneurs...so if you want to know a little about the writer of this garden blog, read article link here:

http://www.westchestermagazine.com/914-INC/Q4-2011/Westchester-Countys-Most-Accomplished-Women-Entrepreneurs/

Born with a Green Thumb

Jan Johnsen
Founder and Co-Principal, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools

When she was in the third grade, Jan Johnsen planted corn seeds on the windowsill of her

family’s New York apartment.  She soon branched out to the fire escape, where pots of flowers

and vegetables thrived. At 16, she won first prize in the Manhattan borough-wide science fair

with an experiment on how sound affects the growth

 of plants. “My teacher thought it was a stupid idea,” she says, “and that made me want to do it more.

I just intuitively knew there was a connection.” Since then, scientists have learned that the

 high-frequency vibrations of birdsong open up the pores on plant leaves so that they absorb

more air and nutrients. 

 Go to article to read more....

A Waterfall Garden - A Short Video Tour

waterfall by Jan Johnsen      www.johnsenlandscapes.com

I am new to the video world but it seems like a perfect way to give garden tours without making you leave your house..

So if you are interested in creating a cascade I hope this walk through a waterfall garden will inspire you and give you some ideas.

Life of Flowers Video - Nature is Magnificent

This short video is so lovely - if you love flowers this is for you.

Ideas for a Fall Garden - a Short Video Tour

Crabapples in Autumn - Jan Johnsen

Fall gardens can be extraordinarily lovely.

The subtle color changes and the hush that falls on an autumn landscape makes it special for many of us. Come take a short (I promise) tour of a Fall garden and allow me to share some wonderful 'fall interest' plants with you...

CLICK HERE FOR A SHORT VIDEO GARDEN TOUR -

Nature’s Time in a Garden and Einstein's Dreams

Anyone who has lost themselves to a daydream on a sparkling afternoon in a garden knows intuitively that time ebbs and flows. We ‘lose track of time’ while raking dry crunchy leaves or snipping old hydrangea blooms. And we see it stretch as we sip tea and marvel at the colors of our roses or the dance of the clouds. Gardens tell us the time – daily time, seasonal time and yearly time – by unfurling leaves and bursting buds, by nascent seed pods and light frost on glistening leaves. garden by Jan Johnsen This is ‘Nature’s time’, a quiet spiraling of experience that envelops us wholly. What a contrast to its counterpart, our human mechanical time. Human time hangs heavily around our neck, like an unbreakable locket.  It is “as rigid and metallic as a massive pendulum of iron that swings back and forth, back and forth…unyielding, predetermined...” (Alan Lightman, Einstein’s Dreams, p.23). Mechanical time puts constant pressure on our lives, superseding all else, and forcing us to forget what really matters.  It is run by the clock and calendar.  It divides our days into hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds. It is as, Meister Eckhart, the 14th century Christian mystic, said, an obstacle in our lives, “Time is what keeps the light from reaching us. There is no greater obstacle to God than time: and not only time but temporalities, not only temporal things but temporal affections, not only temporal affections but the very taint and smell of time.” Nature’s time, on the other hand, ‘makes up its mind as it goes along.’ (Lightman, p 23). It is the smooth and rhythmic unfolding of a flower; the torrent rush of rain in a summer squall; the slow exhale of a deep breath. Nature’s time is as eternal as a granite boulder and as fleeting as a snowflake on a sunny winter day. It needs no device to measure it… the sun’s rays and the moon’s waxing and waning are its dutiful keepers. I believe a garden helps us celebrate Nature's time more fully. As Einstein explained, our "place" in the cosmos is not so much a physical site as it is a time frame. Our reality therefore is a blend of space and time. So I guess the best way to understand Nature’s time is as Ram Dass said, ‘Be Here Now’. And gardens help us do that, in a quiet but glorious way.