Serenity in the Garden

The British have always been the leaders in Landscape Design.....Since 1972, The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI)  has represented UK's landscaping sector. Their membership comprises interior and exterior landscapers and designers, grounds maintenance contractors, and companies supplying industry-related products and services. And they all have one thing in common: a commitment to delivering professional excellence by continually raising standards across the industry. These photos are a testament to that. They show some wonderful photos on the website BALI (click here) and I had to share some with you.  If you live in UK and are in the business I guess you already know about BALI....this 'eye candy' is for the rest of us. Very Inspiring, yes?

How quaint! a calendar on paper...with little boxes denoting days!  You might think that calendars are passe due to all of our cell phone and computer schedulers....but the Gardener's calendar still lives on.   I looked at some calendars that go beyond the cottage gardens and beautiful flowers variety (although these are all wonderful) ....and I found a few that might be of interest to you. The 2011 University of Massachusetts Garden Calendar is titled,   'Plants that Inspire' ( click on title for info) It showcases a collection of plant images with a brief description of each plant photo. Daily gardening tips provide information on garden pests and management strategies as well as “how-to and when” tips such as dates to plant peas, renovate lawns, prune and fertilize roses and conserve water in the landscape and many more. A great and informative calendar. You might prefer the Trees calendar from National Geographic. Long and narrow,...

PEACE  ON  EARTH and love to all __________________________________________________

"How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has its glorious starry firmament for a roof. In such places, standing alone on the mountaintop, it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make -- leaves and moss like the marmots and the birds, or tents or piled stone --  we all dwell in a house of one room -- the world with the firmament for its roof -- are all sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track." ~  John Muir John Muir was born in Scotland in 1838 and came to the backwoods of Wisconsin when he was 11.  As a teenager, he had no time for school or formal study. He worked with his father taming nature, clearing the forest, plowing with a team of oxen and other arduous tasks. Yet he so desired knowledge that he would rise at one in the morning to read. He wrote, “I had gained five hours, almost half a day! ‘Five hours to myself!’ ‘Five huge, solid hours!’ I can hardly think of any other event of my life, any discover...

Taken by Richard Harris      Dallas, Texas          Dec. 21, 2010

photo from kingfisher 11-11 This Tuesday, Dec 21,  the sun will rise late, stay very low in the sky and set early. It is the shortest - and darkest - day of the year. It is the Winter Solstice ( for us in the Northern Hemisphere ). It is a time to look inward, determine what is important and start envisioning.... What makes this especially significant is that the solstice, this year, occurs on the day of the full moon.  Full Moons are times when emotions are heightened (and then some). Further, there is a full lunar eclipse at the same time ! This is when the earth's shadow totally blocks the full moon. This concurrence of events  foretells significant endings or culmination, a new awareness of a greater reality that unites our understanding into a cohesive whole. This will be the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. This is an extraordinary event. When was the last time that we had a total full moon lunar eclipse on the winter solstice?  Not s...

This blog is for those who crave serenity outdoors (preferably in a garden but not necessarily).... now that it is winter, introspective landscapes come to the fore... and in that vein, I would like to share photos from a wonderful photographer from Edinburgh, Scotland. Her work takes my breath away... all I know about her is what she wrote in her website (click here) About: Really good at hellos Really bad at goodbyes   Her photos are like visual haikus  I took these from her series called 'The Lake' on her posting on Behance. Also check out her photo documentary series:   Anything But Square  (click here)

So what do I want? (and won't get but then I will buy it for myself at some point) are  GardenGrips .(click here to  find source) They are engineered like running shoes to provide a high level of comfort and support. They are good looking and tough and have a patented Grip-n-Go outsole which provides traction on wet grass and more. The upper is made of double-stitched, water resistant, full-grain leather which easily sheds mud and clippings. The Anti-microbial and removable sock-liner Moisture wicking Dri-Tec lining keeps feet dry and comfortable and they have a flex panel on top with cushioned insoles. The protective steel toe keeps your toes safe while the molded rubber overcoat keeps them dry. That is my wish - What do you Gardeners want?

I have written about Made Wijaya before in this blog  ( click here for other post ) but I would like to revisit his Balinese work..he is a true artist in the tropical garden... calling himself an 'aesthetic road warrior' (I love that). Landscape architecture students take note: the roots of this profession lie in plants and our relationship to them. It is an atavistic passion that lurks in us all.

photo - Jan Johnsen, Croton Point Park Robert Ulrich was in the hospital with a badly broken leg. Forced to lie flat on his back, Ulrich, an environmental psychologist, stared for hours at a too bright ceiling light surrounded by acoustic ceiling tile.  “I remember...how much I wished I had an attractive image on the ceiling,” Ulrich recalls. White Birches - Jan Johnsen, Boscobel Now the director of the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University, Ulrich produced groundbreaking research that found that viewing natural scenes in a hospital aids stress recovery by evoking positive feelings, reducing negative emotions and blocking or reducing stressful thoughts. When test subjects viewed gardens as opposed to urban scenes, they exhibited lower alpha rates which are associated with being wakefully relaxed. Garden by Jan Johnsen Further research by Ulrich indicated that surgical patients who had views of...

Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson (he brought you Hotmail) is one of the most influential funders and thinkers in Silicon Valley. He's also an enthusiastic rocket hobbyist, blogger and Flickr-er. I think of him as a science genius who takes great photos...it has nothing to do with horticulture, design or anything similar...but I follow his photostream avidly...Here is why..this is today's photo on Flickr   (click here).

No matter what religious tradition you follow - this will give you a warm feeling....Happy Thanksgiving!

It is that time of year and you want to give wonderful, heart warming gifts to your dear friends...unusual and touching presents that acknowledge who they are and what they are into...not just hand cream.... right? And you don't have a lot of money to spend and you would rather order now, from the computer, than go crazy in a crowded and crazed shopping scene... So in that spirit I am going to suggest some inexpensive gift ideas for your gardening pals...the money limit is $15. and less for some fab ideas... the market research is this:  If I want it then they will too. and remember that the gift wrap is as important...  http://www.realcountryliving.com/ recommends getting flour sack dish towels and using them as gift wrap - two gifts in one! and no waste. Here are some ideas ( click on the titles for the websites) 2008 Horticulture Magazine Issues on CD  $6.99 Enjoy a full year of Horticulture on one handy disc. This CD contains the 7 Horticulture issues ...