Serenity in the Garden

Landscape by Johnsen Landscapes & Pools

Meet everyone and everything through stillness
rather than mental noise.
 ~ Eckhart Tolle





Stillness is a state of mind.  And it is also a state of being, best felt outdoors in a natural locale. Marser on Flickr The stillness of a landscape filled with birdsong and babbling water induces a sense of peacefulness, where  'mental noise' may cease and quietude reigns.  In this atmosphere, uplifting thoughts begin to take root... Pico Iyer wrote about this beautifully: “I loved the quiet places in Kyoto, the places that held the world within a windless moment. Inside the temples, Nature held her breath. All longing was put to sleep in the stillness, and all was distilled into a clean simplicity.”  ―  Video Night in Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East
Gardens created with a 'clean simplicity' are very special indeed. They are at the heart of serenity outdoors.

enkou-ji, Kyoto
These landscapes must be muted - whether it…

The East Conservatory Plaza of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania is a gem of an outdoor space.

 Kim Wilkie designed a landscape, opened on October 9, 2010, that offers a place to relax and houses 'environmentally conscious' restrooms. It also features a sweeping, south-facing arc of a terraced landform that provides a grand view of the East Conservatory. This view was never possible before.
Here is an early working sketch by Kim Wilkie

The Plaza stresses conservation of natural resources. The underground restrooms take advantage of the heat provided by earth's natural  insulation, an age-old concept that is finally being rediscovered. Our ancestors used this technique for their cold storage of perishables,  root cellars; for growing on seedlings in late winter, cold frames; and Victorians used this idea for their 'ferneries'.



Thisenergy efficient approach allows natural  light to come in through a clear ceiling above and added insulation of walls is a…

Monticello, courtesy of Monticello/Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc. I admit it, I am a Thomas Jefferson fanatic...
No well known historical person has combined so many diverse talents as good ole'  T.J.  ( well, maybe his friend, Ben did...) Besides his leadership and writing acumen, Jefferson was a genius when it came to building design and, yes, gardening.

1793 Plan for  Washington, DC
Jefferson took immense interest in architecture, city planning and landscape architecture. During his years as president, he assisted in the design of Washington, D.C. and his ideas for the city's layout were combined with those of Pierre L'Enfant who was hired to draw up the plans.

Of course, we all know about his home on a hilltop, Monticello, in Virginia. But his finest achievement in design and site planning may be his plantation retreat, Poplar Forest, in Bedford county, Virginia.   In fact, the great historian,  David McCollough wrote of Poplar Forest, "This is an American maste…