Serenity in the Garden

The new re-imagined Garden Design book-a-zine is out - and what a first issue it is!   Garden Design Premiere Issue 2014 This is a completely new incarnation of the stalwart magazine that we have known for years. This new edition goes beyond the glossy photos of furniture and lush outdoor enclaves that dominated the pages of the previous Garden Design to delve into fascinating details, ideas, places, people and plants. It harks back to the early days of Garden Design when I would read the magazine cover to cover.   This is one of the articles I am an huge a fan of the new Garden Design (full disclosure: I am a contributing editor of Garden Design) - it is a basically a gorgeous book that has NO ADVERTISEMENTS.  A big plus is that the paper quality is the best - book quality - and as you turn the fully illustrated pages you realize you are reading  a compelling new garden book - one that has been developed with care and an honest desire to create ...

Storm King Art Center by Jerry L. Thompson     Considered one of the world’s foremost sculpture parks, the  Storm King  Art Center   features 100 works of art across 500 acres in the Hudson Valley of New York.  Large, abstract works frame and transform the landscape:  An Andy Goldsworthy stone wall snakes through the woods and into a pond.  Mark di Suvero's work stands tall.  Richard Serra shares the scene with a stand of trees:   Maya Lin's art undulates across the fields.   The stone art of Isamu Noguchi, Momo Taro, invites interaction:  Co-founder H. Peter Stern  quoted Isamu Noguchi -  “Noguchi says that there are two ways of proceeding as a sculptor.  One is to plan what you’re going to do and then do it.  The other is to create, and then see what you have done.  Noguchi puts himself in the second category as an artist, and I’d say that...

Denim Planters "Jean-etically Modified Plants" by Tom Ballinger A Unique Screening Idea! Who needs a fence?

BY BELZBERG ARCHITECTS    “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ―  Leonardo da Vinci

Tiny House by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design  - click here A lovely morning in the garden.

Worm tubes from National Gardening Association  Want to know a great way to  enhance biological activity in  your garden? Think of it as adding  probiotics to your soil.... Worm Tubes! It is a fun way to use your vegetable food waste without the hassle of true composting. Worm tubes attract worms to your garden and this, in turn, creates rich, worm casting-filled composted soil for you to use.  Josh shows us how - click here And did you know that  worm compost suppresses plant diseases ? Research has shown that worm compost can successfully suppress  Pythium aphanidermatum  - a mold responsible for the dreaded 'damping off', where seedlings and young plants rot away at the base of the stem. The microbes  in the compost are key. They chemically prevent (disrupts the signalling)  the Pythium pathogen from accessing the plant.  This is why you should consider making worm compost with a 'worm tube' in your garden. ...

I must admit I first discovered  Drumstick Allium  when I could not find any other allium bulb to buy...it was late fall and I had waited too long to buy the popular Globemaster Alliums... What to DO? I bought the Drumsticks and was thrilled at the result. These purplish - red blooms are small - 1" -and oval shaped.  They bloom in my part of the world in June atop wiry 24" - 30" tall stems and wave in the breeze...and they make a superb cut flower (which you can dry to be an 'everlasting').   Drumstick Allium bouquet - Martha Stewart Photo Drumstick Alliums look fantastic tucked in the early summer flower border...You can add these small bulbs easily in the fall around clumps of established perennials such as Artemesia, Yarrow, Nepeta and Agastache. They peek out around these plants and are a delightful addition that come back every year! Artemesia Powis Castle - Great with Drumstick Alliums - Great  d...

photo courtesy of Plant Delights Nursery    The wonderful Plant Delights nursery has  introduced  a sport of  one of my favorite plants, the variegated  fragrant  Solomon's seal   ( named the 2013 Perennial Plant of the Year.)   It is called 'Angel Wing' ( Polygonatum odoratum 'Carlisle') and has an  extra wide, creamy leaf edge. The fragrant Solomon's seal is a shade-loving perennial that typically grows to 18-24” tall on gracefully arching, unbranched stems.   In spring it is adorned with small, dangling, white tubular flowers that  have a sweet, lily-like fragrance.  Polygonatum is native to Japan, China and Korea.  It is a hardy plant,  Zones   3a to 8b a, and is vigorous grower. A bright addition to a light shady area! 

Always note if a red in your garden is a 'cool red', tinged with blue,  or a 'warm red', tinged with yellow.  The Cool Reds or Bluish Reds go well with other blue-toned colors like a blue-toned lavender or pink.  The sight of a warm color is a little jarring when you are aiming for a feeling of serenity in the garden.... Super Hero Rose and Rozanne Geranium - Garden and Photo by Jan Johnsen Camassia Bulb - click here for photo sourc e Super Hero Rose Appleblossom Flower Carpet Rose -a bluish Pink Nepeta, Russian Sage, perennial Blue Salvia - all go well  with  bluish reds. And throw in some white in for a little respite! Montauk Daisies

by Gustafson - Porter, photo by Peter Guenzel     Gustafson-Porter designed the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in the UK.  The design firm describes the water effects as such:  "Dividing at the top, detailed grooves and channels combine with air jets to animate the water.  Sparkling, energetic effects include,  ‘ Swoosh ’, ‘ Steps ’  and ‘Rock and Roll’ .  At the base, the two streams of water merge to form a still, reflective basin ." I love that - swoosh and rock and roll effects in a fountain. Gustafson Porter fountain by Helene Binet This memorial is located in Hyde Park and is designed to be " a peaceful, sculptural landscape form, evoking qualities much loved in Diana. The fountain is designed to radiate energy as well as to draw people inwards." The evocative power of a defined, curvilinear shape in the landscape is exemplified here.  Gustafson - Porter photo by Helene Binet The 545 p...

butterfly garden by Jan Johnsen Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. - Nathaniel Hawthorne And this is why a butterfly garden should be in everyone's life.  In the photo above, I planted 'Lucky White' Lantana and purple Callibrachoa to attract the summer butterflies....they love lantana! Also perennial coneflowers, agastache, bee balm, and many more are butterfly attractors.  These all have nectar, a butterfly's delight. So if you have a sunny open spot, some shelter from wind and fresh water (butterfly puddles) then plant some butterfly flowers and enjoy a bit of happiness. I have to run off to work but I did want to leave you with a wonderful butterfly garden plant list from the Farmer's Almanac :  Common Name Latin Name Allium Allium Aster Aster Bee balm Monarda Butterfly bush Buddleia Catmint Nepeta Clove Pink Dianthus Cornflowe...

All we are saying is 'Give Bees a Chance' Dandelions deserve a gold medal.  This sunny flower is one of the first spring foods for bees.  If bees survive the winter, they look to dandelions and other wildflowers for nutrition — so they can begin the work of pollinating our fruits and vegetables. The all-important bees are threatened right now.  Their popula tion is dwindling due to a type of pesticide that is being applied to flowers and vegetables and fruit trees....we must alert everyone! Let's not kill off anything that helps the bees.   READ:  http:// www.reporterherald.com/ opinion/guest-columns/ ci_25679656/ dandelions-deserve-gold-med al by Andy Goldsworthy