Serenity in the Garden

Amsonia Blue Ice  by Monrovia Nurseries The Blue Star perennial family -   Amsonia tabernaemontana - has a hybrid cousin,  Amsonia 'Blue Ice'  that is an amazingly vigorous, low growing plant with deep blue flowers.    photo by Jan Johnsen Amsonia 'Blue Ice'  has a white, milky sap that is toxic to deer and more. Yay!  Amsonia 'Blue Ice' is easy to grow and drought tolerant.  12-16" tall, 18-24" wide. Needs full sun. It blooms from late spring to early summer.  amsonia Blue Ice fall foliage is stunning - photo by Jan Johnsen It grows in a 15" tall by 2' wide mound of narrow, dark green, deer-resistant foliage. And in spring it is topped with large clusters of lavender-blue flowers which are more vivid than other blue stars.  It  blooms prolifically and turns a fabulous golden yellow in the fall.  Zones 4-9   Amsonia blue ice , Miscanthus 'Morning light' ,  Nepeta 'Dropmore Hy...

This interview was published on July 18, 2017 on the great blog Gardening Know How . You can see it and much more - click here .  Q & A with Jan Johnsen, author of ‘Spirit of Stone’ Share Article         Jan Johnsen  is a well-regarded landscape designer, author and teacher with a passion for plants, rocks and beautiful gardens.  Jan is a co-principal of the design firm, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, in Westchester County, New York.   Jan’s book,  Heaven is a Garden , (published by St Lynn’s Press, 2014)  is now in its third printing. In her new book, “ The Spirit of Stone: 101 Practical & Creative Stonescaping Ideas for Your Garden ’, (St Lynn’s Press, 2017) she celebrates this natural material and highlights its many uses in the landscape. 1.      Why do you have a soft spot for hard rock? Rocks are plentiful where I live in the Northeast. Growing up h...

"The world is moving into a phase when landscape design may well be recognized as the most comprehensive of the arts."    Geoffrey Jellicoe ,  'The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day'  Creative ideas don't just come out of thin air - they are a blend of what we have learned and used in the past.  A garden maker should look to landscape designers of the past and present and learn their design philosophies. Never stop learning. by Bill Bensley, Thailand By looking at other cultures' approach to the natural world you can enhance your garden immeasurably.  The English garden designers such as Russell Page, Arabella Lennox Boyd, and Gertrude Jekyll stand side by side with their counterparts in the United States, Canada,  Japan, South America, Thailand, Indonesia, Hawaii, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy,  Holland, Germany,  France and India in my world. blu...

What blooms earlier than forsythia, has a delicate fragrance and is an easy-to-care for  compact delight ?  That is also hardy to USDA Zones 6-9 and native to Japan and Taiwan? Photo by Richie Steffen - Great Plant Picks Buttercup winterhazel  ( Corylops is pauciflora)   Toward mid April (depending where you live), the bare branches of buttercup winterhazel hang with inch-long clusters of soft yellow flowers that appear as little lanterns.   The fragrance is noticeable, making it perfect near a sitting spot.   It was awarded the  Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in 1993.  Missouri Botanical Garden photo Winterhazel is good in a small city garden or as a woodland underplanting in open shade.  It glows in front of evergreens and is a perfect pairing with purple   Rhododendron mucronulatum  since  they flower at the exact same time.  And  winterhazel...

'Serenity in the Garden' is my way to gladden someone's day and to share my wonder at people' s creativity and Nature's beauty. Here are a few garden marvels: photo by Jan Johnsen  I worked in the gardens of Mohonk Mt. House (a hotel) decades ago. It is still one of my favorite places! In New Paltz, NY. I took this photo of their unique rustic gazebos that border Mohonk Lake.   "Much patience required. VERY steady hands, heartbeat, breathing, one’s entire being.. required." - Michael Grab (shown here with his creation).  http://www.gravityglue.com/   Do you know what is missing in this Zen inspired sand garden? a leaf - lying haphazadly atop the sand. ah, so. W hy not a 'poetry wall' garden? this is in Brooklyn, NY. Design by Terrain..  http://www.terrain-nyc.net/ photo by Jan Johnsen Look carefully - this is a photo on a banner affixed to a plain wall - makes it look like a real cascade! I took this photo in K...

The best homemade plant labels come from aluminum soda cans. from Greylustergirl blog They are inexpensive, durable, attractive and fun to make. And in the garden their reflective qualities act as rabbit repellents! You can have them dangle on supports ( made from clothes hangers) or tie them with twine on a pot. CUT THE CAN AND ROLL OUT ALUMINUM. Put on your gloves. Use the tip of your scissors to punch a small hole on the side of each end of the can. You can also use a steak knife or screwdriver to get the hole started.  Cut off the top and bottom of the can and discard . TRACE THE SHAPES AND CUT OUT. Next, unroll the metal as best you can and place the metal on a flat but flexible surface, printed side up . A pad of paper, a top of a notebook or a thick stack of newspaper are all good bases. Use a template tool to trace a shape with a ball point pen onto the metal. Press firmly to leave an indentation. Cut with a pair of sciss...

  Palladio wrote in his Four Books of Architecture : What contributes also to the convenience is that the rooms for summer be ample, spacious and turned to the north ;  and those for the winter be to the south and the west.  But those which we would make use of in spring and autumn must be turned to the east and ought to look over gardens and greens…   In this particular part, studies and libraries ought to be; because the morning is the most proper time to make use of them… ' Little Lemon Goldenrod Make sure your vegetable garden and roses get eastern exposure - morning sun - for optimal growth. The gentle rays of morn ing sun are the best for growth....