Serenity in the Garden

(Jan Johnsen - angelonia, vinca and dusty miller)     Annual flowers - those that bloom all summer into late fall then give it up for good - are the secret to a joyful and colorful garden.  I know people think planting annual flowers take too much work in spring but I say, "go ahead, try it! The rewards in your garden continue into the late fall." (Jan Johnsen - profusion zinnias, marigolds,salvia, plectranthus) Colorful annual flowers make us happy, enrich our lives and then sometimes take our breath away, to boot. (Jan Johnsen - coleus, plectranthus,angelonia, and more) I know all about annual flowers because after graduating college (landscape architecture focus) decades ago, I went to work in the display gardens at  MOHONK MT. HOUSE   in New Paltz, NY.  I was not very happy about the situation because back then, in Landscape architecture school, flowers were not popular. In fact, not even considered! I thought fl...

The infographic below illustrates some current garden design ideas. It helps to have some visual inspiration. You can spruce up with lights or add an   Indian fire pit  .  This is a fun way to think of something more for your garden:

The following is an excerpt from a post on the blog, Creative Countryside . The post is   Solitude, Spontaneity and Sanity   written by Sarah Hardman. "Give yourself a bit of breathing space , time to reset.  By wandering up that footpath – even if you’ll be turning back around again after ten minutes – you’re doing something very important.  You’re switching off.  From the requests of others, from conversation. Instead you’re tuning in to the seasons and the details around you: nature. The sound of birds and buzzing insects and the wind in the trees.  The smell of the earth and sun-warmed grass, the feel of leaves as you brush past.  Indulge your curiosity. Reset. The obligations and their accompanying emotions: stress, resentfulness, mild anxiety: they can be let go for a little while as you take some time for yourself and savor your surroundings."