Serenity in the Garden

This is the most popular blog post in Serenity in the Garden so I decided to re-post it... The wonderful Deer Resistant Blue Angelonia flower. (Angelonia with Helichrysum, petunia, Johnsen Landscapes) Blue is everyone's "favorite color."  It is, hands down, the most popular color worldwide and is the least "gender specific" color, having equal appeal to both men and women. Now Purple is giving blue a run for its money as the second favorite color.... Blue is the favored color for toothbrushes, so that says it all!  ( this info is from a great website:  Sensation Color )  but can purple be far behind? Scientists have found that the color blue causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming. This may be why we all like to be around blue....stare at this square and see if it calms you. In fact, over the past decade, scientists have reported the successful use of blue light in the treatment of psychological problems such a...

Jewel tones are rich colors that resemble gemstones including emerald green, amethyst purple, ruby red, topaz yellow, sapphire blue, tourmaline green, and turquoise blue. A jewel tone is bold (no pastels here) and lends an air of distinction to a space. They bring a scintillating 'Pop' to a garden.  Complimentary jewel tones like amethyst purple and topaz yellow are especially effective. Jewel tones look great indoors as well...I love this painting and chairs below... But too much saturation can be overwhelming...You must temper your exuberance a little.... Richness can lead to burn out...but maybe not. Fire Spinner Ice Plant You can get away with lots of jewel tones when you use plants... Spello, Italy Flowers also can be combined to become a  Jewel Tone Medley ... Angelonia and Lime Rickey Heuchera - Johnsen Landscapes & Pools Coleus works great to create a jewel tone planter You can...

Here's a tip:  white flowers are a STAND OUT! Who would think that simple white flowers would be so remarkable? Amidst green foliage and gray skies white petalled flowers sparkle and shine to such a degree that you have to smile ...and I am not the first to discover white's compelling brilliance. Vita Sackville West, the English garden writer(who became famous for her White Garden in her estate, Sissinghurst),  said it best, "White flowers are anathema to all but the oldest and most sophisticated of gardeners." This is a very sly way of saying that if you like white flowers you are are so cultured and discriminating. ...so there you go! I must be very classy because I fancy white pansies,white gardenias, white euphorbia, white lilies and white roses. Euphorbia Diamond Frost ( deer resistant) courtesy: Proven Winners (BTW, the above quote was the impetus for the name  'White Flower Farm' ...which is an outstanding mail or...

(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...

Electric Blue Gecko Elephant Ears Want to create a bold statement in your garden this summer? Elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) sport large, colorful leaves and  give your garden an instant tropical effect. They  like sun, moist soil and warm weather (zones  8-11 ) .  Great in pots - source: Logees The Gecko series from breeder Brian Williams of the mail order nursery,  Brian’s Botanicals  in Louisville, KY is vigorous and change color like a true gecko.  'Electric Blue Gecko'  grows 3 ft x 3 ft and has foliage that can look deep purple, black or even metallic-blue in different light.  It has maroon undersides.  It looks great against coleus and colorful annual flowers!  NYBG - Electric Blue Gecko with coleus and more  Deep blue stems hold the foliage high which makes it look great in a container or in  mass plantings and in the front or middle of the border. It likes  moi...

Longhouse Reserve - Easthampton, NY - a great place to visit Valentines’ Day is synonymous with  RED  - red roses, red hearts and red carnations. Red, the hottest of the warm colors, is the color of love, romance, passion and energy.... (and of Target dept.store). Brides wear red in China, India and the Islamic countries. Audrey Hepburn wore it in Funny Face: Red arouses, excites and evokes strong emotions. In fact, studies show that seeing red can stimulate your body to pump out more adrenaline and increases blood pressure, respiration and pulse rate. I remember the first time I saw how powerful red could be - it was in the movie GiGi by Vincente Minelli. I was very young and I sat in the movie theater looking at the magnifent red salon in Paris, thinking how dull our little rooms in my Queens, NY apartment were.   Minelli, a film director, was a  master of color ,  saying,   "I use col...