Serenity in the Garden

On June 8, 2019 the NY Botanical Garden will open their new exhibit dedicated to Roberto Burle Marx! I visited it this week in a preview and it is spectacular!  You have to see it - #plantlove The centerpiece of Burle Marx show at #NYBG I wrote this a few years ago and feel it is the perfect time to share this post again: Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx  (1909-1994) was my idol when I studied landscape architecture at the University of Hawaii in the 1970s: he worked with tropical plants and was trained in painting. I loved that Burle Marx painted every morning before attending to his design practice and that he said he 'painted his gardens'. tablecloth design by Burle Marx  He also asserted that the creation of a garden was 'an attempt to regain a lost paradise'. I could not agree more! Flamengo park Burle Marx's grasp of pattern was one of his signature features.  His bold use of color and shape captured the Br...

'Lemon Daddy' Hydrangea lights up a soggy scene in one of my gardens.  The theme is rounded forms. The colors are green, yellow and beige. The mood is slightly damp. The lighting is muted, as are the sounds. It is a precious moment and Lemon Daddy adds a simple sizzle. garden and photo - Jan Johnsen, bench - Campania

Thomas Church - Donnell Residence, Sonoma, CA 1948 Thomas Church was one of the most influential American landscape architects of the twentieth century. His ideas on the 'modern' landscape revolutionized home landscaping and changed the look of the suburban backyard.  Born in Boston in 1902, he attended college in California and came under the spell of its climate and outdoor lifestyle.  Church received his landscape architecture degree from Berkeley in 1923 and his Masters in Landscape Architecture from Harvard in 1926. Tommy Church - Plan for Donnell Church urged people to see residential property as a single living space with the house and garden directly connected.  This was a dramatic notion for its day.   His greatest influence was through his books and numerous articles. His popular book on home landscapes, 'Gardens are for People ,' was published in 1955.    Church advocated four basic landscape design principles: •...

yoga garden - Johnsen Landscapes    Picture yourself being outside in a garden on a warm sunny morning. Nearby, birds are singing and flowers are blooming. This is a perfect space to unroll a yoga mat and embark on some ‘sun salutations’.  So why not create a yoga garden? You can do this using some design ideas I offer in the book, ‘Heaven is a Garden – Designing Serene Outdoor Spaces for Inspiration and Reflection’ (published by St. Lynn’s Press). Innisfree  garden in NY - please visit! Just as yoga allows us to ‘tune into’ our bodies, serene gardens help us get in touch with nature's calming energies. Any outdoor setting, no matter the size, can become a place of quiet beauty. It should be partially sheltered, out of the wind and be bathed in gentle sunlight from east or southeast or dappled shade.   I suggest you aim for 'simplicity, sanctuary and delight'. Bedrock Gardens - please visi t! Simplicity means clean lines such as ...

C.L.Fornari photo of flower ice cubes in a serene garden in Cape Cod C.L. Fornari, aka The Garden Lady, has a wonderful garden radio show that  airs every Saturday on the Cape Cod station WRKO from 12-2 p.m. You can hear it as a podcast online. Her show covers many gardening and landscaping topics and she discusses her favorite plants and answers listeners' gardening questions.  C.L. is also the author of the inspiring book,  The Cocktail Hour Garden: Creating Evening Landscapes for Relaxation and Entertaining The Cocktail Hour Garden shows how to enjoy that special evening hour in the garden I was especially thrilled a week ago to be interviewed by C.L. about my book, Heaven is a Garden.   She asked some great questions about what is music for the eye in a garden and how to make your garden in tune with the four directions. C.L. is an insightful interviewer and I wanted to  share our short and fun chat with you! Click  below to hear ...

Circles and reflections in the Fall - a very mellow scene

This is a great reminder of how fast plants grow - Golden Majoram is planted in the squares at the base of this Grape Arbor. The photo at top is taken from one end while the after photo is looking toward the other end...

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...

In Ithaca, NY a  sinuous yellow bench, (2-inch resin, color: Chroma Marigold*2) is illuminated from below making it look  like it is floating.    The curve and depth of the seat give Cornell students a variety of sitting and/or lounging options.  They said the color yellow was chosen to evoke the sense of sunlight, something rare in the Ithaca climate.  My thought: it also cheers people up and stimulates the production of serotonin which makes you happy.  Here is to more yellow in school settings!

'Bright Eyes' Phlox, on right, is a staple in a cottage garden. Photo by Jan Johnsen I once worked with a lovely client who wanted a cottage style flower garden. She is now my dear friend.... But there are cottage gardens and then there are 'cottage gardens'...know what I mean? When I see photos of gardens in Great Britain, it seems everyone there has the most magnificent flower garden, each more spectacular than the next... like this one: Ladies mantle in front is a stand out here. Bigstock photo. Their lushness sets a standard of perfection for cottage gardens which makes me want to say to someone here in the Northeast U.S., "Wouldn't you like to consider an ornamental grass garden instead?" But of course, the call of a cottage garden, filled with a profusion of  flowers and redolent of roses, peonies and lilacs, makes one yearn for such a place. The stone dog keeps watch. PG Hydrangea in rear. What you need, in my part ...

Image credit- James Newton Leicester Park in London has been redesigned to provide Londoners and visitors alike a lovely urban park to enjoy.  It is known for hosting film festivals and premieres in the heart of  the city.  They stage over 50 film premières every year as well as a number of other large scale events and the park attracts approximately two million visitors each week!    So this redesign was aimed to  make the park a truly outstanding public gathering space.   From The Style Examiner Along the perimeter of the square there is a curvilinear white granite ribbon bench where people stop and enjoy the setting.   Its organic shape brings ‘inside’ and 'outside’ together and this soft transition of the edge is helped by the mirrored stainless steel railings.   The new gates and railings were  manufactured by Midas Technologies Ltd.  The panel sheets were pre-polished and cut to desired ...