Serenity in the Garden

Its 92 degrees outside. Sweltering. The air hangs like heavy drapes upon the landscape. There is no breeze. The garden quietly endures. So what can you do to lighten the oppressive atmosphere? ADD A BUBBLING URN -  a  recirculating water feature Japanese style bubbling urn by Jan Johnsen Why do this? Because the sound of water and its dynamic presence ( ask the great Dr. Emoto) add life and energy to a stultifying summer garden...  Bubbling urns and fountains bring sparkle to your garden. You can build a recirculating water fountain cheaply by buying parts in a hardware store or more expensively by going to a pond supplies vendor....I am not good at hardware so I buy kits. aquascape Bubbling Urns are set atop an underground reservoir that keeps re-circulating the water. Once the urn fills with water, the water spills over into the underground basin, which pumps the water back up through the urn. aquascape flavio website...

illustration of Christopher Alexander's 'Positive Outdoor Space' by Matt Noiseux One of the books I used in my Landscape Design Studio class in Columbia University is the classic,  'A Pattern Language ' Towns- Buildings- Construction by Christopher Alexander and others.  It offers 'patterns' as basic design templates for you to follow.  These are principles of  design that are founded on common sense as much as anything else.  Alexander says his design language  is based on human and natural considerations. Adding to the delight it that they are numbered for easy reference in the book:   'Accessible Green' is # 60.    'Quiet Backs' is #59.  One of the more elusive patterns is   #106 Positive Outdoor Space.   It is a favorite of mine.  It talks about manipulating outdoor space and refers to space as being 'negative' and ...

'Sedona' Coleus  What plant likes sun or shade - is Fast Growing - Easy to Grow - Adds a visual POP to planters and beds? the answer  :  Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides ) Coleus is a versatile foliage plant that is always at your service, no special requirements other than water and maybe a little pinching as the season progresses... and it thrives in part shade! What's not to love? It is an exuberant houseplant,  a summertime dazzler  and a fabuloso filler plant suitable for any and all applications... It looks especially wonderful in pots. Place several together like this: Inky Fingers Coleus, Chartreuse Sweet Potato Vine and others or in a low, wide mouth planter with ferns: Or you can plant it in shady plant bed alongside the perennial Ladies Mantle ( alchemilla mollis): Alabama Sunset Coleus with Ladies Mantle Or you plant it beneath larger plants - as I did below with a weeping blue at...

Bubbling Urns - A Summertime Joy a fun water feature ! Its 92 degrees outside right now. Sweltering. The air hangs like heavy drapes upon the landscape. There is no breeze. The garden quietly endures. So what can you do to lighten the oppressive atmosphere? ADD A BUBBLING URN -  a  recirculating water feature Japanese style bubbling urn by Jan Johnsen Why do this? Because the sound of water and its dynamic presence ( ask the great Dr. Emoto) add life and energy to a stultifying summer garden...  Bubbling urns and fountains bring sparkle to your garden. You can build a recirculating water fountain cheaply by buying parts in a hardware store or more expensively by going to a pond supplies vendor....I am not good at hardware so I buy kits. aquascape Bubbling Urns are set atop an underground reservoir that keeps re-circulating the water. Once the urn fills with water, the water spills over into the underground basin, which pump...