Serenity in the Garden

garden by Jan Johnsen The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. ~ George Bernard Shaw Being in a garden elevates us and inspires many of us... That is the why I write this blog.  I want to share my lifelong landscape work and experience with others so that you, too, will ‘touch the earth’. And I want to promote a reverent way of looking at the green world which sees the piece of ground outside our door as an ‘everyday conduit’ to the energy of life that flows within plants, water, trees, sunlight, rocks, birds and assorted creatures. a place, as George Bernard Shaw declared, where we can touch the divine. Looking at the natural world in this way is nothing new. The idea of sanctified outdoor space was the genesis for the sacred groves of the Egyptians, Indians and Greeks.  It birthed the medieval labyrinths and Native Americans’ 'medicine wheels'.  And of course, ancient Chinese geomancy, ‘Fen...

Spring has sprung! I am happy to announce the publication of my new book Gardentopia- Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces . Publishers Weekly just released its wonderful review which I am sharing with you. I took the liberty of adding a few photos from my book: Readers with even the slightest interest in beautifying an outdoor space-large or small-should find something of value in this expansive guide from landscape designer Johnsen (The Spirit of Stone: 101 Practical & Creative Stonescaping Ideas for Your Garden).  She emphasizes the importance of deciding upon a goal for a garden and visualizing its final appearance before beginning work on it, declaring that the sum of any such project is greater than its parts. Johnsen takes care to dissect these parts, revealing creative possibilities (accompanied by practical guidance) for each nook and cranny.  For example, to recover the lost art of "garden strolling," the desi...

My backyard dry stream - Jan Johnsen If small is beautiful then....smaller must be more beautiful. At least that is what I tell myself as I survey my postage stamp of a backyard. I remind myself that some of the sweetest of serene spaces are small gardens, tucked away, out of sight. Small outdoor spaces are cherished. Each planter or plant is special. like admiring Coleus Globetrotter in a pot... Or Lantana among some rocks I add touches in summer like this flowering lantana amongst the rocks My small verdant retreat is where I can place a chair or two, sip a cup of tea, tend to the garden, admire my planters of foliage or even write my blog, ‘pleine aire’, so to speak … Small gardens call for small plants  – although normal size plants look great when first planted, in the years that ensue they may grow to overwhelm the space… To prevent that I have a few suggestions for some hardy, compact and delightful perennial plants. ...

Check out  'Ideas for a Fall Garden'  on gardendesign.com. I share some ideas I have used in my landscape projects.  Please click on the article name above for some great end-of-the-gardening-year ideas for your garden. from gardendesign.com The Garden Design website  is a virtual compendium of ideas for your landscape.

Hakonechloa, catmint, perennial salvia The design of the landscape is all encompassing.  It includes urban spaces, civic squares, meeting areas, parks, gardens, linear nature corridors, waterfronts and more.  Phipps Sustainable Landscape in Pittsburgh Landscape design can be defined as an outdoor area that is molded and manipulated for an intended outcome. It can be stark, sleek and bold. It can be quaint, cozy and comforting. The common denominator is the modification of outdoor space. Dallas Arboretum - Rocks in landscape What? No plants? Well, landscape architecture should include plants in my opinion.   But the definition doesn't necessarily include them. Drumstick Allium - wonderful With that said, you can follow your own star as it relates to landscaping.  Concrete plazas are your thing? Then so be it. Co-creating with Nature is my mantra. Recirculating cascade - Johnsen Landscapes I prefer natural elements. Rocks. Tre...

Pink Perfume Lilac Lilacs are classic spring-flowering shrubs.  Their reliable blooms and sweet fragrance make them a favorite plant and associated with the best of spring. sweet fragrant Pink Perfume Lilac flower - go here There are many varieties of lilac out there. I just planted a  new lilac called  Pink Perfume Bloomerang® .  It is dwarf and bushy and reblooms with sweetly scented flowers that cover its branches in spring and continue blooming on into frost so you can enjoy the  delicious scent of lilacs again and again. Pink Perfume Lilac has delicate flower clusters of reddish purple buds that open into heavily fragrant, soft pink flowers.  It grows 4-5′ tall so it is perfect for small gardens, pots, and terraces.  Plant one at your  front door to welcome visitors with its heady fragrance.   Remove spent blooms promptly to encourage reblooming.  Plant it in a container! Enjoy the fragranc...

Garden Gnome, anyone? A few years ago, the Royal Horticultural Society in the UK declared that the banned garden gnome was now allowed to be part of the  Chelsea Flower Show. Tackiness be damned! Garden gnomes for all!   Garden gnomes, those funny little white-bearded  creatures,  are associated in England with the landscapes of the not-so-rich and the unfamous.   According to English gardening maven, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen,  “Gnomes are very symbolic in English gardens as an anti-class statement." Born to be Wild Gnome Anti-class? anti- posh?  These happy little garden sprites (or small and creepy men, depending on your point of view) are reminders that we are all free to fashion our gardens, our little bits of heaven, in our own way.   I remember, growing up in Brooklyn, walking by many a 'bathtub Mary' in the chainlink bordered front yards of those lucky enough to have a front yard.   They would take a cast ...

    From the garden book, Heaven is a Garden We all love to sit in a protected corner looking out to a view. This is why people seek out the proverbial “table in the corner” in a restaurant. It provides the sanctuary that I call, “the lure of a sheltered corner.” Plan for a sheltered patio corner This is also true outdoors, in your garden. I write about this in my garden design book, 'Heaven is a Garden'. If you create a rectangular patio and provide an outdoor seating area in a corner backed by bushes, a wall or a slope everyone will want to sit in this cozy spot! And if you provide a view of some sort then it will be even more appealing.  Gloster Furniture in the garden You can create a protected corner next to your house by using the rear wall as one side of the corner and a low hedge as the other side. This combination makes a wonderful niche for a small table and chairs. A sheltered corner is so inviting - by Johnsen Landscapes & P...

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...