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...

It’s a sunny spring morning, the air is crisp and the sky is blue. I am   reveling in the lovely green setting of my backyard garden and am entranced by the water drops glistening atop the blades of grass. The season of dew watching is upon us! Dew appears when the days are warm, nights are cool and the air is moist. The earth cools overnight, chilling the air and then - like magic - drops of water appear out of nowhere and settle on whatever is near the ground. These drops of 'dew' do not last long. By late morning the dew evaporates and our momentary watery celebration of spring is over. John Milton, the English Renaissance poet, shared the delight of a dewy spring morning in these verses: “Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds; pleasant the sun, When first on this delightful land he spreads His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit and flower, Glistening with dew..." Spring flowers are lovely when '...

Two evenings ago, driving along a road in open farm country, I watched as the January full moon rose over a snowy landscape... The large white disc shining brightly in a liquid gray sky was spectacular!  I now understand why animals howl at the moon - it must be a sympathetic show of appreciation and awe. The grandeur of the full moon made me reflect on moon gates, the traditional Chinese circular entryways that lead into contained gardens and cities. The rounded opening alludes to the full moon and the Chinese adage that says, 'Flowers are more beautiful when the moon is full.' Stepping through a round portal is symbolic of so many things. Like our entrance into this world, an enveloping enclosure calls to us to see what is on the other side. This sort of entry speaks to us of mystery and delight - no soaring Calatrava-like bridge or ornamented portico -  a moon gate beckons quietly, saying 'all is well, come see for yourself...

Happy Harvest Moon! It is the full moon that is nearest the start of the autumn equinox and this year that is October 5th. It is a significant full moon because near the fall equinox the moon rises soon after sunset and thus shines bright early in the evening. This helps farmers to harvest crops in the light of the full moon. .  Additionally, it appears to rise the same time each night for several nights (about 25 minutes later) while most full moons rise about 50 minutes later each night in the US and southern Canada. In more Northern areas the Harvest Moon rises only 10 - 20 minutes later each night.  This is a great benefit at sunset for farmers.

I once had a landscape client named Dr. Maury Leibovitz. He was an older gentleman and asked me to create a perennial garden for him in his large property in Greenwich, Ct.  We had a lot of fun doing it. He enjoyed it greatly. During that time he gave me a tour of his estate's grounds and shared stories of  the magnificent sculptures that dotted the landscape.  I learned that he started out as an accountant for  Occidental Petroleum Corporation and became an associate of the the corporation's late chairman, Dr. Armand Hammer . Leibovitz  and Hammer shared a love of fine art and together purchased Knoedler Galleries and Publishing in 1971. Jo Davidson and Gertrude Stein in Paris - photo by Man Ray  Maury shared stories of how he found certain artists. And one sculpture in particular he loved - Gertrude Stein by Jo Davidson .  He and I stood there  and admired it, set in a pastoral setting, and I listened to ...

In honor of my new book, The Spirit of Stone - 101 Practical and Creative Stonescaping Ideas for Your Garden  (St. Lynn's Press, 2017) that was released last week I am sharing this post about stone benches. Stone Bench - Dallas Arboretum - photo by Jan Johnsen Stone Bench by  Johnsen Landscapes & Pools In the heat of the summer when we should be pruning what we really want to do is sit in the cool shade and drink a tall glass of iced tea. Antique sandstone Bench from  English Garden Antiques Ah, a place to sit in the cool leafy shade!  What better contrast to the soft green lushness that surrounds you than a stone seat or bench, immutable, grounded and cool to the touch... sitting on stone outdoors grounds you and aligns you to the earth's electromagnetic pulse... It is like a calming sedative that you feel almost immediately. See some great stone benches at the  Stonepost  website Stone seats...

 I have written about the Native Americans'   Three Sisters Garden  (corn, beans and squash ) but I neglected to tell you of the  Fourth Sister ... a very important member of this family! This is from  Hubpages :  "Fourth Sister, didn't look anything like her other sisters, although she was as tall and as slender as First Sister (corn) . That seemed fair to all, because Third Sister and Second Sister shared similar but different features. They could climb and run, while their other two sisters were forced to stand tall and proud." Mother Sun explained that each sister had her job and each had to benefit from and protect one another.  But Fourth Sister's job was most important of all -- for she was the  guardian of the North ,  planted firmly, to protect others from the robbers who soon would come. The fourth sister was the elegant sunflower. The Sisters are known to the Native Americans as th...