Serenity in the Garden

Just as a forest is connected by an underground fungal network, enabling individual trees to communicate with each other, and can warn each other of danger by releasing chemicals into the air, so are we all connected together deep within, sharing the wisdom and knowing of the Earth, our common home.  And this network is sending us warning signs, that our present way of life is not only unsustainable, but over .  Even when this pandemic comes to an end, we cannot afford to “return to normal” for very long. This present crisis can awaken us to the reality that we need a new way of life, one that is truly sustainable with the Earth and Her “other-than-human” inhabitants.  This virus can be heard as a part of the cry of the Earth—calling to us to change, adapt, awaken from our dream of eternal economic growth,  the nightmare that is destroying so much of Her fragile beauty and wonder. - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee go here for the entire post -   h...

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...

Artist Norm Magnusson lives near Woodstock, New York.   Yes, that Woodstock... Magnusson (see his website,  Funism ) is an artist that uses all media to get his ideas across. (Zig Zag Leaves - Norm Magnusson) In his  'Decorating Nature'  series of art photos (giclee prints - they're for sale) Magnusson paints on or colors pieces of nature, like adding stripes to a fallen leaf, painting a pine cone blue or drawing concentric rings on a stone. He says, (Blue Cone - Norm Magnusson) "We use nature to how we see fit: we strive to bring order to it,  we seek to explain it in a language that doesn’t belong to it,  we try to make it prettier,  we try to make it better,  we try to make it more profitable.  Some efforts succeed, some do n’t."       (amen to that - Jan) (Tree Rock - Norm Magnusson) But Magnusson also says that his art photos are all about beauty, saying, "Beauty ...

"Let it be admitted that the world’s problems are many and wearing, and that the whirlpool runs fast.  If we are to build a stable cultural structure above that which threatens to engulf us by changing our lives more rapidly than we can adjust our habits, it will only be by flinging over the torrent a structure as taut and flexible as a spider’s web, a human society deeply self-conscious and undeceived by the waters that race beneath it, a society more literate, more appreciative of human worth than any society that has previously existed.  That is the sole prescription, not for survival — which is meaningless — but for a society worthy to survive." Loren Eiseley,   Firmament of Time For more excerpts from Loren Eiseley go here:  http://alexsheremet.com/8-great-passages-loren-eiseleys-firmament-time/

designed by Temple University's  horticulture department Here is a great idea - a new take on the gabion wall (those walls full of stones)... if you have a lot of logs and don't mind watching them decompose in front of your eyes :-) This photo is from the great Arslocii:Placeness as Art  blog post: click here

In ancient times people collected dew water from lamb fleece. Over night the dew would collect on the fleece and this would be wringed into a container. Lanolin, a waxy ester, came out of the fleece and mixed with the dew water. It protects skin with a thin coating so when people washed their face with that dew water they had what people called "a dewy complexion". Tal Ya Water Collectors The same idea can be used for plants...Collect dew water over night and give it to plants. Lets do this in California where they need water badly for the crops that feed the US. The Tal Ya tray is an aluminum composite  tray that responds to shifts in temperature between night and day. When a change of 12 degrees C  (21 degrees F)  occurs, dew forms on the tray surfaces and this condensation is funneled straight to the plant and its roots.  tal ya dew collector and tree  Since water from dew is 'distilled' water this alleviates the problem of salini...

stone bench by Johnsen Landscapes & Pools  Stone Bench by  Johnsen Landscapes & Pools  In August, gardens in my part of the world, are a tangle of foliage, flowers and dense tree canopies. We know we should start cutting back, limbing up or clearing out the overgrowth but 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... See some great stone benches at the  Stonepost  website Stone seats in the garden have a storied history. The Druids of Northern Europe fashioned stone chairs out of boulders. It is surmised that they were used for rituals and perhaps coronations of a sort.  Today, in the British Isles and in France, you can find a...

this is the jardines de la fonte baixa in Asturias, Spain F or a great blog post about this enchanting garden go here: http://www.elblogdelatabla.com/2012/12/jardines-de-la-fonte-baixa-paraiso-de.html

Teresa O'Connor has a wonderful garden blog called Seasonal Wisdom . It is full of fascinating and well written posts!  She was a finalist in the Garden Blog Hall of Fame - so you know how great the blog is. She very kindly reviewed my new book and asked me to write a post for her.  I am sharing it here. I hope you enjoy it and check out Seasonal Wisdom ! So if you would like to read about the Power Spot in Your Landscape - Click Here.