Serenity in the Garden

For hummingbirds plant something RED.  'Major Wheeler' honeysuckle is a selection of a native honeysuckle ( Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler')  that produces a blanket of tubular, reddish orange flowers from late spring through summer.   Hummingbirds like tubular flowers so this profusely red blooming, vining plant is a hummingbird magnet! This photo is from a great website Stately Kitsch Grows in Zones 4 -8. They bloom on the previous year's growth as well as new growth so pruning is easy and regular pruning is not required. They grow from 6 ft to 10 ft. long.  You must provide a trellis, fence, or post with wire grid for support for this marvelous vine. It is noninvasive, unlike some other honeysuckle vines. And it is DEER RESISTANT.  Later, the red berries attract goldfinches and robins. How great! It is rarely troubled by insects, diseases, or deer. Bingo. this is from Burpee who calls it a customer favorite ...

The best homemade plant labels come from aluminum soda cans. from Greylustergirl blog They are inexpensive, durable, attractive and fun to make. And in the garden their reflective qualities act as rabbit repellents! You can have them dangle on supports ( made from clothes hangers) or tie them with twine on a pot. CUT THE CAN AND ROLL OUT ALUMINUM. Put on your gloves. Use the tip of your scissors to punch a small hole on the side of each end of the can. You can also use a steak knife or screwdriver to get the hole started.  Cut off the top and bottom of the can and discard . TRACE THE SHAPES AND CUT OUT. Next, unroll the metal as best you can and place the metal on a flat but flexible surface, printed side up . A pad of paper, a top of a notebook or a thick stack of newspaper are all good bases. Use a template tool to trace a shape with a ball point pen onto the metal. Press firmly to leave an indentation. Cut with a pair of sciss...

This is from Proven Winners

Tuff Guard Hose wreath  It is that time of year and you want to give wonderful, heart warming gifts to your garden lover friends. You want to find unusual and touching presents that acknowledge who they are and what they are into - not just hand cream. Right? And you don't have a lot of money to spend and you would rather order on line than go crazy in a crowded shopping scene... So,, in that spirit, I am going to suggest some inexpensive gift ideas for your gardening pals...the money limit is  $20. and less  for some fab ideas... the market research is this:   If I want it then they will too. Amazon - Cavallini Papers You can use them as gift wrap or - better yet- frame them or laminate them and place in a suitable location.  Vegetable gardeners would appreciate the fruit and vegie gift papers. Succulent lovers will like this one: And of course mushroom hunters will warm to this gift: For the more prac...

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 ...

This is a great magazine. Have you noticed that I love the new Garden Design Magazine? At every talk I give, I gush about it.  It is a gorgeous magazine devoted to garden design and plants. Every article is fascinating. It comes every few months. Dwarf NY Asters featured in the Fall issue of Garden Design magazine Now they have upped their game even more and have developed some fabulous videos that share with you a little of what is in their issue.... Jim Peterson, the publisher and driving force behind the magazine, plans to make three kinds of videos. The first supports stories in the magazine. The second is about garden features that are popular and on the fabulous Garden Design website  and the third will be about garden design and will be made in collaboration with designer,  Richard Hartlage. Here is an interview with the editor of Garden Design magazine, Thad Orr, talking about the magazine and what is covered. It is a gem of a magaz...

Icy Rose     My favorite garden writer, Eleanor Perenyi , wrote one garden book,  Green Thoughts,  and it affected me immeasurably when I first read it in 1982.   I thought how marvelous that she could combine great writing with the mundane joys of a Northeast garden.  She refers to chestnuts and it makes me wonder if she had a tree because  the once plentiful native chestnut trees are gone, killed by the devastating fungal disease, chestnut blight. (Although they have a foundation, go here: The American Chestnut Foundation .)  Here is a paragraph from her essay,  Autumn . It catches that early morning moment in a late November garden:   frost dahlia  by Ellis Hollow blog "Heavier dews presage the morning when the moisture will have turned to ice, glazing the shriveled dahlias and lima beans, and the annuals will be blasted beyond recall. These deaths are stingless. I wouldn't want it otherwise.  I g...

I planted these Double Knock Out roses...blooming like crazy.  - Jan  I love Knock-out Roses...I know they are becoming almost too popular but there are good reasons for this: They are disease free, bloom extra long and are cold hardy. They bloom the first year you plant them and are heat tolerant. And best of all, there is no need to deadhead Knock Out -- the flowers will continue no matter what! I normally plant the  Double Knock Out   Rose. The flowers have 25 petals per bloom! Flowering begins in early summer and continues til heavy frost ( it was still blooming in NY in mid November). double knock out rose Prune them in late winter or early spring or trim them right after the first bloom flush in early summer. Follow with some rose food. Epsom salts too! A great rose pruner is the Corona Long Reach Pruner.   It cuts and holds so you don't have to touch thorny branches. Click on the name for more info.  It makes rose pru...

Limelight Hydrangeas in one of my landscapes -  Jan Johnsen     I love the tall 'Limelight' Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight')  for its beautiful and reliable white/lime green flowers, fast growth and easy care. You cannot go wrong with this plant if you have room for it. It is hardy to Zone 3, can grow to 10 feet tall and thrives in full sun or partial shade. It makes both a wonderful cut flower and landscape plant. Looks great in October when it turns a pinkish hue: Limelight hydrangea in another landscape I designed    Now there is a dwarf form called 'Little Lime' from Proven Winners which also grows in full sun or part shade.  Its final height is 3-5’ tall and wide, about a third to half as big as Limelight. Little Lime Hydrangea in another landscape - Johnsen Landscapes & Pools This hydrangea blooms from midsummer to frost. Like its bigger sibling, Little Lime’s flowers gradually change...

robot lawn mower    So here we are - robots mowing the lawn. Click here  if you want to see how you can grab one of these little guys.... The Worx Landroid lets you customize daily mowing schedules.  It runs 7 days a week giving your lawn a trim on a routine basis as opposed to traditional mowers that take off substantial amounts of grass on a less frequent basis.  like a roomba vacuum, I guess Landroid navigates narrow passages, cuts with precision on slopes angling up to 20 degrees and does it all with zero emissions! (it runs  off of a 28V rechargeable battery)   Your lawn should be under 10,750 square feet for Landroid to work precisely for you.  The keypad makes it easy to customize a mowing schedule. The low noise allows you to mow during the day or night.  cuts on a slope too Makes a great Father's Day gift...more time for him to sit in front of the TV.  :-)

Pineapple lily (Eucomis comosa) - photo by Jan Johnsen The pineapple lily grabs the eye with its wide, long leathery leaves and profusion of detailed, waxy flowers on a upright 12" spikes that, together, resemble a pineapple.   This exotic plant, grown from a bulb, adds a tropical flair to a garden. It is native to southern Africa, USDA Zone 7 - 10.   It tolerates sun to some shade.  Cultivars of pineapple lilies include the “Sparkling Burgundy,” which has leaves that stay purple for about two months. The “Tugela Ruby” also has dark foliage but is larger than the “Sparkling Burgundy.”   The plant is great in large containers, in beds and as a focal point. Bulbs go dormant during the colder months and stay healthy as long as there is no frost.  Blooms appear in late spring through summer. Check them out at Brent and Becky's Bulbs. 

I suggested some fun gift ideas a few days ago and forgot to mention 2 other gifts that gardeners love. Garden Design Magazine Subscription The new rendition of the famous Garden Design magazine is better than ever!  A great gift for anyone who loves gardens and plants. get a gift subscription here  And a heavy duty lopping shears Fiskars 32-Inch PowerGear Bypass Lopper  We all need this and try to use our pruning shears instead...and then we ruin a great pair of pruning shears (I know - I have done it). So this is a gift that gardeners all want but never buy for themselves....great for roses and small trees and more...it is built for tough jobs. Fiskars Lopping Shears

SOFT SIDED PLANTER  Soft-sided fabric aeration container that has the rigidity to hold its shape Provides aeration, enhancing root structure, resulting in a vigorous plant with more flowers and fruits and increased insect and disease resistance Allows excess heat to escape Developed for, and used by commercial tree growers 7 Gallon capacity; 14 inch diameter x 9.5 inch height Mushroom Kit  You will love being able to grow their own edible mushrooms with this do-it-yourself kit.  In as little as 10 days, kids can grow up to 1-1/2 lbs. of gourmet oyster mushrooms, right out of the milk carton-shaped box. It only takes three easy steps - just open, mist and harvest.  The soil inside is 100% recycled coffee grounds, which are safe and sustainable. Pine Cone Bell  Enjoy the gentle sounds brought by the wind - brought to you by SPI,  valued by prominent interior designers and home décor specialists. ...