Serenity in the Garden

Lamb's Ear  One of my assignments to my graduate students in the landscape design program at Columbia University was to take a  paragraph  from the book, ' The Hidden Dimension' by Edward T. Hall and share a personal experience related to the topic of the selected excerpt. 'The Hidden Dimension' is a time honored classic on the role of spatial understanding in  culture . The following is an essay that the talented designer,  Yuliya Bellinger, wrote. I think it is so lovely and wanted to share it with you. Simple is beautiful.   TEXTURE in the Garden By Yuliya Bellinger “Texture, about which I have said very little, is appraised and appreciated almost entirely by touch, even when it is visually presented. With few exceptions …it is the memory of tactile experiences that enable us to appreciate texture. So far, only a few designers have paid much attention to the importance of texture and its use in architecture is largely haphazar...

"Many gardeners will agree that hand-weeding is not the terrible drudgery that it is often made out to be. Some people find in it a kind of soothing monotony.  It leaves their minds free to develop the plot for their next novel or to perfect the brilliant repartee with which they should have encountered a relative's latest example of unreasonableness.”  ―  Christopher Lloyd ,  The Well-Tempered Garden

"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/

Yoga outdoors - the best   I was asked to write a short article about creating a Yoga garden . Here is the link to that article: (click on it):   How to Create a Yoga Garden  As I shared my thoughts I realized that outdoor spaces for yoga practice are very special spaces - like an outdoor sanctuary. If you set about to choose a space in a property consider these factors:  Old trees can add solemnity and stateliness.  Dry places to sit are imperative.  Dappled shade for afternoon practice; a sunny spot for early morning yoga. White flowers are a big plus...why? white is the perfect color for elevating the atmosphere. snow cone shrub rose - Jackson and Perkins Large stones or stone statues 'ground' the scene, add stability and peace. Water scintillates. Quiet flowing water of any sort adds sparkle and dynamic movement.  For much more go to the article:    How to Create a Yoga Garden   I hope i...

Lisa Orgler, 'garden designer by day and food illustrator by night',  has a wonderful garden blog!  Here is a simple tutorial on drawing various plant symbols by hand. I think Youtube is the best way to show people the basics ... Click on this link below to watch her wonderful video! How to Draw Plant Symbols

The Most Inspiring and Heartfelt 10 minute TED talk :   I spent a summer near Elk, California. Magical. Namaste to All Creatures....

I teach a graduate Landscape Design Studio at Columbia University.  I ask my students to select an excerpt from the assigned book, 'The Hidden Dimension' and correlate a personal experience to describe it. This is what a student, Yuji Yamazaki, an architect, wrote. It is a very enlightening piece!   ...I had to share. (He said it was ok.) “We learn from the study of culture that the patterning of perceptual world is a function not only of culture but of relationship, activity, and emotion.  Therefore, people from different cultures, when interpreting each other’s behavior, often misinterpret the relationship, the activity, or the emotion.  This leads to alienation in encounters or distorted communications.” ~ Edward T. Hall, Hidden Dimension I have been living with my girlfriend for over 5 years now. My girlfriend, born and raised in the Long Island, NY,  sees certain things in a way that I don’t quite understand, esp...

  Lost  by David Wagoner photo by Jan Johnsen (NYBG - pinus bungeana) Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known.   photo by Jan Johnsen (one of my gardens) The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you. If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here. No two trees are the same to Raven. No two branches are the same to Wren. photo by Blondieb If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows Where you are. You must let it find you. from Collected Poems 1956-1976 © Indiana University Press

In my graduate Landscape Design Studio at Columbia University, I ask students to select an excerpt from the assigned book, 'The Hidden Dimension' and correlate a personal experience to describe it. Yuji Yamazaki wrote this very enlightening piece...I had to share. (He said it was ok.) “We learn from the study of culture that the patterning of perceptual world is a function not only of culture but of relationship, activity, and emotion.  Therefore, people from different cultures, when interpreting each other’s behavior, often misinterpret the relationship, the activity, or the emotion.  This leads to alienation in encounters or distorted communications.” ~ Edward T. Hall, Hidden Dimension I have been living with my girlfriend for over 5 years now. My girlfriend, born and raised in the Long Island, NY,  sees certain things in a way that I don’t quite understand, especially things that relate to space and privacy. Edward Hall mentions that there is no...

George Reis  is a student of mine at Columbia University and he also works for NYU as their Landscape Supervisor (he prefers 'Head Gardener') .... our latest assignment required that he choose an excerpt from Edward Hall's 'The Hidden Dimension' and write a personal anecdote relating to the concept cited. George wrote a touching essay on the power of flowers that I would like to share with you. Here the vibrant and beneficial energy of flowers soothes even the toughest of NY city psyches..... “Our urban spaces provide little excitement or visual variation and virtually no opportunity to build a kinesthetic repertoire of spatial experiences…Man can be viewed as having visual, kinesthetic, tactile, and thermal aspects of his self which may be either inhibited or encouraged to develop by his environment." Edward T. Hall,   'The Hidden Dimension' I’ve heard Pete Hamill, the great New York writer, reminisce about the days when New ...

photo by Jan Johnsen In 2006, the National Gardening Association in South Burlington, Vermont (I used to be a garden design consultant for them in the early 80s) decided to celebrate National Garden Month by inviting readers to share their garden tales for a " This is My Garden" Sweepstakes. Here is one of the poignant and inspiring stories that they received: Deciding to Cure  by Joanne B. Darryl, my husband, lived in what is now our home for 9 years before we married. Each fall I planted daffodil bulbs. He had no interest in planting anything.  During the winter of 2004-2005 Darryl suffered a bad bout of depression. So that spring and summer flowers became his cure .  Petunias in planter - created by Jan Johnsen He built a planter at the front edge of the lawn, planted perennials and lots of petunias in hanging baskets and scattered large pots about the yard. During the autumn we planted tulip bulbs and pansies in the planter. Darryl also planted hyacinths, d...

Matt Berger was my high school intern for a season...and now he is a sophomore studying landscape architecture at University of  Rhode Island.  He is a remarkable young man - check out his blog "  Doubling Your Summer Money for Young Adults"   ... He even created a college scholarship fund for any student from his high school that exhibits a passion for environmental awareness! He funds it with his earnings as a landscaper in the summer. He wrote this as a message to me, describing his vision of a serenity garden, and I would like to share it with you. Montauk Daisies Jan, after listening to your talk show, I was thinking about "Serenity in the Garden" and what it makes  me think of. So I sat down, and wrote ...the first things that came to me... When you walk into a garden [designed for serenity], you feel a sort of energy. A fusion between relaxation and excitement. ...Your first rush of energy is usually captured at the entrance way...