Serenity in the Garden

NY Botanical Garden Groundbreakers photo by Ivo Vermeuelen “ A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.”  -    Ralph Waldo Emerson  The long-maligned Mullein ( Verbascum bombyciferum ) is considered a weed by some but here its wooly, whitish leaves,  rising four feet high, show off its yellow flowers amidst a glorious flower display at NY  Botanical  Garden... It was NYBG's homage to the great Beatrix Farrand, landscape designer of the Eyrie and Dumbarton Oaks. This is from several years ago.

Boscobel Heaven is home.  Utopia is here . Nirvana is now.  - Edward Abbey

'Blue Paradise' Little Bluestem courtesy of Proven Winners   Deep wine purple fall color. When the American Horticultural Society decided to create a large meadow at their headquarters, River Farm, in Virginia the first plant they seeded was  Little Bluestem.   ( I wrote about this earlier but have added to it. ) Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm  They applied 100 pounds of Bluestem seed. The Latin name is  Schizachyrium scoparium or  skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um sko-PAR-ee-um. Why was this the first plant they seeded? Because Little Bluestem is a NATIVE, wonderful, durable, upright,   clump forming grass that is eminently suitable for 'meadow making'. 'The Blues' courtesy of the  Battery Database Little Bluestem is native to almost all of the United States and parts of Canada. It is found in  45 of the 50 states, making it the most abundant of all native grasses. It is drought and flood-tolerant, can gro...

(Jan Johnsen - angelonia, vinca and dusty miller)     Annual flowers - those that bloom all summer into late fall then give it up for good - are the secret to a joyful and colorful garden.  I know people think planting annual flowers take too much work in spring but I say, "go ahead, try it! The rewards in your garden continue into the late fall." (Jan Johnsen - profusion zinnias, marigolds,salvia, plectranthus) Colorful annual flowers make us happy, enrich our lives and then sometimes take our breath away, to boot. (Jan Johnsen - coleus, plectranthus,angelonia, and more) I know all about annual flowers because after graduating college (landscape architecture focus) decades ago, I went to work in the display gardens at  MOHONK MT. HOUSE   in New Paltz, NY.  I was not very happy about the situation because back then, in Landscape architecture school, flowers were not popular. In fact, not even considered! I thought fl...

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...

'Serenity in the Garden' is my way to gladden someone's day and to share my wonder at people' s creativity and Nature's beauty. Here are a few garden marvels: photo by Jan Johnsen  I worked in the gardens of Mohonk Mt. House (a hotel) decades ago. It is still one of my favorite places! In New Paltz, NY. I took this photo of their unique rustic gazebos that border Mohonk Lake.   "Much patience required. VERY steady hands, heartbeat, breathing, one’s entire being.. required." - Michael Grab (shown here with his creation).  http://www.gravityglue.com/   Do you know what is missing in this Zen inspired sand garden? a leaf - lying haphazadly atop the sand. ah, so. W hy not a 'poetry wall' garden? this is in Brooklyn, NY. Design by Terrain..  http://www.terrain-nyc.net/ photo by Jan Johnsen Look carefully - this is a photo on a banner affixed to a plain wall - makes it look like a real cascade! I took this photo in K...

Longhouse Reserve - Easthampton, NY - a great place to visit Valentines’ Day is synonymous with  RED  - red roses, red hearts and red carnations. Red, the hottest of the warm colors, is the color of love, romance, passion and energy.... (and of Target dept.store). Brides wear red in China, India and the Islamic countries. Audrey Hepburn wore it in Funny Face: Red arouses, excites and evokes strong emotions. In fact, studies show that seeing red can stimulate your body to pump out more adrenaline and increases blood pressure, respiration and pulse rate. I remember the first time I saw how powerful red could be - it was in the movie GiGi by Vincente Minelli. I was very young and I sat in the movie theater looking at the magnifent red salon in Paris, thinking how dull our little rooms in my Queens, NY apartment were.   Minelli, a film director, was a  master of color ,  saying,   "I use col...

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...

Its Halloween!...and you plan to carve the Jack O'Lantern TONIGHT...triangle eyes, triangle nose.....yawn..... What you need is some inspiration! You can find it at the Van Cortlandt Manor located in  my little village of Croton-on-Hudson because we have what must be the world's largest display of carved Jack O'Lanterns...it is called the  Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze . Why do we have such a thing?  Well, Croton is in 'Sleepy Hollow Country' and Sleepy Hollow is the home of the Headless Horseman. It is right down the road from us.  (And he rides through the countryside every Halloween)....thus, we are a natural for Jack O'Lanterns..... That is my opinion as to the reason why we hold it although the website  Things You Should Do  says this: "Blaze’s creative director, Michael Natiello, said the true inspiration for Blaze is the landscape of Van Cortlandt Manor itself.  The event is really a land art instal...