Serenity in the Garden

rose hips photo by Jan Johnsen  Allow your roses to form hips.   Did you know that, like  many plants that produce fruit, the formation of rose hips is a signal to the rose to go dormant for the season? from Monrovia - Japanese rose  Rose hips provide wonderful color in the garden and are a good source of vitamin C for birds in the fall and winter.  They are one of the highest plant sources of Vitamin C. 'Cherry Pie' Rose makes great rose hips: Oso Easy Cherry Pie Rose -from May Dreams Garden Blog  You can eat them too. Rose hips are used for jam, jelly, syrup, soup, beverages, pies, bread, and wine.  They can also be eaten raw if care is used to avoid the hairs inside the fruit.   The redder they are, the softer and sweeter.   source: live by the sun blog  for more info on roses go to Chris Van Cleave - click here . 

Now More than Ever - Lets Get Kids Gardening -  When did we abandon the simple pleasures of growing carrots in milk cartons, planting hollyhocks along old fences or having fragrant lilacs at the corner of a house?  Let's reclaim this as part of our ordinary life... Hollyhocks We all have such memories - even city kids like me... It might be the 'weed' that smelled like licorice (anise hyssop),  or the buttercups that you put under your chin,  or the honeysuckle that you could suck a teeny drop of 'honey' from,  Honeysuckle the sweet smell of roses as you walked past a certain house,  or the bright yellow daffodils in early spring that sprang up overnight it seemed. daffodils by Jan Johnsen I would like us to revive 'garden memories' - to bring flowers, plants and gardens back into our lives. This kind of knowledge has been cast aside in favor of math and physics but I say children can learn thos...

Here's a tip:  white flowers are a STAND OUT! Who would think that simple white flowers would be so remarkable? Amidst green foliage and gray skies white petalled flowers sparkle and shine to such a degree that you have to smile ...and I am not the first to discover white's compelling brilliance. Vita Sackville West, the English garden writer(who became famous for her White Garden in her estate, Sissinghurst),  said it best, "White flowers are anathema to all but the oldest and most sophisticated of gardeners." This is a very sly way of saying that if you like white flowers you are are so cultured and discriminating. ...so there you go! I must be very classy because I fancy white pansies,white gardenias, white euphorbia, white lilies and white roses. Euphorbia Diamond Frost ( deer resistant) courtesy: Proven Winners (BTW, the above quote was the impetus for the name  'White Flower Farm' ...which is an outstanding mail or...

Happy New Year to You!  2018 will be a wonderful year. I wish you all the blessings that a New Year brings. And I aim to bring more serenity and inspiration to garden lovers next year.  Love the Earth in 2018. Yours, Jan Johnsen

Foxtail Ferns in Planter   “Still, as I went about my potting on a glorious afternoon,  one small treasure after another,  the world of nature that is so terrible and so beautiful appeared  only in its sweetest aspect.” - Henry Mitchell Planter for Shady Conditions by Laura McKillop Container plantings is a gardener's secret - they are easier to maintain and you can enjoy its bounty up close without bending down!  How great is that? White Iceberg Roses in terra cotta planters The fun part starts with choosing the pot, then choosing the plants...It is somewhat addictive. I just planted a pot with Lysimachia 'Walkabout Sunset' with Sedum 'Vera Jameson' and 'Irene' lantana. A plant lover's dream.  Lysimachia 'Walkabout Sunset'  Sedum Vera Jameson - photo - J. Johnsen Irene Lantana - Magnolia Gardens photo  And what about your combos? I would love to hear....

Always note if a red in your garden is a 'cool red', tinged with blue,  or a 'warm red', tinged with yellow.  The Cool Reds or Bluish Reds go well with other blue-toned colors like a blue-toned lavender or pink.  The sight of a warm color is a little jarring when you are aiming for a feeling of serenity in the garden.... Super Hero Rose and Rozanne Geranium - Garden and Photo by Jan Johnsen Camassia Bulb - click here for photo sourc e Super Hero Rose Appleblossom Flower Carpet Rose -a bluish Pink Nepeta, Russian Sage, perennial Blue Salvia - all go well  with  bluish reds. And throw in some white in for a little respite! Montauk Daisies

photo by Beth Owl's Daughter Beth Owl's daughter took this exquisite photo of Graham Thomas Roses at her home in Laurel Hill, North Carolina in late May. Probably the best known of all the English Roses and one of the most popular roses in the world. ‘ Graham Thomas’ has been voted the World’s Favorite Rose   by the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) which represents over 100,000 rose lovers in 41 member countries. It was bred by the incomparable David Austin.   The award was announced at the 2009 World Rose Convention in Vancouver, when the rose was inducted into the society’s ‘Rose Hall of Fame’. It is a vigorous variety that makes a good climber and it has a fresh tea rose fragrance, being awarded the Henry Edland medal for fragrance in 2000. Ideal when grown on a wall where it will repeat flower in several flushes.  10 - 12 ft as a climber.