Serenity in the Garden

  A gentle reminder to stop and enjoy a cup of tea. It's important and this explains why: The Foolishness of Things

'Elizabeth' Magnolia was bred by Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Ossining, NY.   I love yellow-flowering magnolias. The cover of a Garden Design Magazine features one and it makes my heart skip a beat. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden introduced the yellow-flowering magnolia to the world. BBG  launched the breeding program in 1953 at its R&D facility, the Kitchawan Research Center, in Ossining, New York (the town next door to me). They bred eight magnolias before the program shut down at Kitchawan in 1991. These BBG hybrids are still available today. These beauties flower between mid-April and mid-May. Magnolia  x ‘Elizabeth’ One of my favorites is  Magnolia  x ‘Elizabeth’  which was introduced in 1977. It is a cross between  M. acuminata  and  M. denudata.  Dr. Evamaria Sperber, who helped start BBG’s breeding program bred this tree. It is valued because it flowers before the leaves come out which makes an elega...

In these times, I look to one of my favorite Shakespare passages. They say being outside is one of the best things you can do to stay healthy. This is so apt for these times -  "Exempt from public haunt" indeed: "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in every thing." - Shakespeare, As You Like It

Swami Radhananda, the director of Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia, Canada, has sage advice for the overstressed denizens of the 21st century: “When you desire peace, visualize your favorite place and go there whenever you want. Place yourself in a wonderful beautiful garden – see your favorite trees, flowers, smell the most beautiful scents, feel the warm air, hear the birds sing.  It is a very simple practice…. Sitting quietly, constructively using the senses, is one way to relax and to rest to your central nervous system. The mind is absorbed, contained, and focused…” (  www.ascentmagazine.com/columns ) Swami Radhananda describes the secret of a serenity garden. Within such a place, you can be carried away by the quiet offerings of a glorious natural world. Your mind relaxes and loosens as you focus on colors, scents, the sunlight, birdsong or the breeze. That nervous energy within you slows down and you breath...

Trees emanate a palpable energy. Stop next to a tree, be quiet, and you can feel it. In my book, Heaven is a Garden , I have a chapter titled, 'Calling on the Trees'. It touches upon the unsung aspects of our woody grand neighbors. Now, with the public's renewed focus on trees, I feel it is the right time to share a short excerpt from my book with you: "The Celts of ancient Europe believed that Nemetona, goddess of the grove, resided in the hushed atmosphere of forest glades. She could be found in a needle-covered pine forest, beneath a group of towering beech trees or in a sun-dappled birch grove. These woodland clearings were called nemetons and were seen as being awash with the enchanted energies of trees. Trees: Nature’s Recharger The Celts attributed the charged atmosphere of woodland clearings to shunnache, the life energy of trees. Interestingly, this ancient notion is similar to the invisible energy fields of modern physics, and Albert Einst...

The following is an excerpt from a post on the blog, Creative Countryside . The post is   Solitude, Spontaneity and Sanity   written by Sarah Hardman. "Give yourself a bit of breathing space , time to reset.  By wandering up that footpath – even if you’ll be turning back around again after ten minutes – you’re doing something very important.  You’re switching off.  From the requests of others, from conversation. Instead you’re tuning in to the seasons and the details around you: nature. The sound of birds and buzzing insects and the wind in the trees.  The smell of the earth and sun-warmed grass, the feel of leaves as you brush past.  Indulge your curiosity. Reset. The obligations and their accompanying emotions: stress, resentfulness, mild anxiety: they can be let go for a little while as you take some time for yourself and savor your surroundings."

the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons Tomorrow, Sunday Dec 10 at 2 pm I will be speaking about Serenity by Design to the avid gardeners  in the Hamptons on Long Island, NY. I am excited to speak to this wonderful group at their annual holiday gathering.  Please join us! It will be at the Bridgehampton Community House,    2368 Montauk Hwy, Bridgehampton, NY 11932 Serenity by Design - goes  with my book, Heaven is a Garden

I often take a walk in the woods near my house. I walk on paved streets to reach this forest trail, taking rapid strides and often breathing  in chilled morning air. I catch the early sunlight through the trees. It is such a wonderful time and I feel calmer and more centered. My little morning reverie has a name: ' forest bathing' or, in the original Japanese, 'Shinrin-yoku'.   This arboreal therapy, the Japanese tell us, literally instills peace, calms us and promotes immunity to disease!  Like a walking healing meditation, "forest bathing" coordinates breath and movement in the presence of the scent of forest trees to uplift us. Ever since a Japanese government agency coined the term, 'forest bathing'  in 1982, 'shinrin-yoku' has slowly made its way into the vernacular in Japan  It has a great many Japanese fans who now can  visit  forty two 'forest therapy' parks  for stress relief....

Trees, the earth’s largest and longest-lived plant forms, are Nature’s gift to us. They provide for our sustenance – giving us fire, fruit, shade, shelter, medicine and soil enrichment – and they beautify our environment.  Fittingly, trees symbolize qualities such as wisdom, fertility, courage or strength  in many cultural traditions,   For some people, trees offer solace, for others, they represent on-going life and for others, they are enlarge the definition of ‘community’. Wendell Berry, novelist and essayist, sees trees from this last perspective, "You've got to understand what kind of creature a tree is… they have to receive from us certain deference, a certain respect, as we would extend to any neighbor." When trees are seen as our neighbors, commingling in everyday life, they become a part of our family, standing as silent sentinels, growing amidst – and despite - the tumult of human activity.  It is the idea of a tree as ally and protect...

milk carton gardening   Do you have simple summer garden memories?  I sure do.  And I hope the kids of today will have them too. I hope they remember the simple pleasure of growing carrots in milk cartons, tomatoes in large cans or maybe hollyhocks al ong old fences and lilacs at the corner of a house. We should reclaim these simple things as part of our ordinary life. Hollyhocks Honeysuckle Maybe you have some  memories like this:  It  might be the 'weed' that smelled like licorice ( anise hyssop), Blue Fortune Anise Hyssop The buttercups that you put under your chin,  buttercup reflection under chin - go here for more: Eat The Wee ds the honeysuckle that you could suck a teeny drop of 'honey' from, honey from honeysuckle - for more: Instructables  the sweet smell of roses as you walked past a certain house,  roses on trellis source: Nantucket today  the brigh...

Three is nothing as delightful as a clear, crisp morning in spring... I took this at the Everett Rock Garden at NY Botanical Garden. A must-see for Garden lovers.