Serenity in the Garden

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

Are you feeling a little down? depressed? Well here is a way to fix that -  go out and plant something... Studies have found that an hour of gardening a day reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke and increases bone density more efficiently than aerobics or swimming! In fact, even looking at nature can result in a drop in blood pressure within five minutes and lower our stress hormones. One 16-year study in Australia revealed that those who did daily gardening even cut their risk of getting dementia in later life.    (Gardening boosts endorphins, the body’s good-mood chemicals. Personally, my theory is that we need the sunlight on our pineal gland and this can delay dementia, but I have no proof, its just a 'knowing') Here is a lovely story from  Timesonline United Kingdom,  dated March 27, 2010 "...Jane Robertson was earning a small fortune in the pressured world of derivatives markets when she had a breakdown at the age ...

This is the most popular blog post in Serenity in the Garden so I decided to re-post it... The wonderful Deer Resistant Blue Angelonia flower. (Angelonia with Helichrysum, petunia, Johnsen Landscapes) Blue is everyone's "favorite color."  It is, hands down, the most popular color worldwide and is the least "gender specific" color, having equal appeal to both men and women. Now Purple is giving blue a run for its money as the second favorite color.... Blue is the favored color for toothbrushes, so that says it all!  ( this info is from a great website:  Sensation Color )  but can purple be far behind? Scientists have found that the color blue causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming. This may be why we all like to be around blue....stare at this square and see if it calms you. In fact, over the past decade, scientists have reported the successful use of blue light in the treatment of psychological problems such a...

Love the earth and sun and the animals. Despise riches, give alms to every one that asks.  Stand up for the stupid and crazy. Devote your income and labor to  others... Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

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...

It’s a sunny spring morning, the air is crisp and the sky is blue. I am   reveling in the lovely green setting of my backyard garden and am entranced by the water drops glistening atop the blades of grass. The season of dew watching is upon us! Dew appears when the days are warm, nights are cool and the air is moist. The earth cools overnight, chilling the air and then - like magic - drops of water appear out of nowhere and settle on whatever is near the ground. These drops of 'dew' do not last long. By late morning the dew evaporates and our momentary watery celebration of spring is over. John Milton, the English Renaissance poet, shared the delight of a dewy spring morning in these verses: “Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds; pleasant the sun, When first on this delightful land he spreads His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit and flower, Glistening with dew..." Spring flowers are lovely when '...

Do you want to be immortalized? Just have someone name a fabulous plant after you.  Honorine Jobert was a very lucky lady because this flowering Japanese hybrid anemone -  Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' -  is a wonderful bloomer and extremely adaptable.  Lovely in a woodland setting or in rock gardens. An excellent cut flower. Naturalizes by spreading rhizomes in ideal conditions. Herbaceous perennial. Blooms from August through September, every year. Zones 4 - 8. Low maintenance and great in perennial borders, cottage gardens, and city gardens  .  Named a 'Tried and True' plant by the Missouri Botanical Garden. 

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."

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

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....