Serenity in the Garden

As is apparent, I enjoy writing about gardens, plants, landscapes, design, color and 'big picture' ideas. I also like to explore the intersection of the art of writing and the art of gardening.... this particular interface is not well known - but you can see it clearly in the little punctuation mark called, THE ASTERISK The term asterisk comes from Latin 'asteriscum' which means  "little star". It is is a typographical symbol that resembles an image of a star... but I beg to differ, I think it resembles a FLOWER ! and so I would like to think that all those footnoted sentences have little flowers behind them...and why not draw little flowers within our sentences? better than smiley faces, yes? So here is my paean to the lowly Asterisk ...may you always see a flower when you see one.   anemone blanda by Jan Johnsen Anemone blanda These spring-blooming bulbs have daisy-like flowers in blue, purple, pink, or white. The foliage is ...

   Remember this name:   Calamintha nepeta 'Montrose White' This plant, I predict, will soon be a 'Perennial Plant of the Year'.  Why? because it is a great, hardy (to USDA zone 4)  and delightful flowering perennial plant...and it is deer resistant.  YAY! Calamintha nepeta spp nepeta 'Montrose White' was named by Mike Yanny of Johnson’s Nursery in Menomonee Falls, Wis.  Yanny’s wife purchased the calamint from Nancy Goodwin at Montrose Nursery . Yanny saw that the plant thrived and bloomed under benign neglect and came back every year as strong as ever. He asked Goodwin if he could name and patent this particular calamint ‘Montrose White.’ She agreed. ‘Montrose White’ is a compact, clump-forming, 9 -16” high plant that is covered with tiny white flowers from June until frost.  When temperatures fall in autumn the flowers turn lightly lavender. It does not get floppy and has very fragrant leaves. Calamintha...

Pennisetum Hameln, Montauk Daisies, Canna Lilies and Lamb's Ears ' Helene on Stein' - Jan Johnsen In my part of the world - New York State - October is when Mother Nature shines.The days are shorter, the sun is low in the sky, but the weather stays warm enough for the flowering plants to hang on.  I always design and install gardens with October in mind because it is now when people have time to appreciate their grounds - it is too cold for the beach and graduations and summer parties are a memory. This is when people can stop and savor a garden.  The design of Fall gardens is something I urge my students to master because these gardens prolong our enjoyment of Nature's gracious gifts.  And, more importantly, they quietly trumpet the siren call of the garden muse who is about to take her leave...but not just yet..... she sticks around to give it one last show .... Spirea Goldmound, Montauk Daisies,lantana, canna lilies So in that ve...

(from Ubud Hanging Gardens site) Its October! The nights are getting dark but with an extra layer and some cool outdoor lights you can enjoy a magical early evening outdoors. Add some white mums, montauk daisies and white Japanese Wind Anemones ( Honorine Jobert) and - in the full moonlight - you have a captivating moonlight garden. Montauk Daisies in October White Mums look great next to dark green boxwood Japanese Wind Anemone - Honorine Jobert But if you have some extra money....consider the following lights for your garden: The cool new OXO Candela Luau is a wonderful light that you can use on a leisurely nighttime stroll, place on an outdoor table or use indoors.....it is part table lamp, part emergency light, part night light, part flashlight, part candle and part lantern. This rechargeable light stays lit for up to 10 hours and uses a dimmable, 50-Watt-equivalent LED light source inside. It features a durable, water-resistant polycarbonate housing with a stainless...

In March 2009, The City of Sydney opened the magnificent Paddington Reservoir Gardens .   It was a hit from the beginning, being described as a combination of the Baths of Caracalla and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  'Adaptive Re Use' does it again! In August 2009,  TZG Architects , Sydney and Paddington Reservoir Gardens were awarded Australia's most prestigious urban design award for excellence. Judges commended them for creating a unique, surprising, functional and totally engaging public park that has captured the imagination of residents and visitors. And JMD Designs won the 2010 Australian Medal for Landscape Architecture from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture. When the city decided to transform the defunct, roofed over Reservoir (it was Sydney's original water reserve) into an urban park, it was expected that the underground site would be capped and a new park be built on top. But the architects decided to ex...

Sugar Maple Leaves - The New York State Tree "I can see clearly now, that the rain is gone ...its gonna be a bright sunshiney day" ~ Johnny Nash There is no more glorious time than a sunshiney day in Autumn in the Northeast deciduous woodlands of the United States (and in Japan, the coast of East Asia and in parts of Europe). Native Dogwood (Cornus florida) against a native Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) The native trees put on their cloaks of color and literally take your breath away... I walk along public trails near my house and exult in Nature's show. Sleepy Hollow Maple Tree Sometimes I want to literally stop and applaud, crying 'BRAVO!' to a particular tree or scene. near Mt Kisco, NY Wouldn't that be wonderful if we had crowds of people standing in front of a particular colorful sugar maple on a street applauding? Man, that would be outstanding.... In Japan , there is something like that in their Autumn tradition of viewing the changing ...