Serenity in the Garden

  I love the tall 'Limelight' Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight')  for its beautiful and reliable white/lime green flowers, fast growth and easy care. You cannot go wrong with this plant if you have room for it. Limelight Hydrangeas in one of my landscapes - Jan Johnsen It is hardy to Zone 3, can grow to 10 feet tall and thrives in full sun or partial shade. It makes both a wonderful cut flower and landscape plant. Looks great in October when it turns a pinkish hue: Limelight hydrangea in another landscape I designed   Now there is a dwarf form called 'Little Lime' from Proven Winners which also grows in full sun or part shade.  Its final height is 3-5’ tall and wide, about a third to half as big as Limelight. Little Lime Hydrangea in another landscape - Johnsen Landscapes & Pools This hydrangea blooms from midsummer to frost. Like its bigger sibling, Little Lime’s flowers gradually change from lime-gre...

I am pleased to announce that my firm, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, has been nominated as one of four finalists in the NY Cottages and Gardens 'Innovation in Design' award - Garden Design category. It is quite an honor! Johnsen Landscapes & Pools  Check out out Facebook Page : Johnsen Landscapes & Pools Johnsen Landscapes & Pools 

  Green roofs are being touted as the future....    so back in 1995 it was pretty radical when Emilio Ambasz and Associates extended Fukuoka's Tenjin Central Park with a terraced building covered in gardens. Ambasz successfully maintained the green space of an existing park while providing the city of Fukuoka with a multi-use, iconic building.   Go to Treehugger for more on this Project   I love his stated philosophy : "Man should not see himself as a separate entity, detached from nature, but should accept his existence as part of it.   Similarly, the artifacts we create should not be proud aliens, but rather should be designed as carefully and intricately woven extensions of the larger natural and man-made domains surrounding us."   - Emilio Ambasz     He designed this research facility in Austin, Texas as a series of above ground buildings partially surrounded by built-up...

source: Open knowledge, Allianz Want serenity? or at least a little quality down time?  Spend some time with or among plants. Professor Geoff Dixon says: "Working with plants makes you feel better.  Dr Ross Cameron of the University of Reading, says: "The environment and green space drive social health" Bastyr garden supervisor Alexis Durham tends to the spring garden. source: Bastyr University  In fact, Swedish scientist Kristina Sundquist found a 72 per cent increased risk of psychosis and 16 per cent increased risk of depression in a study of four million Swedish people who lived without access to green space. The new Brooklyn Bridge Park  And  key issues such as childhood obesity are linked with the fact that kids have no green space to play in. Any policies to thwart obesity must include providing a  natural environment for a 'get active' plan.  Parks are the best way to make city people more content and ...

Hollyhocks are an old fashioned biennial flower, blooming in early summer.  You don't need a green thumb to have a beautiful garden full of this delicate flower but  you do need a lot of space as they will spread. They can grow as tall as 8 feet so they make great summer screens. They also attract butterflies. Hollyhocks are best at the back of the flower bed or planted by a fence.

A “how-to” subject like gardening is rich with great stories that can educate, fascinate and enlighten others.  This is why I like Garden Blog s....they can take what others might think is mundane and transform it into a delightful new take on life.  I also love to blog because I want to share what I have learned about gardens and landscape design with other kindred spirits.  So with that, I think Garden Bloggers, designers and garden lovers alike will love the upcoming    Garden Bloggers Conference . Its in Atlanta on September 22 - 24, 2013. Speaker Line-Up:   Garden Visionary, Top Bloggers,  Award-Winning Authors and Journalists, and Social Media Experts.   View  the complete list of speakers and their profiles. Dan Hinkley You'll hear from Dan Hinkley, Amy Stewart, Robin Horton, Steve Aitken, Felicia Feaster, Rochelle Greayer, Matt Mattus, Michelle Slatalla, Adam Japko, Chris Heiler, and more!...

Hardy Hibiscus - photo by Laura McKillop The Earth Laughs in Flowers - Ralph Waldo Emerson Want your garden to laugh in summer? Giggling with pink, red, and white? Then the hardy Hibiscus moscheutos or Swamp-rose Mallow is the answer for you!  And butterflies love them! (  It is a host plant for Gray Hairstreak butterflies.)   ('Disco Belle' Pink Hibiscus - Johnsen Landscapes & Pools. photo by Laura McKillop) I call them 'Dinner Plate' Hibiscus since the blossoms can be almost 9" across. Johnsen Landscapes & Pools - photo by Jan Johnsen   Hibiscus moscheutos is a tall, cold-hardy perennial with huge flowers that is a native to wetlands and riversides of southeastern United States from Texas to the north Atlantic states. It naturally grows in large colonies. (Lady Baltimore Hibiscus) Lord Baltimore Hibiscus moscheutos You can grow Hibiscus moscheutos easily in average to wet soils in full sun. (Do not ...