Serenity in the Garden

Olana,  Hudson, NY Each place has its own voice. As a gardener, designer or someone who works with the land in some fashion,  you try to hear its call.... It may speak in loud, imposing tones or utter faint whispers... but the voice is always present, no matter how muffled. Ashintully Gardens,  Tyringham, Mass I like to think that as gardeners or designers we take that voice and make it a song...with lilting melodies we create a flow between the place and those who tread upon it. The plants, the forms, the light all combine in a synthesis that sings the praises of the natural world in which we live. That is the gist of serenity gardens...they sing the praises of the natural world and serenade us, if only for a short time....the only question is, 'can we make time for the walk through the garden?' one of my gardens - Jan Johnsen All it takes is a few minutes of quiet to chat with a place, to hear its 'song'. And I am the first to admit that this...

Garden writing is a delectable occupation. It allows me to offer up choice morsels of horticultural trivia, succulent design tips and full flavored philosophical musings about all and sundry. Today I am presenting the first installment of my signature dish  --- grass steps. one of my projects - can you see the steps? no? great! I refer to grass steps - or grass treads, which is the more correct term - as my signature simply because I have been incorporating them in my landscapes since the early 1980s.  I first saw grass steps in the mid 1970's in one of my favorite landscape venues, Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C . this great photo from Dumbarton  is from The Photo Garden Bee website Beatrix Farrand, the preeminent American landscape gardener (as she called herself) of the early twentieth century, installed three grass treads in a sloping lawn in Dumbarton Oaks. When I first saw them I was struck at how they disappeared when viewin...

Does all Art - Garden Art included - have to mean something? I was brought up to see art for art's sake....Joel Selmeier, a talented Peace Pole artist, feels the same and in his blog  he counsels us not to 'cerebralize' the way we see art... Georgia O'Keefe He writes, "...Once I was walking through a museum when I passed an art teacher leading a group of senior citizens in an art appreciation course. I tried not to appear too dismayed.  "When you look at this painting, look at this person in this window and think of the relationship that must exist between this person and the one on the floor below. Think up a story that connects the two people." Oh, for god's sake. Is Mozart improved by noting chord changes?... One of my works was hanging on a wall when a viewer asked me what it means. The artist standing next to him said, "You can't ask an artist that." That is true for gardens too... After all my talk about scale, ...

I will be giving a Powerpoint presentation on Thursday Sept. 16 on  at 6:30 pm Tranquility by Design: Creating a Serenity Garden at The New York Horticultural Society 148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor (between Broadway and 7th Avenue) New York, NY 10018-6909 it is a fascinating look at little known garden design ideas that enhance well being in an outdoor space based on ancient practices and modern discoveries.... my basic premise is that there is life in a stone, a plant, a tree and even water. When we are in a serene garden we connect to an 'aliveness' that resides in these living forms. Find out why a garden on the north side of a house is best suited for a viewing garden and why east is considered 'the most auspicious direction'. Learn what the 'moth theory' is and how to use it for the best outdoor lighting layout! Enjoy a lively discussion about geomagnetics and determining the 'power spot' in a landscape. And discover how the colors in...

Here is my second very short video! Laura McKillop, my associate, is the videographer.. baby steps into the wild and wooly world of video....

My charity in this blog is: Charity : Water There are a billion people living without clean water. Four Septembers ago, Scott Harrison and his friends had a crazy idea.   They asked their friends to give up their birthdays and ask for donations instead of gifts. They used all the  money raised to build water projects. Every year, it got bigger. Thay have now helped over a million people get clean water. Look here: charity: water 2010 September Campaign: Clean Water for the Bayaka from charity: water on Vimeo . And today, Sept. 7 is the day they drill a well live for all to see...go to their website today and see for yourself: Charity : Water September is here. from charity: water on Vimeo .

` The top three global gardening trends for 2010 (out of 10)  are the kitchen garden, the organic garden, and the Feel Good garden.   I like the Feel Good Garden. This information comes to us from the second annual Global Garden Report from Husqvarna and Gardena.  It is based on 1.4 million (!) blog posts from 13 countries. jchants photostream - Lake Forest Secret garden tour They write: "From 2010, individualism in the garden is on the rise, replacing conformity. Gone is the obsession with keeping up with the neighbors’ ... it’s now about expressing yourself using your outdoor space, encouraged by on-line friends."  from garden diva website That's me - your on-line friend! And I encourage you to keep expressing yourself in your 'feel good' (FG) garden. Here is what the Global Garden Report said specifically about FG gardens: " The Feel Good Garden As we continue to live stressful lives, there is an ever increasing need for a safe ha...