Last Days to Sign Up for Landscape Design Summer Intensive! Classes Start July 9.

While living in Kyoto, Japan as a college student, Jan Johnsen first experienced the “restorative powers” of gardens. “On the weekends I went to visit the serene landscapes of that city and they opened my eyes to the sublime loveliness that could be created in a small plot of ground within an urban environment,” she said.

Johnsen, who will be teaching in the Landscape Design Summer Intensive this July, started out as an intern at a high-pressure architecture firm in Japan, but her frequent visits to Kyoto’s treasured gardens changed her life, leading her to work in a landscape architecture office in Osaka. She next studied landscape architecture at the University of Hawaii and years later earned a graduate degree in planning. Today, her serene landscape designs clearly show the influence of Asian culture and thought.

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Develop “Vivid Awareness” at The New York Botanical Garden

Jan Johnsen is an instructor of landscape design in the Garden’s Continuing Education program and principal of the firm Johnsen Landscapes & Pools.

The Latin word for “cultivate,” colere, means both “to till” and “to cherish.” This dual meaning is particularly apt when talking about The New York Botanical Garden and its magnificent and varied gardens and plant collections. The care and devotion expended to these areas by staff and volunteers illustrate “cultivation” in all its layers of meaning.

As a visitor to NYBG, you can cultivate your powers of observation and by so doing, learn to cherish nature and its processes. I discovered this fact decades ago, as a young landscape architecture student at the University of Hawaii. I was given an unusual assignment that required me to spend 24 hours in an outdoor spot of my choosing. Within that period of time, I had to note all the changes I observed. This included noting the weather, vegetation, rocks, animals, sounds, and anything else that caught my eye or ear. I could not leave the general location for any extended period of time.

This exceptional task strengthened my “observation muscle” immensely. It also expanded my understanding of our interconnectedness with nature, and I learned to cherish it all the more.

The next time you visit The New York Botanical Garden, consider cultivating your awareness by watching the network of life that surrounds you. The birds, trees, flowers, animals, and even lowly earthworms each fill an essential niche within a harmonious whole. By noting the synchronous events that occur within the tapestry of nature, you, too, can develop the singular clarity that Alan Watts, the Buddhist writer, called “vivid awareness.” This lovely approach embraces an appreciation of the natural world’s miraculous unity, and you will never again take Mother Nature’s everyday workings for granted.

Come to the Garden and see the magnificent fall foliage and Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden exhibition.
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Fall Foliage at The New York Botanical Garden 2009 from The New York Botanical Garden on Vimeo.

Jan Johnsen is an instructor of landscape design in the Garden’s Continuing Education program and a past recipient of the Instructor of the Year award. She is a principal of the firm Johnsen Landscapes & Pools.

It’s a sunny spring morning; the air is crisp and the sky is blue. I am on my way to teach a class at The New York Botanical Garden and, as always, am reveling in the lovely green setting that surrounds me. This particular morning I notice the water drops glistening atop the blades of grass and remember that the season of dew watching is upon us.

Dew appears when the days are warm, the nights cool, and the air is moist. The earth cools overnight, chilling the air, and like magic, drops of water appear out of nowhere and settle on whatever is near the ground. But it does not last long. By late morning the dew evaporates and our momentary watery celebration of spring is over.

Spring flowers are lovely when covered in dew. The blossoms of daffodils, pansies, clover, dianthus, phlox, and euphorbia sparkle in the morning sun with the jeweled globes of water perched lightly upon their petals. One of the best dew catchers is lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis). Alchemilla is Arabic for “little magical one” and refers to the healing properties of the water that collects on its wide, crinkled leaves.

The idea that dew contains healing powers was echoed in the 1930s by Dr. Edward Bach, an English physician who developed the famed Bach flower remedies. He surmised that the dew sitting upon a blossom absorbed the healing energies of that flower. He reasoned that ingesting a small amount of a flower’s sun-drenched dewdrops could rebalance key emotional energy patterns that were behind many people’s illnesses.

So, when you walk out among the Garden’s tranquil spring flower borders, look closely and see how the dewdrops, nature’s ephemeral wonder, act like little crystal balls, magnifying the early morning sunlight. Herein lies the magic of dew.

Jan Johnsen is an instructor of landscape design in the Garden’s Continuing Education program and a past recipient of the Instructor of the Year award. She is a principal of the firm Johnsen Landscapes & Pools.

Autumn is my favorite time of year. The nip in the air fosters a more solitary turn of mind, and I look forward to my fall stroll in The New York Botanical Garden. It is here, among the varied collections and gardens, that I breathe in the sweet woodsy scent of autumn and attune myself to the season’s slower pace of life.

This year I was going to the Garden with a specific goal in mind—I wanted to find a special place where I felt a truly enhanced sense of well being. You could say I was on a mission of discovery to find what encouraged feelings of contentment and serenity in a garden setting. This was a tall order considering that the Botanical Garden is chock-full of wonderful and calming places in which to relax.
I found the place I was looking for in the Rock Garden. As I walked past the flower-rimmed natural pond, I spied a dark green bench with large round armrests set in front of a large andromeda. It seemed to call out to me. As I sat down, I could feel the stress of the week evaporating.

The garden bench’s protective perch offered what I call “The Lure of the Sheltered Corner.” With the andromeda behind me and a truly magnificent rock garden to admire, I was as serene as can be. The most alluring spot of all was the waterfall. The sun shone brightly on the splashing water as it tripped down the rocks. Low-growing evergreens and graceful ferns edged the cascade. Here, I felt an exquisite sense of “stop time” that the quiet world of earth, rocks, trees, and plants offers. This sublime feeling of connection is why I treasure The New York Botanical Garden.