Hip Hip Hooray for Rose Hips

Hip Hip Hooray for Rose Hips

rose hips photo by Jan Johnsen

 Allow your roses to form hips. Did you know that, like many plants that produce fruit, the formation of rose hips is a signal to the rose to go dormant for the season?

from Monrovia - Japanese rose 

Rose hips provide wonderful color in the garden and are a good source of vitamin C for birds in the fall and winter. They are one of the highest plant sources of Vitamin C. 'Cherry Pie' Rose makes great rose hips:

Oso Easy Cherry Pie Rose -from May Dreams Garden Blog 

You can eat them too. Rose hips are used for jam, jelly, syrup, soup, beverages, pies, bread, and wine. They can also be eaten raw if care is used to avoid the hairs inside the fruit.  The redder they are, the softer and sweeter.  

source: live by the sun blog

Speaking with Earth Spirits

Amsonia foliage sparkles in fall

Speaking with Earth Spirits 

Deep down, in the warmth of the fecund earth,

the spirits sing songs of life.

Hoping we hear, they inhale and exhale along with the seasons.

Beautyberry in November

Now, in the cool days of November,
they sing to us of rest and replenishment 

and ask us to be calm.

Molinia stands tall in late fall

The time has come to listen

and of course, to rake the leaves...the leaves...

- Jan Johnsen

the deep reds of November

Renew Your Garden Tools!

 Renew Your Garden Tools!

Caked on dirt on these shovels....

 Winter is the time to get your garden tools in shape... hand tools such as shovels, picks, trowels, loppers, etc. should be cleaned, sharpened and well oiled.

Steel wool can clean off any rust or caked-on dirt.

And pure white vinegar works to remove rust too: pour into a bucket or small plastic tub. Submerse rusty pruning shears in the solution and soak overnight, or roughly 24 hours. The acid of the vinegar eats away at most of the surface rust.  Wash off the next day...for more on this go to the Backyard Boss article on cleaning pruning shears. 

This photo is from a great article about renewing your tools. 

But the most important thing I have found is to make sure to oil the tools. It is a rust preventative and a wood saver. 

Moss in the City

A while back, in our shop (I own a landscape design/build firm and we have trucks, crews and lots of tools) we would have a large container filled with sand and motor oil and put our tools in it. 

...the sand acts an abrasive to remove dirt and the oil prevents rust. But this is not so smart.

Why? Because the petroleum oil goes from the tool into the soil! 

Today's Homeowner 

Blake Schreck of the Garden Tool Company knows a thing or two about garden tools.  And his timely advice is to use boiled linseed oil.

Linseed oil is derived from the dried seeds of the flax plant and is a great alternative to any petroleum based product. 

The Garden Tool Co. oils every tool that does not have a finish on it already before it ships.

Blake notes: "A cautionary note: The boiled linseed oil that is available today has a small amount of solvent added to it to keep it from hardening in the can, so after you apply it to your metal and wood, let it dry completely before using your tool, (about 24 hours) that way the solvent will have evaporated."

Garden Tool Company - Border-Spade-with-T-Handle-by-Sneeboer

Remember to use BOILED linseed oil which dries quickly. 

Actual linseed oil can take ages to dry!  

Just dip a rag (cotton wool or a cloth) in the boiled oil and coat a thin layer of oil on the metallic parts. Make sure to cover evenly and do not be tempted to add multiple coats or a thick layer of oil.  Let it sit for about 15 minutes and then wipe off excess. 

Its a good idea to oil the wood handles as well to prevent cracking. 

Thicker layers take longer to dry and often do not dry to form a hard surface and multiple layers of thin coats are also not a good idea, because they become prone to being removed when scratched.

I have also heard about Ballistol. lt is 85% mineral oil and maintains, protects, preserves metal and unpainted wooden surfaces. 

Ballistol is biodegradable, and neither its use nor its disposal will pollute air or water. It comes in an aerosol and pourable version. It has a sweet and mildly pungent smell similar to black licorice. 

Want to learn more about garden tool maintenance? Please see Blake Schreck's "Garden Tool Care and Maintenance" article by Blake Schreck.

DE- STRESS AND RELAX

Mitsubishi tops J.D. Power 2016 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index study

According to the J.D. Power 2016 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study,SM released recently, Mitsubishi ranks highest in new-vehicle sales satisfaction with a score of 815. Mitsubishi performs particularly well in sales initiation, dealer facility, salesperson, delivery timing and delivery process. Mazda rankssecond (808) and performs particularly well in the deal factor. Nissan and Toyota tie for third at 792.

This study was based on responses from 2,010 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicles from August 2015 through May 2016. The study was carried out from February through July 2016.

Garden Design Magazine & New Gorgeous Videos!

This is a great magazine.

Have you noticed that I love the new Garden Design Magazine?

At every talk I give, I gush about it.  It is a gorgeous magazine devoted to garden design and plants. Every article is fascinating. It comes every few months.

Dwarf NY Asters featured in the Fall issue of Garden Design magazine

Now they have upped their game even more and have developed some fabulous videos that share with you a little of what is in their issue....

Jim Peterson, the publisher and driving force behind the magazine, plans to make three kinds of videos. The first supports stories in the magazine. The second is about garden features that are popular and on the fabulous Garden Design website  and the third will be about garden design and will be made in collaboration with designer,  Richard Hartlage.

Here is an interview with the editor of Garden Design magazine, Thad Orr, talking about the magazine and what is covered. It is a gem of a magazine and I urge you to subscribe to it!

Here is Thad Orr talking about the article about Desert Native Plants - wow!

Get your first issue free when you subscribe, use www.gardendesign.com/jan

October Glory in the Garden

October Glory in the Garden

October Skies Aster- 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 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....

So in that vein, I am describing a little of what goes into making a autumn flower border... I know most readers simply enjoy the photos but maybe a few are interested in the 'gory details'. 

the holly backdrop here hides a deer fence

The flower border shown above is at the bottom of a long, gradual hill - thus, water collected here in great pools after a rain. It was wet and soggy a good deal of the time. Many plants would not have lived in this wetness so I had large amounts of soil brought in to create a high mounded bed to lift them above the damp conditions. 

Additionally, we had a 'field' of subsurface pipes (set in gravel) installed in front of the border to catch and carry away the runoff. We then graded and laid sod to create a lawn atop the pipes.

Please know it is always about the grading and the drainage..the plants come later....

Farther uphill I planted shrub roses - 'Sunny' Knock Out Roses and beyond is another flower border featuring Nepeta, Japanese wind anemones, garden phlox, goldenrod..

'Sunny' Knock Out Roses are three shades of light yellow / white...luscious.

One of my 'fave rave' perennial flowers for October (in my part of the world) is Japanese Wind Anemone...gently waving in the cool breeze. Its dainty flowers are the jewels of the flower world.

And of course some flowers of summer persist into fall and are actually more glorious now than ever...Lantana is a strong October performer.

White Lantana in October next to Blue Spruce globosum

also don't forget the berries! Winterberry likes it moist.. feeds the birds and is a native.

Love that winterberry...

and now that October is coming to a close...on to November!

Steinhardt garden bridge in NY in October -   photo by Jan Johnsen

I am speaking with Kerry Ann Mendez and Karen Bussolini at the Fall Garden Symposium in Stockbridge, Mass on Oct 20, 2016..

Go here for more info.

Beyond Prison : Insight Garden Program

Otisville Correctional Facility - where I taught but it was not this nice looking back then

In the 1970s, I was a part of a team that taught a one year intensive certificate program on Landscape Development and Maintenance at a community college near New Paltz, NY.

I was a young instructor but was very earnest and devoted to teaching. Then one day the president of the college called me in and told me that I, alone, would be teaching all my courses at a men's correctional facility 44 miles away. 

What??!! all my classes? away from the campus? in a prison?

After much protesting, I was sent 'away' to teach the entire program at a men's prison. Well, as often happens, it was one of the best experiences in my life. I taught full time there for 2 years and still cherish the memories.

Otisville Correctional Facility classroom  - but not my specific class

I have a lot of fun stories. We installed walks, plant beds and even a solar greenhouse (it was donated by a friend who had it on his property)  where we grew organic salad greens. I was not backed by any grants or organizations - I just forged ahead.

I taught college level classes on plant identification and usage, horticultural techniques 1 and 2, soil science, landscape design, greenhouse management tree and shrub pruning, small engine repair and turfgrass management. 

The best thing was to hear from my students later (mostly black and Latino from NYC) who got out and got jobs based on their hort. training and their knowledge of landscape plants. One student got a high position with the Parks department, he wrote such a wonderful letter thanking me.

I left after 2 years and I never found out what happened to our solar greenhouse. Today I hear that similar programs are happening around the country and it makes me so glad.  

As a kid from the city, I know exactly how life-changing developing a connection with the natural world can be: I remember being 20 years old when I realized that sunflower seeds came from a real sunflower and not a box. An epiphany.

Today, Kallopeia Foundation is supporting transformative prison programming (see their multi-media website here: www.beyondprison.us) including a project called the Insight Garden Program. 


Here, inmates at San Quentin prison in Northern California are offered vocational training in horticulture and are also introduced to holistic practices like mindfulness meditation. I love this approach because it enhances a connection to nature. Click here: http://insightgardenprogram.org/

from the Insight program

Please check out their article called Beyond Prison - Breaking New Ground (click on this) from the website. They are doing a great job!

We need to offer more opportunities for all city kids to touch the earth and work with it - not just in prison. Landscape development careers offer the grounding we all need in this screen-dominated age. 

they have a video too - go to their site

The New MIVEC Turbo Diesel Engine

The new engine uses an aluminum die-cast cylinder block with the result that the weight of the engine is lighter by 12.5 kilograms as compared to the conventional cast-iron cylinder block. Its maximum output is 221kW (300PS)/ 6,500rpm and its maximum torque is 422Nm (43.0kgf･m)/3,500rpm (for Japan market), a higher maximum torque than the 4G63 model. The intake and exhaust side layout of this engine is also different with the intake side at the front of the vehicle body and the exhaust side at the rear. This eliminates the need to have an exhaust pipe underneath the engine, so Mitsubishi was able to lower the position of the engine by 10mm compared to a conventional model, contributing to lowering the height of the center of gravity.

New BMW M5 Limited Competition Edition

BMW has just released the new M5 Competition Edition has been released in celebration of the F10-generation M5, which first went on sale at the end of 2011. It is limited to just 200 models worldwide.

The car is powered by a twin-turbo V8 found in the standard BMW M5. While retaining the M TwinPower Turbo technology and twin-scroll turbochargers of the standard M5, the Competition Edition runs more boost due to a recalibrated engine control unit. Both power and torque have increased - making it one of the most powerful cars ever produced by BMW - with peak power output standing at 600hp (560hp in the standard BMW M5) and torque output reaching 700Nm (680Nm in the standard BMW M5). As a result the car goes from 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds.

According to BMW, fuel consumption remains low at  28.5mpg despite its extreme performance, while CO2 emissions are 231g/km, no doubt thanks to their seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission Drivelogic and EfficientDynamics technology,which incldues engine Auto Start-Stop and Brake Energy Regeneration. 

There are still three Drive Control settings to choose from, namely, Comfort (for normal road use), Sport (for a dynamic driving style) and Sport Plus (for extreme driving, such as on a racetrack).

The BMW M5 Competition Edition extensive range of extra features include: Adaptive LED headlights, Reversing Assist camera, powered boot lid operation, Comfort Access, sun protection glass, front and rear heated seats, electrically operated rear sunblind, and the Bang & Olufsen Advanced audio system.

The Competition edition really looks sexy with the carbon fibre BMW M Performance Parts, gloss black kidney grille and six-piston caliper brakes mounted on high gloss Jet Black 20-inch M Double-spoke 601M light alloy wheels.

Only two exterior colours are available: Mineral White and Carbon Black.

Interior features, include full Black Merino leather upholstery with Opal White contrast stitching, the 'M5' logo on the head rests of the M Sport multi-function seats, and an 'M5 Competition' logo and '1/200' engraving on the M Performance interior trim.

The BMW M5 is now selling for £100,995 OTR in the UK. Not sure about Malaysian prices yet.

The Rolling Crabapples - smile

Rock Art by Thomas D Kent, Jr

This is funny. 

 Glenn Eichler wrote an open letter to the New York Botanical Garden in 2014 in the New Yorker regarding his love of their rock garden. He felt it deserved more attention: 

"...rocks—dragged by glaciers, striped and striated by, I guess, also glaciers—deserve better. 

Not sexy? Compared to what, the Donald J. Bruckmann Crabapple Collection? 

No disrespect to Mr. Bruckmann, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards haven’t spent fifty years playing to sold-out crowds as the Rolling Crabapples, the world’s greatest crabapple-and-roll band."

Glenn has a point, don't you think?

Mick Jagger in garden

Launch of the new Audi A4

VW reviews vs customer comments

I was a VW fan for a long time. First it was the VW Beetle (old model) influenced no doubt by the Herbie movies. Then it was the VW Hippie camper van. They were so cool, they still are. In the UK, I took a ride on my friend's Golf and was quite impressed by the power and handling. I have also taken part in a few of their social media advertising campaigns in the UK.

Once I got back to Malaysia, I was seriously considering the VW Jetta. However, the news of the emissions scandal suddenly came out. I was shocked that this reputable German company had acted unethically. Though they have admitted cheating, they have left consumers with many unanswered questions. And this included not just the Volkswagen diesels models but their sister brands, Audi and Porsche as well.

Talking to other VW owners here in Malaysia, they were not that concerned with the emission scandal as it did not really affect them. However, I started hearing accounts of bad service, new cars breaking down, faulty parts and expensive parts and service. Some even told me never to buy a VW car. This was really surprising for me as I thought the brand had a good reputation in Malaysia.

I noticed that they have opened up a new big VW 3S centre in Semenyih, on my way to work. The reviews of the new Vento Turbo on various car blogs and sites have generally been positive and I was considering giving it a test drive. I wonder whether the Vento is assembled here in Malaysia or is imported from India where they are now produced.

Anyway, I was curious to see what the visitors to their Facebook page had to say about the new car. There were hardly any positive comments though I must say that who ever is in charge of their Facebook book page is very patient and is doing a good job of replying to the comments.

Take a look:

I have not given up hope but I am going to have to give them a pass for now.

DIY Room Decor : Unique decorating ideas

DIY Room Decor : Unique decorating ideas

The Glorious Sunflower - The Fourth Sister

 I have written about the Native Americans' Three Sisters Garden (corn, beans and squash ) but I neglected to tell you of the Fourth Sister...

a very important member of this family!

This is from Hubpages: 

"Fourth Sister, didn't look anything like her other sisters, although she was as tall and as slender as First Sister (corn) . That seemed fair to all, because Third Sister and Second Sister shared similar but different features. They could climb and run, while their other two sisters were forced to stand tall and proud."

Mother Sun explained that each sister had her job and each had to benefit from and protect one another.  But Fourth Sister's job was most important of all -- for she was the guardian of the North, planted firmly, to protect others from the robbers who soon would come.

The fourth sister was the elegant sunflower.

The Sisters are known to the Native Americans as the “mothers of life”  but they all need each other to survive. 

• Corn uses the nitrogen supplied by the nitrogen fixing roots of the beans and provides a place for the beans to climb.
• The squash suppresses weeds and keeps the soil shaded and moist.
• The prickly leaves of the squash provide a deterrent from four legged raiders of corn.

So what does the Sunflower do?

Taiyo Sunflower (click here)

The sunflowers keep the birds from devouring the corn.

How? Well, true sunflowers exhibit the heliotropic habit of following the sun through the day but when they are full of sunflower seeds they stay facing the east.

Thus when sunflowers are planted to the north of the garden patch, the birds see the sunflowers first thing in the morning sun and dine on the sunflower seeds rather than the corn kernels....

from Rainy Side Gardens

The FOUR SISTERS celebrate the harmony of nature and bring abundance to farmers and happiness to the well fed home.

By the way, the true giant sunflower is used as an emblem of the philosophy of Spiritualism.

They see the sunflower as forever looking to the light and applaud its unique arithmetic: supposedly each sunflower has

• 12 sets of leaves ( months in a year) , 
• 52 yellow petals (52 weeks in a year)  
• 365 seeds (365 days in a year).

I cannot verify this but that is the story..... I hope it is true.

Interior decor : Latest interior designs

Interior decor : Latest interior designs