Jan Johnsen

“Jan Johnsen touches my soul with her insights on gardens, as well as on living life.”

Jim Peterson, Publisher
Garden Design Magazine

Author Speaker Designer

About

As a speaker for botanical garden show audiences, Jan loves to share her insights on the beneficial effects of informed garden design. Her unique approach — incorporating ancient practices with contemporary ideas — is entertaining, inspiring and informative. Jan presents her popular illustrated slide talks at major flower and garden shows across the U.S.

Jan Johnsen’s landscapes have been featured in This Old House, Landscape Architecture, NY Cottages & Gardens, Wallpaper, East Coast Home, Westchester Home, Westchester Journal News, Westchester Magazine, Woman’s Day, Redbook and many more.

Jan Johnsen

Talk Topics

Jan presents her popular illustrated slide talks at major flower and garden shows in the U.S.

Serenity by Design

Creating Simplicity, Sanctuary & Delight in the Garden

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Stonework in the Garden

An illuminating look at creative ways to incorporate stone in a landscape

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Color: Bold and Beautiful Landscapes

This eye catching talk describes how color affects us and the natural world

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Postage Stamp Gardens

Planters, Verticals, Accents & More

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What to do with Your Soggy Garden

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Jan Johnsen's Blog

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Gardening Ideas for Troubled Times

Jan Johnsen March 18, 2020

During this time of Covid-19, we must cultivate outselves, our well being and our gardens. Plants can be a soothing balm for troubled times. This …

Stone Benches – Grounding does it.

Jan Johnsen February 21, 2017

In honor of my new book, The Spirit of Stone – 101 Practical and Creative Stonescaping Ideas for Your Garden (St. Lynn’s Press, 2017) that …

Buttercup Winterhazel – An Early Spring Fragrant tree

Jan Johnsen February 17, 2017

What blooms earlier than forsythia, has a delicate fragrance and is an easy-to-care for compact delight ? It is also hardy to USDA Zones 6-9 …

Thought for the Day – Rumi

Jan Johnsen February 9, 2017

Never lose hope, my dear heart… miracles dwell in the invisible. – Rumi

‘Om’ in the Garden

Jan Johnsen January 25, 2017

We need to balance the pace and intensity of modern life with periods of what poet May Sarton has called “open time, with no obligations …

I Go to the Woods Alone…

Jan Johnsen January 8, 2017

Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single friend…. I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds or hugging …

Gardentopia

This info-packed, sumptuous book offers individual tips for enhancing any size landscape using ‘real world’ solutions. The suggestions are grouped into five categories that include Garden Design and Artful Accents, Walls, Patios, and Steps and Plants and Planting, among others. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a landscaping novice, Gardentopia will inspire you with tips such as ‘Soften a Corner”, “Paint it Black”, and “Hide and Reveal”.

Heaven is a Garden

In Heaven is a Garden – Designing Serene Outdoor Spaces for Inspiration and Reflection, professional landscape designer Jan Johnsen shares her passion for creating peaceful, enticing gardens and reveals the 3 features of a serene outdoor setting: simplicity, sanctuary and delight.