“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.”

~ John Muir (Scottish-American naturalist, botonist, zoologist, environmental philosopher, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the USA; 1838-1914)

Maybe you can’t get away to the wild places on earth, but perhaps we can bring the refreshment and delight of natural beauty to you…in a garden! Please give us a call: 717-653-1273. We’d love to partner with you to design and build a beautiful place just outside your doors and close enough for you to touch and experience every single day!

Gladly shared by Betty Hanselman
– Gardener’s wife (& seeker of daily “nature escapes”)

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain.
America, America!
God shed His grace on thee!
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

~ Katherine Lee Bates (American educator; 1859-1929)

With deep gratitude for the beauty of this country and her peoples, we wish you a joyous July 4th!

~ Your friends at Hanselman Landscape

In the center of San Diego’s arid, hilly landscape is an oasis called Balboa Park. Although this area was called City Park in the early days, it was used primarily for grazing livestock and dumping garbage. But all that changed when Katherine “Kate” Sessions, a tree-loving scientist, began planting trees to beautify the area in preparation for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

Today, Balboa Park is a 1,200-acre cultural center, offering visitors a variety of gardens, shaded walking paths, native plant collections, museums, and the world-renowned San Diego Zoo.

James and I have the pleasure of visiting Balboa Park almost every time we visit our daughter and her family in San Diego. When we visit, we enjoy spending a few hours strolling through the Japanese Friendship Garden. We are always impressed with the many varieties of trees and shrubs that are able to be grown in a desert setting, as well as by the accommodations made for non-native plants–in the Japanese Garden, for example. But what continues to impress us most is that Balboa Park grew out of one woman’s determination to create an enduring and beautiful oasis by planting climate-appropriate trees!

Shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& desert garden admirer)

Photo credits: steffstarr/123RF.com (photo of Japanese Friendship Garden) and 123RF.com (photos of big trees and cultural buildings)