Garden Views

Posted on February 22, 2021December 31, 2021 by Betty Hanselman

Swans in winter . . . captured in timeless elegance and beauty by one of our crew members at a farm pond we renovated in Manheim, PA.

(Photos by Peter Dymond, Hanselman Landscape Garden Care Supervisor)

Renovations to this Central Pennsylvania farm pond included reshaping steep banks into gently sloping lawns for ease of mowing, surrounding the pond edge on one side with jumping rocks for water play, and adding a peninsula for sunny-day picnics.

Curators of Living Art

Posted on February 20, 2021December 31, 2021 by Betty Hanselman

As garden artists and craftsmen, we take great joy in partnering with our clients to dream, design and then display their garden masterpieces. We are especially grateful when our clients also choose to retain us as curators, entrusting us with the nurture and oversight of their ‘living artwork’.

As curators of living art, our team members travel far and wide to expertly shape specimen trees, protect plants from diseases and pest infestations, and, in some cases, restore health and beauty to older gardens, where plants have been untended for a number of years. Regardless of location, our clients’ garden masterpieces grow in beauty, health and value when tended and monitored on a regular basis.

Contributed by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& assistant curator of our ‘garden art’)

Team member, Sean Kramer, cares for the live portion of an art installation at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA. Hanselman Landscape installed these Japanese Black Pines in 2010 as part of Chinese sculptor Cai Guo-Qiang’s work “Ring Stone”.

Garden Views in Winter

Posted on February 18, 2021June 13, 2023 by Betty Hanselman

When a blanket of new-fallen snow softens the lines in the overall landscape, berries, boulders and branches are highlighted and redefined. A garden with interest and beauty in all seasons is a delight we enjoy sharing!

Shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& winter garden explorer)

Fresh snowfall redefines stone steps with Pine and Boxwood plantings, front porch view, Deciduous Holly berries, and ‘tsukubai’ water feature in country garden, Central Pennsylvania.

TINY COURTYARD GARDEN DELIVERS ENORMOUS DELIGHT!

Posted on February 11, 2021December 31, 2021 by Betty Hanselman

Immense joy is a daily experience for Rich and Kris ever since they chose to transform the problem area just outside their front door into an exquisite water garden. They can hardly believe the tranquility and loveliness of this space they used to avoid.

“This beautiful garden invites me to take time out–to sit and rest awhile,” smiles Kris. “Even when I am working in the kitchen, I can hear the water splashing onto the rocks. I never get tired of it!” A garden bench now sits adjacent to the garden, where Kris reads and recharges on temperate mornings, and where she and Rich often linger and catch up at day’s end.

According to James Hanselman of Hanselman Landscape, “This project was a joy for all of us! And it came about because Rich and Kris trusted us, even though the ideas we proposed were bigger than they imagined possible. Their trust gave us the freedom to be creative.”

How may we transform your living spaces–small or large–so that joy and peace are your daily experiences?

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND

Posted on January 21, 2021December 31, 2021 by Betty Hanselman

Resolving to stay healthy in 2021, James and I are once again pulling on our winter boots and getting outside to walk around our property!

And in the process, Winter and I are getting better acquainted and I am once again enjoying this wildly unpredictable, bi-polar season of the year! My previous perception of Old Man Winter was prejudiced, determined by the snow storms that interfered with my schedule and the salty slush that messed up my floors; I’ve rarely chosen to experience, much less enjoy, Winter.

Now, however, James and I are crunching through ice-crusted snow or squelching through snowmelt–often in moonlight–tracking Orion’s climb across the heavens, passing beneath the rustle of wind-tossed Pines, and running up the rise to stand breathless and awed under the stars. By allowing myself to experience–and be OK with–biting cold and slippery surfaces, I am beginning to recognize and appreciate the beauty in this harsh, bone-numbing season–in the naked tree-silhouettes against the sky, the lonely cry of a hawk rending the silence, the whoosh of ice crystals against rocks, the diamond-sparkle of fresh snow in sunlight.

Winter slaps me in the face, waking me up to the stark beauty in the landscape, in the overarching sky, in our garden. It makes me feel, notice, hear things I wouldn’t attend to if I were comfortable. Winter reminds me that, in every season, there is unrelenting joy and beauty to discover if I will just go outside with eyes, ears, and heart wide open.

Q&A with R&A (a local building and renovations publication)

Posted on January 11, 2021December 31, 2021 by Betty Hanselman

Q: As garden builders, you and James seek to cultivate daily interaction with natural beauty for your family and clients through the creation of private garden spaces. Now, with the recent Covid-19 shelter-in-place restrictions, have you sensed a greater appreciation for these personal garden spaces?

A: Because James is a gardener, I have been the beneficiary of a garden development project that has been years in the making and will likely keep us interested and occupied well after we retire. But it has only been recently, when other once-normal niceties in our lives—family visits, dining out, game nights with friends, travel—have been limited, that I am realizing with profound gratitude all we still have outside our door because we decided to invest in our garden over the years. Now, more than ever, I appreciate the value of frequent interaction with natural beauty and the daily refreshment a garden provides. Never before has our garden been such an escape and source of continual wonder!

In our garden, I can listen to the whisper of the wind through the Pines above me, look for animal tracks on fresh snow, or watch tiny leaf buds unfurl in the spring sunshine. Our garden is a sanctuary where I am able to slow down, breathe deeply, and regain my balance. It is my daily vacation, and last summer, it was our only “let’s eat out” option; we were privileged to dine under the sky and trees, serenaded by bird song and the whirr of hummingbird wings.

There is hope in our garden—that spring will surely follow winter; that what was green and vibrant last year will burst forth in color, fragrance, and beauty once again; that someday soon, we will again hear delighted little granddaughter voices exclaiming over wildflowers and “under-doggies” on the swing; that the cares of today are just for a moment and will eventually recede in memory. In all seasons–the exuberant and the desolate–I find refreshment, peace, joy and hope in our garden, and I am thankful.

Gladly shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& grateful garden dweller)

May these garden vignettes breathe hope and joy into your soul on this winter day: a fern-and-Azalea-lined strolling path in Elizabethtown, PA; a patio breakfast nook and Japanese Maple leaves on a mossy bed, Manheim, PA; the sparkle and splash of water over rocks in a church courtyard, Mount Joy, PA; and a dusting of snow on a stone and boulder staircase, Manheim, PA.