Rainbow of Colors in Bloom
17 Feb 2010 5 Comments
in Cactus, Flowers, Garden Fruits, Photography Tags: macro lens photography, nadia's garden blog, rainbow colors in bloom, succulent blossoms
There are some popular garden blogs on the internet this month all showing their colors in bloom. I’ve enjoyed my new garden blogger friends and their photos from other parts of the country where trees are capped with snow and their gardens are in blankets of white. Capturing photos of garden color is a bit more of a challenge for them in these winter months and it gives me an appreciation for San Diego’s year-round gardening.
I’m joining in on the celebration of color this month with my rainbow theme of colorful blooms in my garden. These photos were all taken with a macro lens digital camera yesterday in the afternoon.
Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com
Create – Grow – Be Inspired!
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Violet Blossoms.
Red Blossoms on Crown of Thorns
Orange Nasturtium Bloom
Yellow Succulent Bloom- (This succulent got a little beat up by hail two weeks ago)
Green-Lime Succulent Blooms
Blue Blooms on Rosemary
Violet Color on the Lilac Vine
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San Pedro Cactus- Echinopsis Pachanoi
21 Jan 2010 4 Comments
in Cactus, Flowers, Photography Tags: Cactus Bloom, Cactus Garden, Echinopsis Pachanoi, San Pedro Cactus
San Diego had a day full of rain today and as I went out to the garden to get some carrots I noticed that there was a first bloom from my San Pedro Cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi). I watched a documentary on T.V. a few weeks ago about Peruvian religious customs where the San Pedro cactus has been used for 3,000 years as a hallucinogen for religious divination and other healing methods.
San Pedro Cactus Exotic Flower Bloom- January 2010
This flower that bloomed today was about 9 inches in diameter and had a very light and sweet flower scent (only detectable by inserting my nose into the flower!). The San Pedro is a columnar cactus that can reach up to 15 feet tall. It has grown very well in my San Diego cactus garden situated on a hill with great drainage and very little watering. The San Pedro also grows well in containers with a cactus mix type of soil. The flower bloom only lasts a few days and is so beautiful juxtaposed to the thorny cactus it bursted out from.
San Pedro Cactus in a San Diego Cactus Garden- Echinopsis Pachanoi
Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com
Create – Grow – Enjoy
san pedro hiding in the background
Seashells in the Garden
07 Jan 2010 9 Comments
in Cactus, Garden Design, Garden Projects Tags: Garden Design, ocean landscaping, Sea of Cortez replica, seashells in the garden
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Have you ever gone on vacation and wished you could bring back that awesome feeling you got by experiencing a different environment, or culture? A long time ago in a land far, far away… I became a certified PADI scuba diver in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. The beauty of the desert sand and cactus meeting right up against the big blue ocean is one of those vacation experiences that will forever be a picture memory in my mind. I decided to create a “mini visual display” of that memory in my cactus/aloe/ succulent garden on my side yard. Since this area of my yard is already a desert setting, it seemed to be the perfect spot. It reminds of how the “desert kisses the ocean” with seashells and cactus meeting at the oceans tide. Seashells, sand, a glass buoy, moonstones and some wood chunks are what I used to create my mini Sea of Cortez and I love the way it turned out. Now I’m inspired to return to Mexico for a warm beach vacation. Looking at the weather across the nation this week I am sure that I am not alone in wanting a warm vacation!
Thank you for visiting my blog: www.nadiaknows.com
Leave me a comment if you wish!
Creating-Growing-Staying Inspired!
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Seashells and Aloe
Cactus Graffiti
15 Nov 2009 2 Comments
in Cactus, Garden Design, Garden Projects, Photography Tags: Cactus Art, Cactus Graffiti, garden anniversary message, Prickly Pear Design
The only good graffiti is the one you can do in your own backyard! This is a prickly pear cactus pad from one of my backyard opuntia cactus where I carved out an anniversary message to surprise my husband. Carving was easily done with a sharp knife. I covered the entire bottom of the “cactus pad” with root hormone to stimulate new root growth, then placed it in a pot of cactus mix and hid it in a sunny part of the garden. Watering was only needed once per week with a light misting from a spray bottle at the base of the plant. The scarring over the words “I Love You” took about two months to completely heal over, so planning ahead was the key to getting this cactus out on time for today- our anniversary. This was a fun and creative project that will get some interesting comments and second looks out there in our garden.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
happy anniversary cactus
The Giving Garden
15 Oct 2009 4 Comments
in Cactus, Garden Design, Garden Projects, Video Blogs Tags: Garden Design, Plant cuttings, planter gardening, succulent landscape, Video Blog, Zen Garden Theme Design
“It is more blessed to give than to receive. [Acts 20:35]“
Taking cuttings from my garden and transplanting them into a friends garden, this is a Giving Garden. After deciding on a Zen Garden Design (see previous blog about Stepping into Zen), I designed a plant-scape of symmetry and flow. By grouping plant varieties together, it gave the tiered planters an organized eye candy appeal. This project took several carloads of clippings from my succulent, aloe, euphorbia,and cacti plants from my yard. Before transplanting, I dipped each plant into Root Tone/Rooting Hormone to help stimulate root growth as soon as possible. The weaving rocks (placed with landscaping fabric underneath) created a nice visual separation between the plants; giving each section distinction. The right side of the yard gets more shade, so I placed a few flats of impatiens and ferns for that area. The top of the hill stays dry and sunny; a perfect home for the cactus and aloe. Other additions to create a Zen atmosphere of peace were 1) The painted stepping stone 2) A bird feeder that I bought on clearance at Target. 3) Home made bird bath (see previous blog) 4) River Rock . The project took several days in September (during that heat wave we had in California) and was a labor of love. The final photos were taken three weeks later to allow the plants to fill in.
Sharing plant cuttings is a great way to help inspire gardening and also help a friend “Reclaim her yard!”
Thank you for visiting my blog: www.nadiaknows.com “I know I want to Create-Grow-Inspire”
SCUBA DIVE IN YOUR GARDEN
27 Sep 2009 4 Comments
in Cactus, Garden Design, Garden Projects Tags: Cactus, Drought Tolerant, euphorbia, Garden Design, ocean theme garden, Succulents
Grab your mask and snorkel (bikini and speedo?) and go for an ocean dive right in your own back yard! I planted this faux Coral Reef garden in an area outside my kitchen patio in a 15′ x 4′ space. I originally saw this idea at the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA and wanted to see if I could replicate it in my own yard. For Mother’s Day my gift was a carload of plants (big surprise) and I went to work trying to recreate that colorful ocean display. By using drought tolerant plants such as succulents, cactus, small palms and euphorbia, I was able to reduce watering in this area to only once per week. It now has the illusion of being surrounded by water, yet simultaneously being water wise. This has been one of my favorite projects so far and has become prettier every month as the plants continue to flourish.
* I added sea shells, thick rope, glass balls, ocean statuary and a pebble/lava ground cover at the edges. I even found a faux light weight black anchor on ebay.
* Grouping large rocks and stacking them in mounds creates depth and gives the illusion of a coral reef.
* By placing a landscaping fabric underneath the rocks and pebbles, it not only helps keep weeds out, but prevents the rocks from sinking under the soil.
