It’s a beautiful day in the garden today
03 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Flowers, Living Healthy, organic gardening, Photography Tags: Edible Flowers, Nasturtium Flowers, organic gardening, Photography, san diego gardening
Nasturtium- Edible Flowers
Happy Easter
24 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in Cactus, Flowers, Garden Design, Photography Tags: Happy Easter, nadia san diego garden blog
HAPPY EASTER
‘Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees
Filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.
~Henry W. Longfellow
APRIL FLOWERS
10 Apr 2011 3 Comments
in Flowers, Garden Design, Garden Projects, Living Healthy, organic gardening, Photography Tags: Flower Garden San Diego, Flowers for Pets, nadia's san diego garden blog, organic gardening, Southern California Flower Planting
“The Earth Laughs in Flowers.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
♥ Growing a garden is completely rewarding, but when you start to add flowers to the garden then you have paradise! I’ve had the best luck with Renee’s Flower Seeds and Botanical Interests Seeds, here’s a listing of the seeds that seem (for me) the simplest to sow and grow. ♥
Agrostemma-Purple Queen and Pink Contessa
→ For an exotic flower that dries well try NIGELLA: ‘Love in a Mist’ or “White Bridal Veil”
→ For a container of great color and beauty try: DAHLIA: ‘watercolors’ -
→ For a surprising old-fashioned amazing scent : CARNATIONS
Flowers can be started indoors and transplanted into the garden
→ This is the ‘garden fun’ summer flower : SUNFLOWER
Sunflowers growing in the vegetable garden
→ For keeping the pests away and adding color: MARIGOLD
Marigold planted near lettuce - an organic way to keep pests away
→ For feeding pet lizards and landscaping a large area with color: NASTURTIUM
→ A few more great flowers to plant: Forget Me Not, African Daisy, Zinnia, Passion Vine, and Lavendar.
Lavender- A 'year-round' plant in the garden
HAPPY PLANTING!
A Lucky St. Patty’s Day to you…
17 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in dog chihuahua, Flowers, Living Healthy, organic gardening, Photography Tags: garden and shamrocks, nadia's san diego garden blog, St. Patrick's Day garden luck
*(a repost of last year’s St. Patrick’s Day blog and a little more)
♣ Happy St. Patrick’s Day ♣
Shamrocks are considered to be a good luck symbol; representing faith, hope and love. The age-old saying: “The Luck of the Irish” with its magical mysticism just might rub off in our gardens today.
Chula sporting a St. Patrick's Day necklace
The word Shamrock comes from an Irish word meaning little clover and is said to have gotten its symbolic meaning in Ireland in about the fifth century. St. Patrick used the abundantly growing green shamrock to teach Christianity by using a natural method to show the concept of the holy trinity. Each leaf representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Shamrock door decoration- hand made (thank you for the gift sis!)
The shamrock was a sacred plant in Ireland even before St. Patrick with the Irish Druids because the leaves in a cluster of three formed a triad. Currently the shamrock is still used as a good luck symbol and popular with Irish brides as the clovers are intertwined in bridal bouquets.
Weed or Shamrock? Growing in one of my patio containers.
Botanically speaking:
“The true Irish Shamrock, as identified by Nathaniel Colgan c. 1893 is a clover. It is not one of any or many clovers, it is one species, collected from a majority of counties at that time and with the exception of a very few plants, the majority wereTrifolium repens or a form of this plant – White clover also known as Dutch Clover”. …’From Ireland’ © Jane Lyons, Dublin, Ireland
Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com
Rainwater in the Garden
10 Mar 2011 3 Comments
in Flowers, Garden Design, Garden Projects, Living Healthy, organic gardening, Vegetable/ Herb Garden, water wise garden Tags: benefits of rainwater, nadia's san diego garden blog, organic gardening, rain barrel water, rain water harvesting, vegetable gardening
San Diego Rainbow
It’s not raining this week in San Diego but we may still see some drops in the next month. The garden responds much better to water from the sky as opposed to the water from the faucet. When water comes from the sky it’s free! What a great benefit to harness free water when it rains. Here are some links on the benefits of rain water and rain water harvesting. Education is the first step in conservation and finding ways to be more efficient with using saved water.
Link: Benefits of Rain Water:
Link: Rain Barrel Water
Link: Purchasing Rain Barrels Online
Link: How to Build a Rain Garden
Link: Green Alternatives: Why rainwater is good for plants
Anna Apple Tree after a morning rain.
Link : Protecting Citrus Trees from cold weather.
Rainwater on blooming potted citrus tree.
♥ Thanks for the blog visit…. www.nadiaknows.com ♥
San Diego Zoo Botanical Collection
22 Feb 2011 2 Comments
in Flowers, Garden Design, Living Healthy, Photography Tags: nadia's san diego garden blog, protea, sakura cherry tree, san diego zoo botanical
A trip to the San Diego Zoo this weekend provided some great photo opportunities for plants as well as enjoying the beautiful animals. The zoo’s botanical collection is an internationally impressive and dominant collection of over 4,500 plant species. Aside from the abundant bamboo and palm trees I found many flowering plants such as proteas, hibiscus and early blooming trees. In 1993 the San Diego Zoo was accredited as an official ‘Botanical Garden’ from the American Association of Museums.
The Protea Family of plants: Protea cynaroides is one of the oldest family of flowers on earth. It is a symbol of courage and diversity and native of South Africa (the official flower of South Africa) and Australia. These also grow well in California and Hawaii. The best time to plant proteas is in the Spring when day and evening temperatures have the least variation. Proteas make a great cut flower.
- Blooming ‘Sakura’ Ornamental Cherry Trees
San Diego Cherry Blossom Festival Information: Link
Anyone have a guess as to the botanical latin name of the cherry tree photo above? These are blooming all over San Diego right now and they are absolutely beautiful.
Thanks for your visit today- Enjoy!
www.nadiaknows.com
A Garden Valentine
14 Feb 2011 2 Comments
in Flowers, Living Healthy, Photography Tags: flower photography, la costa farms, nadia knows gardens, san diego travel, Valentine Flowers
♥ HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY ! ♥
These photos below are from an adorable fruit and garden stand in Carlsbad, CA. I drove by today and was thankful I had my camera on hand to photograph some of their beautiful floral displays and bouquets especially for Valentine’s Day. Enjoy!
FLOWER & FRUIT STAND ” La Costa Farms“: Location: (5) Freeway at La Costa in Encinitas/Carlsbad go East to Saxony Road- It’s on the SouthEast corner of La Costa Ave and Saxony Road.
Sowing Season For Sweet Peas
12 Feb 2011 3 Comments
in Flowers, Garden Design, organic gardening Tags: Container flower garden, Heirloom flowers, nadia knows gardens, planting sweet peas, preparing sweet peas
♥ This is a topic I’ve written about several times and the buzz out there is… “When should I plant my Sweet Pea seeds ?” So here it is again!
In Southern California the best time to plant Sweet Peas is February through April, but March is my favorite month to dig these seeds into the ground. I’ve had great luck with planting these fragrant beauties in raised planters, along fences and in small containers for the patio. If you are looking for an easy to grow flower then the Sweet Pea is the one you should try! In the past 15 years that I have grown Sweet Peas I’ve noticed that the seeds that are purchased from quality seed companies grow and bloom at a more abundant rate. Also, if heirloom flowers are purchased you can save the seeds from the end of the season and use them the following year. These seeds make great gifts in Birthday and Thank You cards 
♥ Some helpful hints for planting sweet peas ♥
♥ Soak the seeds over night to soften the hard seed coat prior to planting.
♥ Plant seeds 3″- 6″ apart and 1″ deep in a sunny location.
♥ Sweat Peas need a trellis, string or twine to grow and climb (unless you purchase the bush type).
♥ They make a great cut flower. Cut frequently for a heavier production.
♥ Use a thin top layer of mulch to retain moisture.
♥ Plant Sweet Peas in cool weather.
♥ Heirloom or Open Pollinated/ Self -pollinated sweet peas will grow from saved seeds. Allow the plants to dry out while still planted in the ground and then collect the seeds from the pods. Store in containers in a cool and dry place.
♥ There are many colors and patterns to choose from. If your local garden store is limited in selection then try these online sites: Renee’s Seeds.com /Territorial Seed Co.com / Enchanting Sweet Peas.com
Soaking Sweet Peas over night in a dish of water help them sprout more quickly.
♥ Save glass food jars for creating an inexpensive vas. Arranging these flowers is pure magic for the ‘challenged floral arranger’ like me which is one of the reasons this is a favorite of mine. Below is a miniature tequila bottle filled with a few colored glass pebbles.
Planting Sweet Peas in a container works well- create a support for the vines to grow with a bamboo arch or sticks.
Last seasons trellised Sweet Peas
ALOES IN BLOOM
31 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Flowers, Garden Design, Garden Projects, organic gardening, Succulents, water wise garden Tags: aloe plicatilis, aloe vera, aloes for landscaping, blooming aloes, nadia's san diego garden blog
♥ The winter months are when most aloes are at their peak blooming season and also a good time to plant them into the landscape. Aloes are succulents and come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes from ground cover and shrub-like clumping to tree style varieties. Finding the perfect fit for a drought tolerant area should be easy!
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is a medicinal aloe aiding in the healing of scrapes, burns and cuts and also considered an anti-aging plant.
Aloe barberae: This tree can reach over 20 feet
Aloe microstigma
This is a nice small aloe that boasts orange candelabra blooms.
Aloe verox
This aloe is big and heavy, I use it to cover a large area on my back hillside landscaping. The word ‘verox’ means fierce due to the spiny edges.
Aloe plicatilis
This is one of my favorites. Small tree-like aloe with smooth upright leaves and a gorgeous orange flower-burst.
Aloe microstigma
Another beauty that turns reddish when in bright sun, or green if planted in some shade.
Aloe Bloom macro photo : HUMMINGBIRD ATTRACTOR!
Most aloes can tolerate cold weather down to 25 degrees. Plant them in well-drained soil or cactus mix for best results. Enjoy blooms in the winter months when everything else in the garden is waiting for spring! My favorite part about aloes is how they attract hummingbirds into my yard, adding another benefit to aloes in the landscape.
Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com
Enjoy!
Flower Frog Succulent Design
19 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Flowers, Garden Design, Garden Projects, Photography, Succulents, water wise garden Tags: design with flower frogs, DIY flower frog, nadia's san diego garden blog, succulent design
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Flower • Frog • Design • • • • • • • • • • • • •
photo credit: embroidables.com
Using flower frogs is the easiest way to create a quick floral or succulent design. These photos below show a 1 inch Flower Frog in a small dish with several succulent cuttings from my yard. This arrangement will last for months with only a weekly watering and partial indoor light.
1 inch metal spiked flower frog in a small dish
Succulent cuttings (7) for Flower Frog arrangement
Plant cuttings pushed into the "spiked pins" of the flower frog
Do it Yourself Easy Flower Frog Succulent Arrangement
SHOP FOR FLOWER FROGS: FOLLOW THIS LINK HERE!
www.nadiaknows.com
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