March Blooming Freesia and Chihuahuas in the Garden!

Freesia bulbs are a native to South Africa and are perennial bulb flowers from the Iris family (Iridaceae). They are very easy to grow and have a light sweet fragrance. This is a great cutting flower for flower arrangements.

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♥ Create – Grow – Inspire ♥

Firestick

Euphorbia tirucalli is a native to South Africa and grows well in drained soil with no frost exposure. In San Diego it is the most colorful in winter months with tips of bright orange-red and a green-yellow base. I call this Euphorbia a “show stopper” because it stands out among my other plants with absolute beauty in color and form. A great container plant, but also grows well on hillsides for landscaping with a growth potential of 30 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

Firestick in the landscape

The E. tirucalli is a fast grower, drought tolerant, grows well near the coast and loves full sun. I designed this meditation garden (photo below) with a Firestick which is kept pruned back to maintain the small size. The growth and pruning diversity with this Euphorbia allows for more creativity with landscaping design.

The new growth tips are where the color bursts are most prominent. Other common names for this plant are: Milk bush, Pencil bush, Pencil tree and Firestick.

* My Chihuahuas and Euphorbia tirucalli *

* Note: The Euphorbia plant contains a milky sap that can burn skin and eyes, wear protective gear when trimming or working with this plant.

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Create- Grow – Get inspired by nature!

Southern California in March has just the right amount of rainfall to water our gardens for free, the evenings are warming up and getting ready for those squash and bean seeds and the days are sunny and beautiful. Now go plant!

VEGETABLES:

Planting Seeds

Asparagus – (last month to plant asparagus until October).

BEANS : Bush and Pole beans

Beets – (plant all year)

Broccoli – (last month to plant until September).

Brussel Sprouts  -  Cabbage -

Carrots : Plant these all year-long, every month!

Chives- Collards  - Lettuce: Endive -

Swiss Chard – (all year-long) – Spinach  -

Radish- (another all year long vegetable)

Potatoes  -   Peas – Parsley – Spinach

Squash- Summer and Winter –   Turnips –

Tomatoes – Start indoors this month!

* FLOWERS: Some of my favorite  flowers that I have planted in my garden this month are: Carnation, Nasturtium, Sweet Peas, Sage and lavender.

“The trouble with gardening is that is does not remain an avocation. It becomes an obsession.” — Phyllis McGinley

Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com

Mushroom Garden Gnome

Does your garden grow better with gnomes? Garden gnomes originated in European folklore depicted wearing red hats, tunics and holding garden tools. In the 1800’s German potters made them from clay stoneware and sold them as lawn and garden ornamentation said to bring good luck, humor, wisdom and prosperity to the owner. They are whimsical little creatures that for some add character to a garden, but for others only create an eyesore. Several large garden clubs in the U.K. have banned garden gnomes from elite flower and garden shows stating they decrease the sophistication of garden landscapes.  Other groups such as the “Garden Gnome Liberationists” direct their energies towards “borrowing” gnomes out of gardens and photographing them all over the world at popular travel locations, some say this was the start of the now popular Travelocity Gnome.  

Blogs such as Gnome Frenzy are dedicated to collecting photographs of these traveling gnomes at famous places around the world and posting them on the web. It seems more people are inclined to like the Travelocity gnome with its updated appearance and reference to good times over the more traditional European ceramic gnomes with mythical powers of fortune and luck.

The mushroom gnome photographed above standing in-between my basil and oregano was only “borrowed” for a few weeks for blogging purposes, soon to be returned to its rightful owner.

I think the garden gnome craze is in the same genre as the plastic pink flamingos – love them or leave them!

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Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com

♥  Create – Grow – Enjoy   ♥

Growing Fun and Easy Vegetables:

For a fast growing vegetable try growing radishes, a great vegetable for the impatient gardener and ready to eat 28 days after sowing. Growing vegetables such as radishes and carrots are simple to grow and surprisingly rewarding at harvest time. “Rainbow Radishes” pictured below are unique in the assortment of colors- white, pink, purple and red purchased online from Renee’s seeds.

Rainbow Radishes

These seeds grew perfectly and delivered a tasty, juicy and spicy little treat today. I like Renee’s seeds for the quality and seemingly 100% seed germination, accurate harvest time and final product just as the package promises. My winter crop has been fed completely by rainwater these past few months and I want to believe that everything tastes better when water comes from the sky and not from the faucet.

Radishes remind me of my parents and how my mom used to cut them up at dinner time in the shape of a roses and how much my dad always enjoyed them. I planted this garden bed with my parents in mind and for my Dad’s birthday I plan to surprise him with a basket of colorful radishes.

Tips for planting:

* Grow in a raised bed or container with organic planting mix.

Simple low framed garden bed with Turnips and Radishes

* 6-8 Hours of sun is required for good growth.

* Consistent watering and weeding is needed.

* Plant at depth and distance according to package directions.

WEB SITE PHOTOS FROM RENEE’S SEEDS: RAINBOW RADISH SEED PACKET

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Plant – Grow – Enjoy

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Chihuahuas and Turnips

Roxy is the Golden Retriever that our parents adopted from the Golden Retriever Rescue of San Diego about 7 months ago, she was used for 7 years as a breeding mill mommy in very bad conditions (see this website on puppy mills) and is adjusting to a happier life with us now.  It took us a little while to get used to her because she is so much bigger than we are, but Roxy is a gentle giant. We all like to chew on carrots and smell all the vegetables growing in the garden. Mom calls us “her gardening dogs”.

Roxy

When we get tired out from helping mom we like run around in the backyard, or take long naps relaxing in the sun. It’s a good life being a dog and living in a warm climate.

Thanks for stopping by to meet us. Happy gardening!

modern succulent design

Succulent Container Designs

A small tabletop succulent design with a simple inspirational message rock, decorative pebbles and a linear design of small succulents all the same species makes a clever gift. I like to keep my camera with me when I shop at garden stores to gather up design ideas for creating my own garden gifts, this one shown has a popsicle stick price tag for $60. Being creative with gifts can mean reproducing a design like this one for less than half the price- now that’s being creative! There are many possibilities when designing with succulents from choosing the size and color of a container to picking out which succulent species will best match the theme. Modern, Feng-shui, Ocean theme, or Mexican-Rustic are just a few themes that come to mind when I create gifts for family and friends, and matching up their personality is part of the creativity and design.

Succulents have evolved out of harsh growing conditions and although they look quite exotic, they actually grow well in average soil conditions weathering both hot and cool temperatures. The key to growing successful succulents is planting them in containers that allow for good drainage.

This tabletop display is especially stunning with the choice of using one succulent species and planting them on a diagonal. As the rock says, Imagine!

Tips for creating succulent containers:

1. Use garden charcoal as the bottom 1/4 of the container base.

2. Use cactus mix to fill the container. Place succulents and add a top decorative rock or sand around plants.

3. Water succulents at the roots of the plants, avoid saturating the leaves.

4. Allow soil to dry between watering.

Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com

Sharing Inspirations- Creating- Growing

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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Cats in an Irish Garden

I was thinking of a Valentine Blog that had some soul to it and I came up with this video. Some of these photos were taken in cemeteries throughout Ireland where the feeling of peace met me with each shutter release. The gardens and flourishing greenery in Ireland is breathtaking to say the least. These photos captured a tranquility and appreciation for the soul in life and the beauty of the present moment. It was a great day creating this and remembering the beautiful places once visited and always remembered. This is a video blog about LOVE.

Thank you for visiting my gardening blog: www.nadiaknows.com   —- what do I know? That gardens inspire me to grow and create.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

What is the quintessential fruit or vegetable? Would you classify them as perfectly shaped with no growth deviations, or speckled, oblong and skinny? They have to taste amazing if I am going to take the time to grow them in my garden, but not everything that I plant ends up looking perfect and in my opinion the funkier the shape the better. Here are some photos from my garden over the past year that I thought would make a nice blog of funky garden finds. Pulling a carrot out of the soil and being surprised by its root diversion, or asymmetry gives it that quality of  looking “home-grown” and not the super perfect produce we find at the grocery store. I called the Master Gardener Hotline  of San Diego this week to ask about my carrot with two roots, I was informed that I over-watered my orange friend which caused it to create two roots instead of one. Even though it turns out that my carrot was a gardening blunder, I liked its uniqueness and it still tasted great so I consider it a success!

* *Click on each of these photos  below to enlarge

I look forward to the next growing season with anticipation of what I might find under the soil, up in the trees and growing on vines! Watching how soil conditions, sunlight exposure, air temperatures and watering ratios can create different growth patterns and outcomes is simply amazing.

Thank you for visiting my garden blog: www.nadiaknows.com

Enjoying the process of creating, growing and planting.

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