Nadia Knows Gardens » macro lens photography

Friday Garden Photo

nadiaqh — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:50:29 +0000

Friday morning garden photo: Two ladybugs on a Julia Child yellow rose bush.

Have a green weekend!

Plant – Grow – Enjoy.

www.nadiaknows.com

Honeybee

nadiaqh — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:07:36 +0000

♥ I followed this honeybee around my garden a bit before I was able to capture a nice clear photo of it pollinating my Meyer Lemon Tree. I like the profile angle of this photo and how the orange-yellow colored pollen shows up so well clustered around its legs. I added several fruit trees to my garden this year along with blueberry, strawberry and raspberry plants which subsequently increased the amount of bees I’m seeing in my yard this year over last.

◊ Interesting -HONEYBEE- Trivia ◊

* One bee hive per year collects 66 pounds of pollen. Pollen is used as food for honeybees consisting of protein, sugars, carbohydrates, enzymes, minerals and vitamins.

* Honey has antibacterial qualities and some say that eating honey is a great way to naturally cope with allergies.

* Without pollination there would be a significant decrease in the production of fruits and vegetables.

* Beekeepers are said to suffer less than any other working group in the areas of cancer and arthritis.

* Dab some honey on a scrape or cut for healing.

* They can Fly 15 Miles per Hour.

* Honeybees are native to Europe and introduced in the USA by early settlers.

* Bees carry out specific roles in a highly organized bee society. The queen bee can live for several years, but the worker bees only live from 6 weeks to 9 months. Bees live longer in the winter months.

* The U.S. bee population is continuing to decline. Many researchers believe that pesticides may be a contributing factor in the declining population.

♥ “Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about” August, p.148 (The Secret Life of Bees).

Do you have any interesting information about bees? I would love to read your comments. There is a lot of research being conducted about the decline of the bee population and why there has been such a drastic decline in the United States since 2006, some of the reasons are pollution, pesticide use, bacteria and less agricultural land use. To date researchers are still baffled as to why.

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

Rainbow of Colors in Bloom

nadiaqh — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:30:49 +0000

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

Flapjack-Paddle Plant Kalancho luciae Succulent

nadiaqh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:11:12 +0000

Flapjack Succulent

This is a close up of a Kalanchoe thyrsiflora as many refer to it as, or more specifically a Kalancho luciae succulent in my yard. The contrast of pink edges outlining large green leaves makes my heart leap!

I like the simple names of plants when they are easy and fun to remember, this one is known as a Flapjack, or Paddle Plant.

Water wise, hardy, and easy to care for. What a beauty!

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

Creating= Growing= Having Fun

Orange Orchid for Halloween

nadiaqh — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:11:34 +0000

Orange Epidendrum Orchid

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

My outdoor potted orchid, ”Epidendrum” showing off her colors for Halloween.

These orchids need very little care and bloom most of the time. The best temperatures to grow these orchids are between 60-90 degrees F/ 15.5-32.2 degrees C. Epidendrums come in a rainbow of colors and grow up to 2 feet tall. I grow these orchids outside in pots all year long and fertilize every few months. They make a great cutting flower and last for weeks in a vase of water or in a flower frog. This variety of orchid is not picky about the potting mix, as long as it has good drainage. I was surprised to find out that there are over 1,000 species of Epidendrums. I love simple gardening with big results and the Epidendrum orchid is my #1 choice!

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

“Knowing that creating, growing and inspiring is essential.”

Picture Perfect Succulents

nadiaqh — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:23:26 +0000

This is a quick blog to show off my new macro lens on my camera. How beautiful is this echeveria close up? This succulent is a about 3 inches round and of course water wise. It looks great in all size pots and also in yard landscaping. I’m looking forward to sharing some great photos with you on this garden blog and showing you cactus and succulents in a whole new way! Let me know which photos you like the best- I love to hear from you!

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

” I know I want to keep creating, growing and having fun.”

** note to my niece: I thought you would especially like this blog since it is your favorite color– GREEN **