Nadia Knows Gardens » nadia’s san diego garden blog

Favorite Garden Moments

nadiaqh — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:43:56 +0000

This is a photo gallery of my favorite garden moments from the last year.

Desert King Figs and Heirloom Yellow Pear Tomatoes

7 foot Sunflower is a smile maker

Strawberries squeezed in anywhere I can find space

Herbs are always so rewarding to grow: Rosemary, Parsley Chives and Oregano

Sugar Baby Watermelon- another first for me in the garden this year- LOVED them

Growing short carrots was fun and great in soups and stews- super tasty

Dahlia flowers that continued to bloom month after month and made a great cutting flower

I planted Zinnia flowers for the first time in a rainbow of colors- very rewarding flower.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy Gardening

www.nadiaknows.com

Wine Cork Garden Tags

nadiaqh — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:25:34 +0000

Recycle and Re-use wine corks from the holidays for your herb and vegetable garden!

Hang them or skewer them! A great way to label home grown produce.

www.nadiaknows.com

Put some garden in your holiday cheer!

Happy New Year 2012

Merry Christmas

nadiaqh — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:01:03 +0000

Merry Christmas and Happy Gardening.

Wishing Peace, Joy and Gratitude today to all.

www.nadiaknows.com

Linus and the True Meaning of Christmas

Charlie Brown: “Isn’t there ANYONE who knows what Christmas is all about?!?!

Linus: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ ” (Luke 2:8-14)

“You see, Charlie Brown—that’s what Christmas is all about.”

Vertical Gardens Indoors and Out

nadiaqh — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:12:40 +0000

The benefits of vertical gardens can be limitless. Indoors it can be the ultimate organic wallpaper, or a way to infuse more oxygen in a closed environment. Outdoors, a vertical wall adds more square footage for growing greens or simply creates a living wall. These are some of my favorite photos from the web and garden tours around San Diego. One of the most popular methods of creating vertical greenery on a wall is with : Woollypocket.com This web site has everything you need to get started on this project.

Vertical Garden - google image. Large and leafy plants give this patio "Life".

google images for vertical landscaping outdoors

beautiful indoor vertical spaces *google image*

aria ecoscpes vertical indoor garden ideas

wall planters * google image

Using unique containers for wall planters * photo from the San Diego Fair Garden Exhibit

succulent living wall * San Diego Fair Photo

I am continually inspired by plants and the unique ways that they can add to your life

www.nadiaknows.com

Thanks for visiting!

November Planting Guide: Southern California

nadiaqh — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:01 +0000

What to plant in November:

BEETS – BROCCOLI – BRUSSEL SPROUTS – CABBAGE – CARROTS – CAULIFLOWER – CELERY – COLLARDS – ENDIVE – KALE – KOHL RABI – LETTUCE – LEEKS – ONIONS – PARLSEY – PARSNIP – PEAS – RADISH – RUTABAGA – SPINACH – SWISS CHARD – TURNIPS

Here are some Companion Planting Ideas for the fall: Mixing Vegetables with Herbs

Broccoli and Rosemary planted in a sunny area with good drainage.

Cabbage and Dill planted in fertile soil in cooler weather.

Celery with anything that enjoys being watered well!

Peas and Turnip are a great pair to grow together.

Brussels Sprouts and Thyme

Beet and Mint

turnip garden

Check this out → A fun and creative guide to companion planting: Companion Planting Guide: Soil Mates by Sara Alway

Blog Surfing: www.urbangardensweb.com

nadiaqh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:15:49 +0000

I found this blog today and wanted to share it, so here it is completely cut and pasted into my blog site.

It’s good to Blog surf- I’m inspired daily by garden blogs and garden creativity on the world wide web!

Full Credit/ REPRINT OF BLOG FROM: Urban Gardens Web

Urban Citizen’s Traffic Island Garden

September 20, 2011

Last May, when New York City workers were planting a tree on the traffic island in front of the salon where he’s employed, Victor Rueda asked them if he could contribute his own plants, including some sunflowers, to the small plot of land. They agreed. Ever since, Rueda has cultivated the garden as if it were his own, protecting the tall sunflowers from the recent hurricane by tying them with nylon thread to keep them from blowing over.

The tree planting effort is part of New York City’s Greenstreets program, launched in 1996 as a partnership between the Department of Parks & Recreation and the Department of Transportation. The citywide program’s goal is to convert paved, vacant traffic islands and medians into green spaces filled with shade trees, flowering trees, shrubs, and groundcover.

In April 2007, Mayor Bloomberg announced PlaNYC, a blueprint for New York City to attain sustainable growth and improve the quality of city life. PlaNYC includes a number of groundbreaking greening initiatives, including planting street trees in all possible locations, creating 800 new greenstreets, and reforesting 2,000 acres of parkland. Mayor Bloomberg has dedicated $391 million over ten years for these initiatives, and also funded an additional 156 staff and $4.6 million in new forestry and horticulture maintenance funds to support these greening efforts. The city’s plan did not include citizen gardeners like Rueda: he’s just doing it out of the goodness of his heart.

Garden Lanterns Votives

nadiaqh — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:40:25 +0000

♥ Garden Lanterns and Votives can add a bit of charm to any garden or patio area and they are easy to make.

Table top or hanging, here are some creative ideas I found on several DIY Blogs.

Any of these can be created to enhance holiday decorating too or given as gifts.

Halloween Votives: DIY BLOG directions

Basic Garden Pots with candles: Image from Google images.

* Use transparent stickers and glitter glue to decorate a re-used food jar or mason jar.

Frosted glass on mason jars: Follow directions on how to create these by following this link: DIY Lanterns.

These lanterns look great during the day too:

Photo credit to : http://hearttheday.blogspot.com

Mason Jar Lantern Votive

Blog Sharing: Liventhingsup

nadiaqh — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:29:14 +0000

Garden Feature Today:

→ Liventhingsup.blogspot.com

Sharing another blog link that featured my succulent gardening and landscaping.

This blogger’s mission is about ” Sharing her passion for design, interiors, art, travel and photography.”

Thank you for the “shout out” and for sharing the beauty of drought tolerant landscaping

www.nadiaknows.com

September Planting Guide

nadiaqh — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:28:48 +0000

September Planting Guide for So. CA

*Frostless areas

Herbs ♥ Vegetables ♥ Flowers

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~H. Rion

FLOWERS: My garden is now a permanent home to flowers. The Zinnia’s and Dahlia’s are coming to their seasonal end with Sweet Pea and Snapdragons waiting to be planted in September. Flowers are a great way to add color to the garden when rotating crops and seasonal vegetables create a sparse landscape.

September Flowers: African Daisy, Bachelor Button, California Poppy, Flax, Foxglove, Marigold, Pansy, Petunia, Snapdragon, Stock, Sweet Pea, Verbena, Viola, Wallflower.

September Herbs: Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme

Vegetables: Beans (bush), Brussels sprouts, Carrot, Celery, Fava Beans, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Onion sets, Radish, Swiss Chard.

* Remember to mulch even in the cooler months ahead.

* Check for feeding (fertilizing). Azaleas, cyclamen, roses and fuchsias this month.

*Plant perennials. Plant sweet peas the first week of September (specifically the early variety: Mammoth, Early Spencer or Multiflora).

*referrences from Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening Book- a month by month guide to gardening in Southern California.

* Think good thoughts when gardening and they will grow

Thank you for your visit- www.nadiaknows.com

→ Create – Grow – Enjoy ←

GROW YOUR OWN SUPERFOODS

nadiaqh — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:12:42 +0000

How many super foods can you grow in your own garden? The super food lists usually boast about 20 beneficial foods to incorporate into your diet. Super foods are high in anti-oxidants, high in fiber, low in fat and overall the most nutritional foods ounce per ounce.

According to resveratrol.com: Super Foods, also known as anti aging foods, are foods high in antioxidants as well as high concentrations of crucial nutrients that have been proven to help prevent and in some cases, reverse the effects of aging.

Peppers growing in a Topsy Turvy Planter

The Super Foods:

avocado, broccoli, onions, peppers, soy, spinach, and sprouts, hot peppers, leeks, daikon radishes
açai, apples, blueberries, pomegranates, pumpkin, kiwi, oranges,and tomatoes
wild salmon, turkey, eggs
beans, barley, seeds, nuts, lentils, oats, walnuts and buckwheat
cinnamon, dark chocolates, garlic, honey, extra virgin olive oil (“cold pressed”), sea salt, yogurt & kefir
sea vegetables, irish moss, umeboshi plums, wheat grass, miso
red wine, green tea and water were also on this list.
Blueberries for the Southern California Garden

The Orange Highlighted items are super foods I grow year round and can be grown in a Southern California garden very easily. Radishes, Spinach, Blueberries and Peppers I find are the easiest to grow. Dwarf Apple and Citrus trees make even the smallest spaces a gardening possibility. I buy my honey locally and according to homeopathic and allergy specialists, eating honey collected from the area in which you live (local honey)“ helps to reduce allergies. (Just what I have heard folks!)

Dwarf Anna Apples

Spinach