All posts tagged: garden

cactarium!

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Also on my Palm Springs weekend wish list: a visit to the Moorten Botanical Garden, a privately owned garden with over 3,000 cactus species. This garden is everything. I never thought I’d enjoy a botanical garden without flowers. There is a small fee to enter garden, and you can spend however long you want strolling the grounds. The garden is organized by region, and most of the plants are labeled. There are so many kinds of cactus varieties that I’ve never seen before. One of my faves were these Giant Golden Barrel Cacti. Another special treat – the garden’s cactarium (the first of it’s kind) which houses rare cactus varietals. We weren’t allowed to touch any of them. I wouldn’t want to anyway; look at these spikes. The Moorten residence is on the garden grounds… And look! Garden crafts – natural dye! You can take a piece of the garden home with you, too. They had lots of plants for sale. Hubby and I brought home four mini cactuses. Super cute! We hope the Bay …

garden apothecary.

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Any place with the word apothecary in the name and I must go to there. My friend took me on a shopping adventure in Half Moon Bay and we stumbled upon Garden Apothecary. Filled with items for gardening, teas, glass bottles, succulent arrangements, and a handful of locally made items, there’s a gift idea for every occasion. They also carry what they deem foraged curiosities, like these spectacles! Even when you look up, things! On our visit they were sampling a red rooibos tea and handing out copies of the gather journal…Fun, fun, fun. I ended up gifting myself a bag of dried elderflower and a bag of cacao powder for steeping. The cacao is the shopkeep’s fave to use for iced tea. I must try it for myself! What a lovely find in a cute part of town. Where have you explored lately? Share below!

grow and bloom.

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Being home for Christmas weekend means I got to spend some time in the famous Garcia Garden. I can never get enough garden time. Here’s what’s growing this time of year. In the frontyard: In the backyard: My Mom likes grow daughter plants in smaller pots and have them available to give as gifts when people come to visit. Such a great idea! I’m going to copy her. 🙂 My Dad’s current favorite plant: this fire plant. It’s neon pink! He wants to use it as his Christmas tree next year. Daughter approved! Husband picked some citrus (pomelo, oranges, and calamansi) to take home. We even brought home two trays of plant babies: rosemary, mint, arugula, oolong, succulent varieties, a fire plant, aloe, sage, and so much more… Slowly but surely I’m getting better at caring for my house and patio plants. What do you grow in your garden? Share below!

wreath party!

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Yay Cactus Jungle! Their team of cactus experts put together a succulent wreath class and I was lucky enough to snag a seat. They made the process super simple, taking on much of the prep. We were provided with a container of succulent cuttings with different growing seasons. In theory, this would make the wreath look full year-round. There were lots of color variations, including some pink-colored succulents which I hadn’t seen before. Throughout the class our instructor shared a succulent fun fact and tips for taking care of our wreaths. The wreaths are made of a metal frame and moss, and held in shape with fishing wire. Cactus Jungle presoaked the wreaths for us in a seaweed solution. Apparently, moisture awakens the amoebas that live in the moss. (Amoebas?! No one warned me about amoebas!!). We were given a lesson in wreath making safety at the start of class and we wore puncture-resistant gloves to protect us from puncture wounds (and keep amoebas from getting into our bloodstream and causing a brain disease and …

horticulture. 

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Happy Earth Day! Featuring a local nursery seems fitting for today. Behold: Berkeley Horticulture Nursery. It’s like a nursery dream! I had been here once before to purchase a garden pot and have been meaning to visit again. This is by far my favorite nursery in the East Bay. Helpful staff, suuuuper organized garden, awesome selection, excellent prices, and all the inspiration!   Time to tend to the garden! How will you celebrate Earth today? Share below.   

thankful.

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Hi! I’ve been on a posting hiatus because I’m having too much fun with crafties. I wanted to take a minute to share my Thanksgiving holiday though because I’m super thankful for these special moments in life when we can enjoy the company of loved ones in lovely environments. This year was the first year my husband’s family came to celebrate in my hometown. It was also the first year I got to be fully in charge of the tablescape and the first year we set up Thanksgiving lunch in the backyard! As usual my Dad cooked all the things — pancit, pasta, scalloped potatoes, fried chicken, Spanish rice, corn, lemon shrimp, pork and gravy. Is your mouth salivating yet? The in-laws brought pork buns and desserts, and my niece and nephews made pie! And if that wasn’t enough food, we picked some treats from the tree — pomelo, my fave! My Mom and I decorated the tables with freshly cut bay leaf twigs and grapefruit (from the garden!), and a few decorative pumpkins. The …

patio plants.

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Hubs and I finally started working on our garden. I’m hoping we keep it up and actually grow things / keep things alive. Wish us luck! Here’s what we have so far: Talbos ng kamote (sweet potato leaves). My Mom picked a bunch of leaves from their garden. We placed them in water so they could grow roots before planting. I enjoy watching roots grow; it’s like I’m doing something right even though all I did was put them in water. Nature is magical that way. We’re excited to have plants we can harvest and eat! Succulents. Here’s what’s left of my succulent plant garden that I almost killed. (I know, I know…succulents are supposed to be easy.) I’m more excited about the ceramic pot I got from a nursery in San Diego. It’s made by local ceramicist Susan Aach. I am in love with it and I’m hoping to grow my fun garden container collection as we add to our patio garden. Mystery plant. This plant just showed up and decided to grow. We’re going to let it. It looks …

flowerland.

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Current project: planting a garden in our patio dirt. But first, inspiration! Flowerland is one of my favorite garden shops. From their retro marquee always sporting a fun quote to the colorful patio furniture, I find myself dreaming about my future garden every time I visit. A garden is a place to relax and enjoy nature, a place for calm and mediation, a place for fun and celebrations. I feel all the feels when I visit this nursery. I could definitely use one of these gorgeous giant plants! They’ve for a great selection of indoor plants, too. We don’t have much of a garden right now, but we’ve got a little patch of land in our apartment patio. I’ve been ramping myself up to plant a brown-thumb friendly garden. Hoping to share more on that soon! What grows in your garden? Share, share, share!!

glenview gallivants. 

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The East Bay is the best place for exploring neighborhoods and discovering all the flowers. There’s always something in bloom! The Hubs and I have put “walk new neighborhoods” on our list of fun things to do together. 🤗 First up: the Glenview neighborhood of Oakland. See Glenview through my eyes…   Where should we explore next? Share your neighborhood stroll ideas below! 

roses are…not all red.

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The roses are in full bloom at the State Capitol Park World Peace Rose Garden in Sacramento. I spent part of my afternoon strolling through the park, sitting, and enjoying the scenes. Look at all the varieties in bloom! I especially enjoy the roses that are as big as my face and the ones that don’t look like “typical” roses. Which one is your favorite? Share below!