Blue Hydrangeas For Curbside Appeal

Wow you with my neighbor's hydrangeas.  

This front yard has a number of beautiful flowers.

What great curb appeal welcoming with

the American flag!

How to make pink or other colored hydrangeas blue:

Blue hydrangeas develop when aluminum is available in the soil.

In years past, I added aluminum sulfate to the soil around the hydrangeas. I have not done this in about ten years since I became an organic gardener who doesn't use chemicals.

Wouldn't you rather healthy hydrangeas be what they want to be?

White ones are my favorite. Weather conditions can change the color quite nicely.
But here is the recipe should you so wish for blue:

Mix a solution of 1/2 oz (1 Tbsp) aluminum sulfate

in a gallon of water to be applied to plant roots. Don't apply to new babies or after they have spent and bloomed. The plants need a rest in the Fall.

Plants that are two or three years old can handle this after you have watered them. Note: soak them first in the cool of the day, then add a couple cups

of the bucket water on each plant at the soil level.

 

A slower method (and more organic) is to add coffee grounds - After your morning coffee is ready to be cleaned up from May through August dump the cooled grounds in the pots or soil.

This will lower the pH of the soil. It should be between 5.2 and 5.5 You can also stick banana peels or green vegetable trimmings such as cucumber or the stalks of spinach into the soil. Don't use citrus peels- they are too slow to degrade.

Yellow epi on my garage wall just ready to bloom!

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Pests Don't Eat My Strawberries!

Summer is here in Orange County.

I went to the Farmer's Market

on La Paz this morning. I don't have enough produce, yet, to

feed my family's desires for organic vegetables and fruit.

Squash blossoms for dinner, we have several varieties enjoying

the afternoon sunshine.

However I am already fighting pests.

Snails and slugs (beer traps, yeast and sugar traps and just

plain squishing). I wish the crows would eat them. I lined

up a few squished ones with peanuts on the front hillside

(away from my garden but the crows know me and we

have a peace treaty). They wouldn't touch the snails.

Sigh.

My other big pest is my Chihuahua Coco who eats tomatoes

and strawberries even right after she had a big meal.

Sometimes she tears the plants up out of some jealousy.

I constructed this leaning tower of wire that I can move

easily to water and gather fruit. The wire scares the dog,

and any rouge birds.

If you have a larger dog who helps himself you might

add some clanking soda cans for noise.

Our Golden Retriever likes tomatoes, but she doesn't

help herself. I read that you should not feed your

pets anything you don't want them to eat.

Inside of some of the pots I put in some of my own

climbing rose (patent not filed yet called Indestructible

Beauty) I strip the leaves off and end. Place four or five

stalks with thorns around strawberries or anything I want

to protect. Then use recycled netting, or old tulle or old

lace on the thorns. It looks a bit crazy but effective and

easy to access daily.

Tomatoes with re-used vegetable grocery netting

Squash just starting. Can you see the eggshells in the compost soil?

Strawberry without fruit yet surrounded by rosemary. Many of the roses

will take root. When the roses flower, it is time to repot. If the stalk turns

brown it provides safety for a year or two. Strawberries can fruit for about

three years. I tuck the black pots in sunny places in my garden. I'm not fond

of the look of the black pots, so other herbs or flowers hide the base, but

the pots are light, practical and were free from Plant Depot in San Juan.

Below a tomato plant in one of the blue pots from Vietnam. It has some

flowers but no fruit --- yet. Soon as fruit sets, I'll need to save this from

pests.

Any green organic cheap budget ideas how you keep pests from eating

your strawberries?

Smile

Something cheerful and silly this morning.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Take the time to notice and smile at a stranger.

This owl mug with flowers from my garden

made me start off right.

(painted blanket and lavender )

 

 

 

 

Flower Arrangements Free

How to Make Free Flower Table Arrangements for a Banquet

Lavender cut from my garden

Tutorial on making flower arrangements for free from

flowers in your yard.

My garden in Orange County is 100% organic.

I do not use pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers.

I'm growing herbs, flowers, and vegetables.

In California public schools funding for sports other than

the main stream - is non existent. Events are put on with 

the parents funding everything. I want the end of season

party to be special and fun. 

My son plays Lacrosse for Dana Hills High School

Out banquet was last night and I made ten arrangements

from flowers in my yard.

Here is the step by step.

orange buck of water with frecias and lavender

You will need

some buckets filled with water

good pruning sheers

regular scissors

recycled plastic food containers

paper

recycled ribbon or twine

White bucket of water with Boston fern fronds

First step is to cut more than you might think you need.
Boston fern grows like a weed on my shady side yard.
I cut about fifty swords and threw them in a bucket.

French lavender, grosso, latifolia, and intermedia

Out front in full sun I have four different lavender plants that
keep blooming as long as I keep them thinned out. Cutting some
eighteen inch stalks and they go in another bucket. I trimmed about
40 big bunches.

roses, coreopsis, and lavender

Out front I also have some roses, sunflowers, freesias, and

snapdragons. I cut half of the front yard flowers to make long

as possible stems.

This mix went into another bucket.

Trimming out flowers will keep the plants

healthy and make them repeat bloom.

lavender cut outdoors on brick patio

Instead of working in my garage I chose to sit on my front

this makes clean up easier and the weather here is amazing.

This photograph shows a long stalk of lavender. Only two

flowers will be used from this piece.

remove lower leaves

With your fingers strip off almost all the leaves and stack the
flowers facing same way. Trim the bottoms off to have a
piece now about eight inches long.

trimmed stalk - more flowers fit in the vase and less bacteria in water

You don't want all the leaves to crowd the vase, or rot
in water. The flower is the most fragrant and pretty part
of the plant. This activity is quiet lovely. The aroma of
the lavender will penetrate your soul and relax your mind.

lavender on wicker chair

Some photos of the lavender waiting for trimming. The bees

followed me into the shade. They didn't bother me, I think

they were getting one last sip of the now easy pickings.

painted blanket, rosemary, feverfew for arrangement

From my backyard:

sweet peas, painted blanket, rosemary, thyme,

chamomile, and more roses.

plastic buckets to keep flowers fresh before the event

I am using plastic food containers that I save and keep

clean and stacked under the sink. Ask friends to save them

- recycling at its finest :)

I stripped all the flower leaves down and begin distributing

a variety to each vase. They don't have to be perfect or

exactly matching. This is fun.

to save costs and the plastic vases are covered in tissue and ribbon

You could use fabric to cover the vases. I've hot glued bark
on vases and used brown paper lunch bags. These are just
a simple thank you gift to volunteers and Senior Mom's
on the team.
Each arrangement has about 30 flowers and they smell
heavenly

view of arrangements before the event

flowers are colorful and will cheer up the tables

Gallardia

gallardia, roses, rosemary

complete arrangements ready to be loaded in the car

They are done! Sitting on my dining room table, waiting to

be loaded into two baskets with some rags underneath to

keep them standing upright for the ride.

Our dinner at El Adobe was a success. I hope the simple

gift of a little bouquet with a note saying :

"Thank you"

will inspire more volunteers for next year.

If you have an Orange County Charity

that might need free table arrangements

or you want to pick up organic flowers

to cheer someone- let me know how I can help.

Thank you for stopping by -

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please call me (949) 784- 9699

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