Balboa Park December Nights

Each year, December Nights is the heart of the holidays for San Diego families and friends. Featuring dazzling lights; dancers, choirs, and bands; incredible food; and amazing attractions, December Nights is a treasured tradition that kicks off the holiday season for young and old alike. Held the first Friday and Saturday of December, the event was founded 40 years ago when ten Balboa Park cultural organizations hosted the first celebration. That year, 3,000 San Diegans gathered… it has been a treasured event ever since. Today, December Nights is San Diego’s largest free festival with more than 350,000 guests.

This was a 4oth anniversary celebration Mel and I didn’t want to miss, so we headed over to Balboa Park and joined in on the holiday tradition.

Garden clubs, plant societies, schools and other organizations annually dazzle December Nights visitors with creative decorations at the Festival of Trees, San Diego Floral Association’s (SDFA) holiday gift to the community. The organization’s home in the Casa del Prado is filled with sparkling holiday lights and fragrant fresh evergreen trees, all decorated to a single theme. This year, each tree was decorated in red because “ruby” is the color and gem for 40th anniversaries. The Flower Arrangers Guild provided distinctive floral arrangements and SDFA continued its traditional sales of gingerbread cookies and protea… fresh from our fields!

After December Nights many of these trees are donated to hospitals, children’s homes and retirement centers. In the spirit of cooperation, the decorations from some SDFA trees will reappear in early December at the San Diego History Center.

UCCE Master Garden’s Spring Seminar: Growing Together

With the spring equinox just days away, and April right around the corner, we decided to embrace the renewal and return to nature that the season brings with it; it feels particularly sweet after the cold, wet winter. So, stroll along with us as we joined our friends from UCCD Master Gardener Program of San Diego during their Spring Seminar. This year’s theme: Growing Together – Gardening for a Better Tomorrow. It was a fun-filled day to experience what’s new in gardening, get tips from the experts and explore the Garden Marketplace.

One of the least-known treasure troves of information in San Diego County is that over 300 Master Gardeners provide home gardening and pest control information throughout the county, FREE to the public. Master Gardeners are volunteers trained and supervised by the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE). The mission of the UCCE is to conduct research on new pests and issues affecting the county, and to provide research based information to the public. The county of San Diego provides support for the local UCCE office which is known as the Farm and Home Advisor Department. Inherent in the title "Master Gardener" lies the challenge to continue learning and to help other gardeners grow. It's a challenge that everyone who has graduated from the Master Gardener program is committed to meeting.

CWA Wreath Making Workshop

Our kind of welcome to the Holiday Season, as the California Women for Agriculture – San Diego Chapter (CWA) brought good cheer to the farm on a recent Saturday. Clear skies and perfectly crisp temperatures greeted guests as they enjoyed a wreath making workshop, along with a tour of the nursery, a peak in the packing house and some tasty Mexican snacks. Our favorite flower farmer demonstrated the art of wreath making, while participants merrily contemplated what flowers and foliage they would select for their special wreath.

Once everyone gathered their favorite ingredients they created twelve small bouquets that were arranged and placed on a wreath frame and finally, clamped into place.

The workshop concluded with a viewing of 20 unique and festive wreaths, complete with holiday tunes and special greetings from several of our farm friends. Guests departed with a wreath in one arm and protea bouquet in the other.