Farm Tour: The San Diego Horticultural Society

Heeding the call of the San Diego Horticultural Society, we opened our farm gate to this enthusiastic group of horticulturists, designers, and passionate gardeners. With 2,143 plant species, San Diego County has more species of plants than any county in the contiguous United States. The geography of the county ranging from salt marshes, lagoons, coastal sage scrub, grasslands, chaparral, oak woodlands, stream sides, mixed conifer forests, freshwater marshes and meadows, to desert makes gardening here fascinating and complex. The San Diego Horticultural Society is dedicated to educating residents about gardening in this rich horticulture environment through their publications, seminars, and tours.

Given the abundance of South African and Australian flowers and foliage being grown here in San Diego County, having this group of 75 tour the farm and experience our day to day activities seemed like a natural fit. With the perfect mix of Proteaceae and Australian wildflowers, we knew it would be the just the place for them to capture some garden inspiration. Come along with us, as we venture around the farm.

Kick off to the Rose Parade

There really was no better way to celebrate Miracle-Gro’s kick off to this year’s Tournament of Roses Festivities than enjoying a beautiful field-to-vase luncheon, while giving back to the Pasadena community.

At John Muir Ranch High School, the day greeted guests with blue skies and warm temperatures, making for a perfect afternoon to help support the Pasadena School Garden Program. This is the second year Miracle-Gro has supported the program through their Tournament of Roses Partnership. Miracle-Gro representatives and Ty Pennington, Miracle-Gro’s spokesperson, were on-hand to help work with the volunteers in the garden and reinforce their commitment to the community. This event was also a volunteer opportunity for members of the community to install a new pollinator garden (that includes Proteaceae and Australian wildflowers) at Muir Ranch and help distribute 100 Thanksgiving dinners.

Miracle-Gro is also the Official Rose and Flower Care Company of the Tournament of Roses for the fourth year in a row and this year their float with be certified as “California Grown”. This means more than 85% of the flowers and plants on the float will be grown here in California. We’re honored to have been chosen to contribute Protea to this year’s float. Miracle-Gro is the very first brand to invite flower farmers and customers to supply flowers for their float. In addition along with Ty Pennington and four other “Miracle-Groers”, Mel has been chosen as one of the California farmers to ride the float on New Year’s Day.

Looking forward to celebrating all things California Grown on New Year’s Day!

Accessorizing with Proteaceae and Australian Wildflowers

What is it about wearing fresh flowers that makes an event feel extra special? Simply put, it’s the perfect accessory - natural, stylish, and we love it! Inspired by our wide variety of Proteaceae and Australian wildflowers (pincushions, serruria, waxflower, leucadendron and more) we perused the internet for bloggers who share our sentiment to help us dream up ways to turn our special flora into chic accessories.

Confetti Dreams

Wedding Chicks

Colin Cowie Weddings

Burnetts boards

ElizabethAnne Designs

Floral Verde

The Knott