June 1: Gardens 1, 3, 4, 5
Garden 1
Paths through this garden of perennials, roses, and ornamental grasses lead to a small cairn where a gentle stream feeds into a pond. Elsewhere venerable apple trees shade a lawn dotted with lilacs and other large shrubs. The main part of the house, which the owners have generously opened to tour goers, dates from the mid-nineteenth century. On the east side is a sun porch lined with plant-laden shelves. Inside, where the sense of spaciousness continues, the sophistication of the décor offers a series of surprises.
Garden 3
A sense of tranquility pervades this magnificent garden, which combines formal and woodland gardens in a manner reminiscent of traditional English estates. From the house one looks down onto the pond, shaded by enormous weeping willows. Roses and delphiniums dominate the formal gardens. Paths throughout the property lead to intimate settings as well as to stunning vistas of house, gardens, the pond, and woodlands.
Garden 4
An exuberant and water wise bed of shrub roses and perennials welcomes you to this charming garden. At the rear of the property, huge cottonwoods merge into woodland that thins into a sunny meadow near the house. A wide arroyo adds to the setting’s drama. Don’t miss the wonderful vegetable garden with its promise of delicious produce later in the season. And for dessert, there’s fruit—decades-old apples and a venerable multi-trunk peach are laden in late summer and fall with ripe, juicy pickings.
Garden 5
It’s like being on top of the world! From the courtyard balcony of this garden you have a panorama of northern New Mexico. Coming back down to earth, you’ll want to stroll beneath the pergola along raised beds and colorful pots of annuals and perennials. Beds contain a variety of plants that perform throughout the growing season—shrub roses, daylilies, buddleias, perovskia, and gaura, to name just a few. Specimen trees and ornamental grasses complete the diverse palette of plants.
June 8: – Gardens 6 - 9
Garden 6
The oldest existing deed to this property is dated 1870. The house is older yet, though its exact date is unknown. Perhaps the enormous and rare black locust tree in back and the American elms and ancient spruces shading Garcia Street, were planted in those earliest days. The current owners have added peonies, Japanese maples, roses and hydrangeas! An herb garden and a raised vegetable garden at the rear of the property provide a bountiful harvest in late summer. For irrigation there is a well, and rainwater is collected from the roof.
Garden 7
The garden of this historic 1 ½-acre property, originally part of the White estate that is now The School for Advanced Research, was designed in 1924 by early Santa Fe landscape designer Jacques Cartier in conjunction with John Gaw Meem, architect for the house. Giant Siberian elms line the property, which features roses, spirea, daylilies and fruit trees. The original orchard in back still exists, with the addition of new trees as needed. Don’t miss the kiva—Cartier’s idea of a garden folly for Santa Fe!
Garden 8
This gem of a garden embraces its 125-year-old house with multi-level flagstone terraces. Built into the wall of the entry garden, a 17th century watering trough found by the owners in Spain, now serves as a raised pool, enhanced by the trickle of water when weather conditions permit. Pots overflowing with colorful annuals complement the in-ground plantings, which include an enormous climbing Sally Holmes rose. The rear garden connects the guesthouse to the main house and features a second large Sally Holmes, as well as evergreens, perennials, and shrub roses.
Garden 9
Built in the 1920’s and 30’s by Katherine Stinson Otero - the fourth professional woman aviator in the U.S. - Plaza Chamisal “is perhaps the most intact historic compound in Santa Fe.” Gardens on tour today exhibit the original “extraordinary attention to detail” in the fountains, pools, and courtyards, in the fences, doors, and gates, even the hand-made lanterns. In addition to these preserved elements, owners have lovingly restored the plantings surrounding the homes and added pergolas, terraces, a footbridge over the acequia, and other garden ornaments that blend seamlessly into the enchanting whole.