Touring the Two Gardens

Touring the Two Gardens
Both of these private gardens can be visited by groups from two to twenty. Contact Moria at moriainsantafe@yahoo.com for information. Click on the photo here to go to the TP blog.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Garden Ornaments

With today's blog entry, I would love to inspire my readers to add a touch of interest to their gardens by incorporating objects'd arte (or otherwise!). For many years, Mrs. B. has gathered unusual objects to add interest to her gardens. Well read, with a keen sense of humor, and an appreciation of the written word, she likes to put these things together in ways that offer the visitor to the garden some pithy content. While the plants are the stars of the show, sculptural elements are the supporting cast. They add little comments that make you think.

The greatest concentration of sculptural elements at LQ may be found in the "Funky Shui Garden", located in what might normally be called the back yard. Here a collection of pieces which derive from many of the world's religions may be found. Together they form an "Ecumenical Garden" which offers homage to the spiritual yearnings of humanity.

If you click on the above picture, you can get an idea of how many oddments are shown off in this area. Everything from gazing balls to a mock Egyptian sarcophagus, from a bas relief Madonna and Child to a carved wooden bear. But it all ties together into the overall theme. In the enlarged view, incidently, youcan also see what looks like flying snow, but is actually petals falling from the enormous chokecherry tree behind the wall in the next garden. This is the same tree shown in full bloom on the front piece of my blog.

Although we try to arrange these objects in some kind of logical order each spring, when we bring them out of winter storage, they sometimes mingle inappropriately. Here the Indigenous American area rubs elbows with a Catholic church. Well, those two religions actually did rub elbows, and in fact still do, so maybe it isn't that inappropriate.

The Funky (Junky) Shui Garden is so full of interesting objects that it really deserves its own blog! That will come at a later date.

Each garden at LQ is expected to carry some meaning or significance, or at least a joke. Here an astrolabe offers a grace note to the Knot garden. But if it's not a garden, what is it?

In the center of the Funky Shui garden stands one of my favorite pieces: a moon dial that no one knows how to interpret. This delightful folly rests in the midst of a bed of catanache (perennial candytuft) in full bloom. We sheer this promptly once the flowers fade to stimulate a second flush later.

Four ladies (goddesses, perhaps?) converse in the garden of one of Mrs. B's daughters. The tendency to add interesting ornaments may be genetic! Metal objects, unlike ceramics, can remain in the garden all winter, and are an important addition while the plants are dormant during the winter months.

This little shrine was set up by one of the renters on the property, so maybe that decorative tendency is just something we learn. By creating a shelter to keep off the rain and snow, this clay sculpture can probably remain outside for the winter without breaking. It's the repeated freezing and thawing that wreaks havoc on ceramic pieces.

The quintessential Santa Fe icon, a kiva-style ladder to nowhere, rests against an adobe wall beside a bed full of hollyhocks. Ladders like this were used by the Anasazis in their multi-storied pueblos, and you can climb them if you visit the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, about an hour NW of Santa Fe. (I'll be posting a blog soon about these remarkable ruins soon on my other site: www.exploringaroundsantafe.blogspot.com)

The vegetable garden wouldn't be complete without a scarecrow or two. Their faces were carved years back from wood by one of the workers at LQ. They used to both be male, but the closer one is a transexual. They are quite happy together, but really don't help much with crows. The owl is actually much more useful in that department.

Our scarecrow couple sometimes like a change of scene. This covered wagon is one of many left in Santa Fe from the days when this was the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail. It is in better shape than most, and can still be rolled.

LQ fronts on Canyon Road at one end, where a particularly nice gallery rounds out the property. There the garden features an ever-changing display of sculpture pieces. Note the stone retaining wall holding the slope behind the children; it was beautifully constructed by skilled Mexican stone masons by dry stacking carefully fitted rough cut rocks.

In another garden in town, I spotted this emblematic sheep's skull. I relate this thematically to the ladder pictured above. Georgia O'Keefe deserves credit for popularizing both of these icons.

Elsewhere in Santa Fe, someone got creative with...what? Barrel hoops? And whatever that central object is. But it looks nice and probable was not expensive. Found objects are great! Here's a unique statement full of imagination and whimsy.

At my own home, I needed a place to display a small collection of glass insulators and antique bottles, some of which were found at TP while we were digging the garden. A rustic fence, made of Siberian elm branches (those weed trees aren't completely useless!), which provides a modicum of privacy while lending support to two roses and a clematis, offered a place to show them off in the sunlight.

Ornamenting your garden space is a great way to express yourself and use some of those odd-ball things gathering dust in the garage. If you liked it enough to keep it, put it out there! My rock collection is also displayed in the garden, as are interesting pieces of driftwood, a whole earth flag, and a license plate which offers the name Pan. It's all shown off in the tiny area behind the elm fence, and it is all showing who we are. Get creative and above all, have fun!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Planning the Vegetable Garden, Part I

Now is the time to start imaging the garden for next year. What worked in the garden this year, and what didn't? Did you learn that no one in your house really likes turnips? Then either leave them out of the garden altogether, or perhaps try one of those new Japanese hybrids that promise to be as sweet as a melon. Didn't grow enough broccoli? Give it more room in next year's plan. Ran out of lettuce? Plan to plant successively, and intercrop with other things.

Then there are the longer term design issues. Maybe you'd like to create a shady sitting area from which to contemplate the garden while sipping a lemonade (I recommend it!). A potting area outside of the greenhouse, with a trellis for shade, could serve to harden off the seedlings you intend to start indoors in late winter. Now you can think bout what you want, and soon you can pull out some graph paper and start designing and mapping the garden.


The vegetable garden differs fundamentally from perennial, ornamental gardens, and requires an annual planning process. How you want your garden to function will determine what kind of layout you'll have. A well-laid-out garden means that everything is visible and easy to access.

Dahlia, the dedicated vegetable gardener at LQ, runs a tight ship. She and I were comparing notes one day about how we thought one should lay out the beds in the veggie garden. We'd already worked together for a couple of years at that point, and found we got along well. "Of course the beds should be permanent, so you don't have to redo them every year. And of course the beds should be double dug to work the soil deeply, but then never stepped on so that they don't get compacted. And they should be straight, so it's easy to use row covers and trellis systems. And so of course the paths should be wide and straight; four foot wide beds are exactly right." Several more "of courses" followed; we were in agreement on everything!

"You know," said I, "I learned vegetable gardening in Santa Cruz, where I lived on a small, 5 acre farm in town, which was owned by a disciple of Alan Chadwick (you can google him)." "The Farm on Ivy Lane??" asked Dahlia in disbelief. "So did I!" It turned out we had lived in the very same room at the Farm ten years apart. No wonder we agree so well! This little oasis was also where I met my husband, Steve. But his approach to planning a veggie garden is very different from mine, as you'll see in the next blog. Perhaps this is because at LQ we are trying to make a garden which works for the owner, the other residents, and for tours. That's what I meant when I said above "how you want your garden to function will determine the layout".

The beds in the LQ veggie garden are permanent, with established paths. They are carefully prepared each spring. Cover crops, sheet compost, and/or finished compost is dug in, then the beds are raked smooth. The beds are slightly raised, but because they are never stepped upon, the soil remains loose and friable, allowing easy penetration of rainwater running off the more compacted paths into the tiny air pockets in the soil of the beds.

At the entry of the veggie garden is an especially formal section we call the "potager" (POH-tah-zhay, which is just French for vegetable garden). In this area cut stone defines raised beds which form a symmetrical pattern in front of the greenhouse. Each bed is carefully planned for maximum of aesthetic delight, as well as for crop rotation and most desired crops.

As the plants grow, the two foot wide beds allow access to all parts of the garden. With the bed width set at four feet, it is easy to reach into the center of any bed from one side or the other. Mulch on the paths eliminates mud as a problem.

By contrast, the veggie garden at TP grows rather by topsy. There is a nice wide path down the center, but some beds become inaccessible as the season progresses and the plants grow. I find that sometimes I can't avoid stepping in a planting area to get to the plants behind it. Still, it's productive!

One of Mrs. B's delights is to always add a touch of whimsy to her gardens. Here a sculptural plant stand forms the centerpiece in a potager bed. Note the many edible flowers, such as Tagetes minuta, or "Tangerine Gem" marigold, which tastes like orange peel in a salad and adds color.


The LQ vegetable garden in high summer, with the corn tasseling, and flowers blooming all around. Flowers are not "just for pretty" in the veggie garden. They serve as alternate food sources for a wide range of predatory insects and pollinators.

Take some time to dream about the garden now. It's good to keep a journal throughout the growing season, tracking how the various varieties did, what problems you encounter, how the weather was. I'm not as good at this as I should be; I try to keep it in my head, which definitely has its limitations! Next year I hope to keep the garden journal as a part of this blog, which should help all of us!




Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Bringing In Potted Plants For The Winter

When the leaves start to turn gold in the fall, we keep a sharp eye on the weather reports. Of course there are tomatoes and other tender veggies to harvest, but at LQ there are also many potted plants which have spent the warm months outside, and now must go back inside before the first hard frost.

Every pot must be dealt with in one way or another. Indoor space is limited. Some plants are destined to be treated as annuals (some are!), others are separated into individual pots to be re-grouped in the spring. The plant stand in the foreground is a temporary washing station.

Note the blue post-it on this pot. It has my detailed instructions to the gardening crew on how to deal with this pot. It will let them know if they need to wash the plant, spray it with neem oil and/or BT (bacillus thuringiensis), and put it in the cool alcove, the greenhouse, the laundry room, or the sun room. Each space has its own winter "climate", and it makes a big difference where the plants go.

It is important to wash and spray the plants before bringing them in, to ensure that we aren't introducing any pests or disease organisms which tend to proliferate indoors. Note tiny insects on underside of this leaf. Washing and spraying must be thorough, and prune to reduce size, remove any dead or damaged leaves at this point. Wait until spring to fertilize.

A pot like this will have its plants potted up separately. By spring they will all need larger containers.

Some plants never make it outside. These orchids aren't particularly happy in our dry climate, but a daily misting and setting them on top of a grate over standing water helps.

When the plants come inside the sunroom becomes a wonderful tropical paradise. In this picture you can see fuschias, pelargoniums (commonly called geraniums), begonias, amaryllis, hibiscus, and thunbergia (black-eyed susan vine). Other plants are added specifically for fragrance. Besides local nurseries, a favorite source for potted plants is Loggee's Nursery, which has a wonderfully enticing list of tropicals.

This geranium (pelargonium) has absolutely delicious bicolored blossoms!

An unusual fuschia with orange flowers which contrast fetchingly with its burgundy stems and foliage.

This hanging streptocarpus is one of Mrs. B's favorite pass-along plants. It is almost always in bloom, and its velvety leaves hang down on stems at least three feet long...a real show-stopper!

Here's an amaryllis I missed in the last blog. This is one of the shorties I said I felt were out of proportion, but now that I look at it, it's kind of cute!

This delicate begonia looks as good out of bloom as it does while blooming. A gift from some visitors, it always gets pride of place.

Plants which don't attain the show place of the sunroom may be relegated to the greenhouse. This building was retrofitted from the old duck house, and has a low ceiling fitted with skylights and large windows on the south side. I call it "the cave", as it is rather dark for a real production greenhouse. Nevertheless, plants love it, as you can see! It is really ideal for overwintering, as it never freezes and stays cool and moist. A fan helps circulate the air to reduce insect and disease problems, and when it gets really cold we turn on an oil-filled space heater. On sunny days we open the door so it doesn't overheat. Simple.

A gorgeous salvia, which is tender in our zone 5b, is well worth keeping in the greenhouse for another year.

Geranium bud about to burst. Plants are rotated into and out of the house as they go in and out of bloom. Geraniums (pelargoniums) are one of the plants pestered by cabbage loopers, and it is important to spray them with BT.

At my home the prize for fragrance goes to the sansevieria (sword plant, mother-in-law's tounge) a plant which blooms rarely but when it does, it perfumes the entire house! It sits on my bathroom counter year round, and was propagated from my mother's plant. I have it planted in the old green glass steamer I used to hang over when I was congested as a child, so the whole thing is really very nostalgic!

I bring in tender perennials as well, but really don't have much room for them. They crowd my studio all winter. Someday we plan to add a greenhouse outside these doors, and then, watch out! Plant heaven!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Amaryllis; Indoor beauty for the winter

With its huge, brilliant, long-lasting blooms, amaryllis is well worth cultivating. This is especially true when you can keep them year after year. With a little space outside to fatten the bulb over the summer, you can make these beauties a treat you look forward to every winter.

Set in a pool of sunshine in our kitchen in deep winter, one Amaryllis bulb provided this glorious sight.

While not fragrant, these bulbs more than make up for that deficit with huge visual appeal!

In order to keep your bulbs blooming each year, it is important to think of them as a crop, rather like an onion. After all frost danger in the spring, take the bulbs out of their pot and replant them in a well-prepared garden bed with ample sun, water, and nutrients. Allow them to grow there until just before the first frost in the fall. Then repot them (they may need slightly larger pots) in well-drained potting soil and bring inside. Remove only damaged leaves; do not take off all the foliage. With this treatment you can have flowers every year from the same bulb, which makes the rather hefty price tag ($8 to$20 each) a little more tolerable!

These African flowers have been greatly altered by many years of selection, particularly by Dutch plant breeders. They come in a range of colors, from white, pale pink, apricot, coral, orange, scarlet, red, burgundy, to almost black. Lovely blends, stripes, and picotee markings have been achieved, and some have a green throat, which I especially like. Some are quite tall, and with their top-heavy blossoms may require staking. Much shorter varieties are also available, which may be more practical. To me these look a bit out of proportion.

Fancy double flowers with ornately recurving petals and delicate coloration are the ultimate in amaryllis beauty. I love the sculptural quality of the huge petals. I have also been amazed by the iridescent rainbow sheen on the petals in the sunlight seen only with close examination. These are almost magically enlarged flowers, making me think of Georgia O'Keefe and Alice in Wonderland. How could you not love them?

In winter when the gardens in Santa Fe lie dormant, we keep 20 or more amaryllis bulbs in separate pots in a sunny laundry room for Mrs. B's delight. Each year it seems she can't resist getting one or two more. As the buds begin to emerge we bring them into her sunroom, where they are placed to good advantage.

With the grande dame amaryllis blooms interspersed among other winter flowering plants, such as hibiscus, jasmine, and bougainvillea, the sunroom becomes a glorious jungle! Some of the plants are deliberately chosen for fragrance, which makes up for the showier blossoms' lack of scent.

As you can see from the bouquet of freshly picked daffodils, this photo was taken in April. The Amaryllis collection at LQ comes into bloom over a five or six month period, which means that one or two bulbs will be in bloom at any given time throughout the cold months. Note the stakes on these long-stemmed flowers, as well as the abundant foliage, which I feel adds to their appeal. So this season adopt an amaryllis, give it a good home with year-round love, and it will return that love with a gift of beauty that will brighten your winters for many years to come!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

More early spring bulbs from LQ


Now is the last chance here in the high desert to get bulbs in the ground. As long as the soil is unfrozen and the bulbs are in good condition, you can still plant. The rule of thumb for planting depth is to dig a hole three times the depth of the bulb length. A pinch of balanced organic fertilizer, and some bone meal will help to keep the bulb nourished, and promote future bloom. Allow the foliage wither naturally so all the energy will go back into the bulb. The best situation is to have bulbs planted with perennials which will cover the fading bulb foliage. True geraniums work perfectly, but there are many other choices.

A wonderful naturalizer, over the years Scilla siberica has filled out this border edge nicely, creating a swath of deep blue-violet at the edge of this raised bed.

Besides coming in a wide range of colors, popular hyacinths have the additional attribute of being richly fragrant. Plant them where you can catch a whiff!

One of my personal favorites, Puschkinia scilloides is a little-known charmer originating in Turkey. To fully appreciate the delicate blue line etched into the center of each crisp white petal, it's necessary to go in close. Puschkinia is easy to grow in well-drained soil.

Anemone blanda, also known as wind anemone, brightens a shady border. The bulbs of this lovely spring ephemeral are particularly difficult to distinguish top from bottom. When in doubt I plant it on edge. It is available in white, pink, and dark blue as well as the clear light blue pictured. Here it is paired with muscari armeniacum, for a color echo. This is listed as a Zone 6 plant, and Santa Fe is officially Zone 5b (the warmer part of Zone 5). I find that you can push hardiness by planting near a wall or pavers. I have seen a definite warming trend over the past ten years here, and many Zone 6 plants are surviving well. It is always a gamble, but often worth trying.

Muscari "Valerie Finnis" is a particularly elegant variety with its bicolored flower heads. It sets off Narcissus "Thalia" to good effect. Note the guest supping nectar.