This garden grows in one of the Southwest’s best art cities.
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Transcript:
Hello Listeners,
Today is February 12, and this is A Garden A Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
Thank you for listening.
Today’s garden is located in the cultural capital of the southwest United States — in one of the country’s great art cities. So where are we? Today we are exploring the Santa Fe Botanical Garden in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The idea for the garden began in the 1980s, but the first phase of this botanical garden did not open to the public until 2013.
In December 2006, eleven acres of land were leased from the city of Santa Fe for the purpose of creating a botanical garden. Landscape architect W. Gary Smith was hired to create a master plan for the garden which was approved by the city in 2011. Three more acres were added to the garden in 2013.
The first phase of the garden — the Orchard Garden — opened in July 2013. The garden centers on a fruit orchard that contains trees suitable for growing in the Santa Fe climate. Here, visitors will find apples, cherries, apricots, pears, peaches, and plums.
Also in this first phase of the garden is the Xeric Garden. This garden relies mostly on rainwater for irrigation. Here, visitors will find succulents and cacti but also hearty trees such as Texas Red Oak and Alligator Juniper as well as shrubs and perennials such as Fernbush, Blackfoot Daisy, and Mojave Sage.
A Rose and Lavender Walk includes pine and oak trees, but the stars of this garden are the five varieties of lavender and the seven varieties of rose. This purple and pink garden is both charming and refreshing.
The Meadow Garden mixes grasses and flowers to provide a naturalistic tableau similar to what is found on New Mexico mesas.
And as Santa Fe is a city known for art, visitors will be delighted to find sculptures throughout the garden on the Art Trail.
Phase 2 of the garden opened in 2016. The Ojos y Manos or Eyes and Hands Garden contains plants with traditional uses for cuisine, fibers, and medicines. This garden offers hands-on experiences for observation and study. The garden centers on a Learning Center Pavilion and amphitheater that allows for outdoor classroom activities.
The newest phase of the garden is the Piñon-Juniper Woodland — a three and a quarter acre site of walking trails. The purpose of this garden is to preserve the woodland ecosystem.
And finally, the Arroyo Trails, an eight acre system of trails demonstrating the garden’s arroyo restoration techniques and showcasing the diversity of plant and wildlife along the arroyo.
Today, the Santa Fe Botanical Garden spans 20.5 acres and is open all year.
As an added bonus, there are four art museums located Museum Hill making the Santa Fe Botanical Garden a destination for art, nature, culture, and community.
Well, that’s about it for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s garden.
Thank you so much for listening. Join me tomorrow to find out where we are going next. I release a new episode every single day.
As a reminder, you can learn more about the gardens featured on A Garden a Day by clicking on the links in the notes or by visiting our website, agardenaday.com.
And If you like A Garden a Day, and I hope you do, please consider liking, subscribing, and telling your friends. If you are able, please also consider giving us a five-star review. It lets me know you like the show, and it also helps others find the podcast. I really do appreciate your support.
If all goes well, I will be right back here tomorrow. See you then!
To learn more about Santa Fe Botanical Garden, check out these links:
https://www.newmexico.org/listing/santa-fe-botanical-garden/1434/
https://santafebotanicalgarden.gardenexplorer.org/
https://visitsfbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SFBG-PLANT-LISTS-by-area.pdf
https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4610
https://www.santafe.org/listing/santa-fe-botanical-garden/532/
https://fourkachinas.com/blog/santa-fe-botanical-garden/
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nature/new-mexico/santa-fe-botanical-garden-nm
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/santa-fe/attractions/botanical-garden/a/poi-sig/1556568/362156
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