It’s not often that you get to design a brand new garden in Santa Fe anymore.  Most of what we do is remodel.  But when Clyde and Kathie bought a completely renovated house in the South Capital neighborhood, they had the chance.  After much struggling with the permits and historic district, they gave up hopes to raise the two foot wall in the front to make a quaint Santa Fe style courtyard, so they hired us to build garden beds and block the street with plants.

We had so much fun building small walls, flagstone paths and patios, and planting for them.  We had to mix in our modern stone work with some classic rock walls built generations ago as back yard walls.  There’s a little of everything that makes a very functional yard.

When I went back today, I was pleased that the peach tree and apple tree, planted last fall, had fruit on them, and the blue spruce trees had grown, the ash trees looked good, and the honeylocust was lovely.  I hear I missed a great lilac, a Santa Fe classic that I always say all gardens need one of.  But the butterfly bushes, our summer alternative to lilacs, were coming in nicely.  Clyde had had us make a long raised veggie garden, and they had been harvesting squash, carrots, and greens for a while.

I wish them many years of happiness if the choose to keep Santa Fe their home.