Taos Garden & Home Tour 2013

We joined the Garden Club of Taos earlier this year.  Named Los Jardineros (the gardeners), the club is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization which helps beautify Taos and educates its residents on the unique challenges we face gardening in our high desert locale.  Los Jardineros raises funds which are then distributed through grants to local organizations for horticultural projects in the community.  The main fundraiser of the year is the annual garden & home tour.

The tour is traditionally held the first weekend in August.  I had the pleasure of volunteering as a docent this year.  What a wonderful experience.  Four lovely homes were selected...each unique in home design and garden layout.  For a newcomer to Taos, these gardens give such hope as to what is possible regarding plant choices in flowers, vegetables, trees and fruit trees able to survive our short growing season and high altitude.

The homes ranged in style from a LEED certified green home with clean lines and pure spare design to a more traditional adobe with curved walls, beeswax rubbed walls and hand painted murals.  The gardens were spectacular!  My favorite was "my" home...the one where I was a volunteer.

This garden, designed by the homeowner Susie Schwartz was chock full of echinacea, campanula, yarrow, climbing honey suckle, Virginia creepers, creeping thyme, yellow-flowered rue, sedum, Mexican heather, snapdragons. zinnias and veronicas.  Trees such as Persian Hawthorne, Mugo Pine, Blue Spruce, Autumn Blaze Maple and Russian olive to name just a few.  Truly spectacular!

In addition to the tour, there were local artists at each home painting in each garden. What a treat to see these extremely talented individuals working and exhibiting their art in such beautiful settings.

Here is a tip...make plans now to attend this event next year, you will be glad you did.
Oh, and if you are here in Taos and interested in additional information about Los Jardineros, please check out our website here.  Some info from the website:

MEETINGS are held in Taos on the third Thursday of the month between February and October.  At each meeting an invited speaker presents a program on a subject directed to the interests and needs of high desert gardeners. Past topics have included: edible landscapes,permaculture, container gardening, orchid care, selecting the right tree, native and flowering shrubs, raising herbs and vegetables, xeriscape principles, and beneficial insects.

MEMBERSHIP includes admission to the annual Garden & Home Tour held on the first Saturday in August as well as to our Members Only Tour in July.  Members also receive discounts from local businesses.

The hollyhock was selected as the official flower of Los Jardineros in 1949, the first year of the club. Members collected hollyhock seeds for planting along streets, alleyways, and throughout the countryside around Taos.

my best,
diane
August 16th , 2013

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