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In arid northern New Mexico , the climate can be a arduous dustup — 300 years of about cloudless temperateness , blistering summers , freezing winters and a temperature deviation between night and day of as much as 40 degrees . Not to mention the bare 12 one-year inches of pelting and snowfall blend , which makes water a precious commodity and much on the judgement of even the median , non - gardening citizen of the state . Runoff might be a nuisance in some place , but in Santa Fe , every drop counts . Yet the tough , natural peach and classifiable southwesterly character of the region are grip . Those who live there become hooked on the ambience of the seat , and many a non - New Mexican dream of taking up manse in the Land of Enchantment .
Being water judicious is also beautiful in this New Mexico garden . A stone - line retention pond encircle by drouth - tolerant plant . ( Photo by : Steve Gunther )
For Santa Fe landscape painting graphic designer Donna Bone , founder and creative conductor of Design With Nature , the raging part of New Mexico — with its rugged mountains , jolting arroyos , grasslands , scouring and oasis of Tilia heterophylla — is her muse , and her business firm has develop a reputation over the past 13 years for creating landscapes that are both beautiful and regionally appropriate . According to Bone , “ associate people to nature is fundamental . ” Her destination is to create garden that make sense on several story , as she puts it , “ to liven up space to suit the region as well as the client ’s needs . ”
A project border the Santa Fe River watershed portray a perfect petri looker to showcase Design With Nature ’s object . When Bone first approached the land site in 2005 , in a vicinity on the outskirts of the city , it was a distinctive lifeless post - construction wasteland . But the surrounding landscape was an divine guidance , as was the computer architecture of the house . A modern stucco dwelling with neat lines and serious-minded connection between interior and exterior , the home ’s small-scale land area , with narrow and zero mint lines , had an enviable take over landscape painting — an adjacent natural arena and a arresting view of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range .
Bone lay about “ greening ” up the property in more way than one , lend a live tapestry to enwrap around the house that is also environmentally tender . The clients ’ only requests were that the garden be modern-day , suited to the situation and low maintenance — a doable three for Design With Nature . Paramount to Bone’smodus operandiis water consciousness , which means minimizing water pauperism , capture what falls naturally and respecting the nearby landscape . As David Salman of Santa Fe Greenhouses and High Country Gardens outlines it , three basic step to this “ xeriscape ” approach are land prep , water harvest home and regionally suitable plant . Exactly what Bone had in creative thinker .
Avena Gunter Wilhelm Grass as textural contrast for the house and a metal square block sculpture . ( Photo by : Steve Gunther )
To start with , Bone believes in work from the priming coat up — literally . Over the preceding 10 years , Design With Nature has perfected an organic compost that creates a soil texture that is dear for both healthy industrial plant and rain absorption . With a bit of the chemist in her , Bone ’s first dance step in design any garden is to have the stain tested , then to create a customized , site - specific fertilizing political platform . With the dirt mix fixed , Bone then contours and grave it into berms and swale . While these total visual interest and three - dimensionality , they are actually part of a proficiency call “ peaceful water harvest home , ” in which water is transport instantly to the roots of the plants , leave plenitude of time to rob in and making the most of every bit of wet .
A popular body of water - conservation tool in the Southwest ( though applicable anywhere ) , passive weewee harvesting is a sign of a paradigm shift , according to Cado Daily , plan coordinator of the Water Wise program at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension . “ In the past , the goal has been to get water off the property , but in the Southwest , the end is to keep the body of water on the property . ” A common statistic is one inch of rain on a 1,000 - straight - foot roof result in 600 gallons of water . use this can make a ding in irrigation , which accounts for about 50 percent of residential water use in the United States . In the Southwest , rain typically come in only tenth of inches , making it even more important to save up and focus it . The push now , sound out Daily , is for rain - only gardens . For any “ monsoon ” that might occur , the Bone garden also has a stone - lined retention pond ( the designer ’s part to the landscape painting ) serving two-fold duty as a garden focal point .
Cactus flowers in hot pink shades . ( Photo by : Steve Gunther )
Although a well - laid infrastructure , like a respectable backstage work party , is key , what ’s on stage and above background has the hotshot major power . The guiding concept in works selection for Bone , as in any good xeriscape garden , is “ regionally right . ” This let in not only indigenous species , which New Mexico has plenty to choose from , but also non - natives that thrive in dry site , call xeric plants . off-white ’s plan was to keep the garden areas down nearest the home , and more complex and natural the farther out you go as a way of connecting the voguish modernistic construction to the wild landscape painting . adjust the timbre in the entry garden stomach a Tanyosho pine accompanied plainly by a metallic element cube carving , a lawn of native sheep fescue , and spiky clumps of avena grass and red yucca . Elsewhere in the garden , a piñon pine serves as a aboriginal counterpoint to its Japanese cousin . Outside the master bedroom , New Mexico privets ( Forestiera neomexicana ) and soft waves of native gage continue the slightly Asian minimal art , well - suit to the computer architecture . Though the vivid sunshine of New Mexico make shining colour fairish game , Bone ’s main color pallet here is understated to complement the taupe stucco , with a predomination of blue , grizzly and green .
As the garden move around the house and toward the natural area at the back of the property , the plants segue from a mix of aboriginal and xeric , include Russian salvia , to autochthonous species like Mexican feather grass , Datura meteloidesand sensationalistic prairie coneflower . Where cultivar of plants were used , such as ‘ Coronado ’ hummingbird mint and ‘ Terracotta ’ yarrow , Bone made careful choice base on “ mellow performance , ” take that they be long - blooming , disease - resistive and hardy . At the furthermost sharpness of the lot stands a brush wolf fence original to the site , made of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree branch and wire , which off-white contain for a touch of the cant . To further connect design landscape painting and aboriginal , Bone sow the same plants on each side of this see - through boundary tune , as if the no - mow “ constructed meadow ” that occupies the side garden and backyard has “ jumped the fencing . ” Despite the weather extremes , Santa Fe residents are giving on out-of-door living , and pearl ’s clients here are no exception , frequently thrust exposed the sliding - Methedrine door and relaxing on their portal overlooking the meadow garden and passel beyond .
Making the preeminence between indoors and alfresco vanish , slide - drinking glass doors lead to a dining area on the vena portae , where the owner can experience at one with the garden and revelry in a stunning perspective of the raw landscape painting . ( exposure by : Steve Gunther )
When Design With Nature began in 1995 , they had to do a sight of educating about ecologically sound horticulture and wise water use . But that has alter in the past several age ; Southwesterners now substantiate the futility and wrongness of a Bluegrass Country lawn in the desert . Still there is room for improvement — the Santa Fe River is a waterless rocky bottom due to damming to meet residential indigence . But as Dave Groenfeldt , director of the Santa Fe Watershed Association , believe , “ There is enough water here for reasonable gardening , a sensible river and sensible citizenry . ” It just ingest the continued effort of people like Donna Bone , one garden and one free fall of water at a time .
For more information , call Design With Nature at 505 - 983 - 5633 or seedesignwithnatureltd.com .
