Cultivating a space

Placitas Garden Tour spotlights six diverse sustainable areas

Gardening – it’s a skill that can help with mental health and anxiety. The fruit of all the labor is also wonderful to see. Since 2016, the Placitas Garden Tour has spotlighted gardens in the village of all shapes and sizes. This year’s event takes place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at various locations throughout Placitas.

“We feature from six to seven gardens from all over Placitas that we highlight each year,” says Sandra Liakus, master gardener and tour founder.

Liakus says the theme this year is “Inspiration for

High Desert Gardening and

Sustainability.”

She says hot, dry weather has challenged many local gardeners this year, but the six gardens featured in the 2023

Placitas Garden tour incorporate sustainable techniques that can ease the pain.

“They conserve and collect water, minimize erosion, build healthy soils, sustain pollination, and provide wildlife sanctuary,” Liakus says. “They also utilize native planting in unwalled spaces. Visitors may come away feeling inspired and encouraged to believe that beautiful and sustainable gardens can and do exist, no matter the challenge. It’s a good chance to learn and to get new ideas.”

The gardens also represent Placitas’ diverse terrain, offering everything from stunning hilltop views of our high desert mesas to plant-filled sanctuaries within walls and even a working winery nestled into the historic foothills of the Village of Placitas.

Each homeowner has designed garden spaces that reflect their art and personality, often with areas for relaxing, and entertaining friends.

Liakus says at each garden, an artist has been selected to showcase some work there.

The gardens are Shifting Moods & Views Garden, Larga Vista Garden, Small Pleasures Garden, Placitas Winery, The Flowing Garden, Magnificent Mesa.

The artists selected are Sabina Turner, Meg Leonard, P.K. Williams, Erica Wendel-Oglesby, Juse Rudder and Mary Lou Skelton.

“The committee selects an artist to create art for showcasing,” she says. “We also encourage all art mediums. Some of the artists have preferences of which garden they want to work at. Some of the owners have an idea of which artist they want to work with. The art that is created complements the garden.”

Because there are different gardens highlighted each year, Liakus says that the event feels fresh and new.

“Each of our six gardens this year have features that are easy to take care of as the climate does change,” she says. “Some of the legacy gardens that we showcase give visitors the opportunity to see the changes as each year the garden looks different.”

COURTESY OF MICHAEL STOY Placitas Winery, Village of Placitas: Barb and Ty Belknap’s property, inhabited by Ancestral Puebloans, land grant Spaniards, farmers and winemakers, has a heritage of sustainability. The Las Huertas Creek acequia delivers water; fruit trees and vines used for winemaking are maintained close to the winery, and native plants and grasses cover the rest of the property.

COURTESY OF S. LIAKUS Larga Vista Garden, Anasazi Trails: George and Sharon Arthur built sustainability into the design of their custom home and landscaping. Roof rainwater flows inside buttress walls to seven diversion ponds that supplement irrigation. Rock mulching prevents erosion, and 47 plant species, mostly native, soften the spare hilltop acreage.

COURTESY OF J. MACKENZIE Shifting Moods & Views Garden, Tierra Madre: Joann and Scott MacKenzie’s landscaping emphasizes simplicity, dog friendliness, soothing water sounds, views of the Sandia Mountains, shaded backyard entertainment space and flagstone pathways.