Secret Gardens of Santa Fe. - book reviews

Sunset, Dec, 1997 by Dick Bushnell

* Santa Fe has long been a source of creative inspiration for artists and writers. The city provides an inspiring environment for gardeners, too. Charles Mann, a photographer who lives in Santa Fe and frequently contributes to Sunset, beautifully illustrates this point in a new book: Secret Gardens of Santa Fe, by Sydney LeBlanc (Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 1997; $45; 800/542-6657). Mann and LeBlanc open the gates of 19 gardens - including Berry and Dianne Cash's garden, pictured at left - to reveal a rich assortment of landscapes filled with adaptable ideas. Chimney flue pipes serve as pedestals for terra-cotta pots; short lengths of aspen branches driven into the ground create a rustic edging around flower beds. What makes these gardens so enchanting are the colorful details: a cluster of blown-glass grapes tied to a stake, red chili ristras strung on a fence, painted wood bird cages arrayed on a patio wall.

These landscapes also succeed by making the most of a rather limited range of plants - those hardy enough to thrive in one of the West's harshest climates (Santa Fe records about 30 inches of snow in winter, but only 11 inches of rain in an average year). Indeed, after seeing pages of gardens dotted by recurrent blooms, you could easily conclude that Santa Fe is heaven for hollyhocks and sunflowers.