Garden Conservancy Open Day in Santa Fe!
The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program provides an exclusive opportunity to explore private gardens that highlight the artistry, passion, and ingenuity of gardeners across the country. In Santa Fe, two exceptional gardens offer a glimpse into the unique adaptations and creative expressions that define this region’s horticulture.
Santa Fe – A Distinctive Garden Destination
Santa Fe’s unique arid climate, rich cultural heritage, and commitment to sustainable gardening make it a fitting host city for Open Days. With its blend of historic adobe homes, dramatic mountain vistas, and innovative landscapes, Santa Fe showcases the diverse ways in which plants can thrive in arid conditions. From crevice gardens to food-producing landscapes, each garden tells a story of adaptation, experimentation, and a deep connection to place.
TICKETS ON SALE MARCH 2, 2026!
Date and Time
- Saturday, May 30
- Time ticketed sessions: 10am-12pm, 12pm-2pm & 2pm-4pm
Open Day Gardens (location details provided with ticket purchase)
David/Peese Garden
Garden owner – “Our garden in Santa Fe began by working between three home remodeling projects about ten years ago. Over this period of time, the garden evolved from wildflower plantings to more perennials, shrubs, and trees. The climate at 7,000 feet was not like anything I’d experienced in my sixty years of gardening. It was a new world of plants and landscape design opportunities. All the plants that I often killed in Austin, I could grow, and I tried almost anything. I could grow lilac, peonies, cold-hardy roses, lilies, and New Mexico native plants. The garden wraps around the home at various levels, with the front garden leading you in with fastigiate Rocky Mountain junipers, Stanley plum, and sour cherry trees. The trees are interspersed with perennials and shrubs. As you move around the home, you enter a kitchen garden of herbs and vegetables, with two raised beds for tomatoes. Some of the seeds were collected in Italy, and are only grown on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. As you continue to move around the house, you descend to the lower garden by a koi pond and a rectangular lawn. Wrapping around the lawn is a greenhouse, woodland garden, and a series of rock gardens containing plants from the steppe and alpine areas of the world. Bearded iris beds flank the walkway to the front driveway and parking area. The driveway rock garden, implemented and designed by Kenton Seth, climbs a small hill that is the main entrance to the house. Planted in the rock garden are conifers, perennials, and annuals on one side of the driveway, and a row of piñon pines on the opposite bank. This garden’s estimated size is 1/2 acre.”
The Succulent Garden
Garden owner – “My original passion was growing food— vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Late in life, I became a market gardener selling at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market and to friends and family. Now, I’m a dedicated rock gardener and a grower of native cactus, penstemons, and Eriogonums. I love propagation from seeds and cuttings. The diversity and beauty of plants of all kinds is an endless source of joy and inspiration. I still grow lots of vegetables, fruits, and cut flowers for the grandkids, but it’s the uncommon and challenging-to-grow plants that get me up in the morning.”
Pricing
- $5 Garden Conservancy Members,
- $10 for the public
