In 1835 Feliberto and Isabelita Martinez built their adobe home and sheep farm on a part of the Cristobal de la Serna Land Grant of 1715, one of the oldest land grants in the Taos Valley. Years ago, the Martinez family owned the land from what is now Highway 68 all the way west to Tom Holder Rd. and south across the valley. The adobe house sits in the “Y” of 2 forking roads and follows the Rio Grande del Ranchos along its southern boundary. The home stayed in the Martinez family for many generations. Several of Feliberto and Isabelita’s descendants still have homes adjacent to the property and down the valley. Because the home was continuously occupied since 1835, it has undergone many alterations over the years. There were originally two additional rooms to the north that were demolished 35 or more years ago. One can envision the house growing in a linear fashion over time, adding room after room, as the size of the family grew.
What is today the Casita was originally an animal (sheep) barn. Old adobes have a special magic to them. Made of the earth around you, their thick walls and quirky layouts bring a special character and comfort for those who live in them. For anyone interested, a reconstructed drawing of the original floor plan and elevations are on a table under the portal.
About the Gardens
I bought the house and gardens 20 years ago from Susan Blevins, an avid and masterful gardener herself. For many years she was an integral part of Los Jardineros and hosted many garden club events and other community events in her gardens. I came to Taos after the death of my husband, looking for my own private sanctuary. I sought to create a place “a world apart” as a place of respite and healing. Over time, I greatly expanded the gardens, adding walls, additional secluded courtyards with changing views, adding an autocourt, planting new beds, and building walkways and seating throughout the gardens.
Most of the beds are planted with perennials that dependably return year after year. The beds are a mix of native perennials and shrubs, native grasses, and other climate-appropriate perennials as well as self-seeding annuals (such as California poppies, cosmos, larkspur, bachelor buttons, sunflowers, and milkweeds, and self-seeding perennials like our native columbine). There is an abundance of vines such as Virginia creeper, varieties of clematis, wisteria, vining roses and 2 arbors of grape vines. There are specific rose gardens, many areas of groundcovers, fruit trees (peaches, apricots, apples, and plums), native trees (locusts, ash, spruce, juniper and pinon) and some specimen trees like weeping cypress, weeping Siberian pea shrub, crab apple, Japanese maple, and a giant weeping spruce that resembles either a character from Dr. Seuss or Sessame Street’s big Snuffleupagus. The perennials are ranged to bloom across the seasons from the earliest Spring naturalized bulbs of narcissus, hyacinths, and tulips, to colorful late Fall grasses.
There are two large, raised stone beds specifically used for vegetable gardening but currently paused and planted in groundcovers of clover for green manure and weed suppression. The walls around the gardens help to mitigate the strong winds sweeping across the mesa and lower valley. The irrigation is comprised of low emitters and drip tubing. I hope you enjoy the tour.
This year we are requesting a modest $10 registration fee from members to attend each of these tours as a means of fundraising. The funds raised will benefit the operations of the club and will provide resources for community projects. Each member will be encouraged to bring free guests to attend each tour in the hopes that this exposure will incentivize increased membership. There will be a need for up to 3 docents. If you sign up as a docent, you will not pay $10 and you will assist with parking and/or guiding visitors around the garden.