Subdivision: San Francisco Hills Road
Address: 18 Sangre de Christo
Owners: Art Martinez and Dolores
Garden Type or Features: Mountain home retreat garden. Large resort style stone water fall feature built by the owner over a period of six years. Transplanted Mount Taylor conifer trees – blue spruce, ponderosa, and aspen. Take the country drive to this garden via Camino San Francisco just north of Diamond Tail and enjoy the fall sights.
The following artists will be painting at this garden:
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- AM – Katherine Irish
- PM – Diane Buster
Drive slowly on the Camino San Francisco Road! Wild horses will likely be grazing along the roadsides.
Description: The Martinez family is fond of their cozy home and rural landscape in the San Francisco Hills neighborhood of far northeastern Placitas. There is a view of the Sangre de Christo mountain range in the far distance looking out of their driveway. Delores and Art feel like they are on vacation when they are at home and particularly so when they are sitting on their portal listening to the water fall and aspen leaves rustling. The water fall is the focus of this property. It is a resort sized rock wall built by hand with collected lime stone. It took Art six years to build the rock feature and then after that he chiseled out some of the lower stone to insert a carved bird bath. It is a great location for growing trees nearby and enticing wild life and birds to the water. Sometimes the wild horses of Placitas will congregate at the upper level of the water fall leaving their hoof prints in the sandy loam soil. It has also become a family and friend gathering spot. Just a few years ago their son was married under the trellis covered with Virginia creeper against the back drop of the stone water fall.
After enjoying the rock water fall be sure to walk around their neat home landscape and view the many high elevation trees which Art has transplanted on his property. Ponderosa pine, aspen and blue spruce thrive among native juniper and pinon pines. Art will explain how he transplanted the Mount Taylor blue spruce trees that are growing well near the back corner of the home.
Enjoy the beautiful fall hillsides and native plants driving north on Camino San Francisco road from the Diamond Tail turn-off to reach the Martinez property. Drive slowly and watch for the Placitas wild horses that will likely be grazing on the road sides! The departing drive heading south back along Camino San Francisco Road provides equally interesting views of the surrounding landscape and a spectacular view of the Sandias.
