Placitas Community Library Native Garden and Labyrinth
From the seed of an idea, a native-plants paradise has emerged. Surrounding the Placitas Community Library, a bounty of shrubs, wildflowers and water-hardy trees provide inspiration and contemplation—hallmarks of the reading life. All this from a few community members who thought the still-under-construction library in 2009 deserved something other than “a standard urban library landscape.”
Bill Dunmire, a member of the library’s board of directors at the time, spoke those words soon after becoming chairman of the brand-new Landscaping Committee. Working with Gail DellaPella, one of the key designers of the library, he helped hatch a plan for a demonstration garden that would help Placitas residents learn about soil and water conservation, wildlife habitat, and the value of native plants. Other volunteers embraced the effort, and the garden grew beyond the library’s entrance, encompassing spaces to the south and east, including a lovely labyrinth conceived by community members and built in the spring of 2014.

Placitas Community Library Garden
Nearly every plant in the gardens is native to New Mexico, many of them to Placitas. See a list of them below and study the interpretive panels in the gardens. These plants thrive thanks to an underground drip system augmented by a roof-water harvesting system. We also endeavor to include permaculture techniques that encourage working with nature, not against it. Notice, for example, how the landscaped areas blend into the natural landscape. Also look below to view the list of wild plants that Bill Dunmire and Michael Crofoot documented on those spaces.

Placitas Community Library Garden
Take a seat on the bench in the east garden and look for bluebirds, butterflies and more in this Certified Wildlife Habitat. Walk the labyrinth and calm your mind. Sniff the chocolate flowers and find out how they got their nickname. Volunteers maintain the garden, often in monthly work sessions that include laughter and friendship.
Placitas Community Library Labyrinth
On May 3, 2014, members of the Placitas community responded to the library’s invitation to celebrate its birthday—by bringing rocks. And not just any old rock. These rocks, carried one by one by people young, old, and in-between, formed the outlines of a seven-circuit labyrinth just east of the parking area. This addition to the library’s garden was a long-sought dream of supporters who wanted to give the community a place to gather—individually or in groups—to celebrate, to meditate, and to heal. As lovers of books, we believe that a meditative mind enhances the experience of reading, and we encourage everyone to join us on the path.
For centuries, people around the globe have sought both solace and inspiration through labyrinths of many shapes and designs. The winding paths serve as metaphors for our individual journeys through life—moving toward a goal, then away from it, heading one direction, then another. Our design includes numerous loop-backs to encourage changes in consciousness, as well as a touch of whimsy. How does it work? Begin by focusing on your breathing and the feel of your feet on the earth as you enter the labyrinth’s opening. Some people chant a mantra, say a series of prayers, sing, hum, or seek absolute silence. Maintaining a slow pace, follow the path toward its center. When you arrive, take a few deep breaths, do some stretches, or sit on the bench and contemplate the scenery. Repeat the path in reverse. If you encounter other walkers, gently step to the side to let them pass with minimal interruption. That’s it. Other than this: Please leave the path as you found it for others to enjoy.
Placitas Community Library Landscape Plant List
Common name |
Botanical name |
Location |
Category |
Chinese Pistache |
Pistacia cinensis |
Library Entrance |
Tree |
Desert Willow |
Chilopsis linearis |
South & West Side |
Tree |
Netleaf Hackberry |
Celtis reticulate |
East Side |
Tree |
New Mexico Olive |
Forestiera neomexicana |
High Country Garden & West Side |
Tree |
New Mexico Olive |
Forestiera neomexicana |
South East Corner |
Tree |
Pinon Pine |
Pinus edulis |
South & East Side |
Tree |
Wavyleaf Oak |
Quercus pauciloba |
East Side |
Tree |
Banana Yucca |
Yucca baccata |
South Side & PCL Sign |
Succulent |
Havard’s Century Plant |
Agave havardiana |
High Country Garden |
Succulent |
Narrowleaf yucca |
Yucca glauca |
South Side |
Succulent |
Yellow Texas Yucca |
Hesperaloe parviflora |
High Country Garden |
Succulent |
Apache Plume |
Fallugia paradoxa |
South & East Side |
Shrub |
Beargrass |
Nolina texana |
South & East Side |
Shrub |
Chamisa |
Ericameria nauseosa |
South & East Side |
Shrub |
Dwarf Chamisa |
Chrysothamnus depressus |
South & West Side |
Shrub |
Four-wing Saltbush |
Atriplex canescens |
East Side |
Shrub |
Fringed Sage |
Artemisia frigida |
South & West Side |
Shrub |
Hairy Mountain Mahogany |
Cercocarpus montanus |
High Country Garden |
Shrub |
Longflower Rabbitbrush |
Ericameria depressus |
South Side |
Shrub |
Needle Leaf Mt. Mahogany |
Cercocarpus intricatus |
High Country Garden |
Shrub |
Three-leaf Sumac |
Rhus trilobata |
South & East Side |
Shrub |
Three-leaf Sumac |
Rhus trilobata |
South & East Side, PCL Sign |
Shrub |
Blue Grama Grass |
Bouteloua gracilis |
West Side & East Side |
Grass |
Blue Grama Grass |
Bouteloua gracilis |
High Country Garden |
Grass |
Indian Ricegrass |
Oryzopsis hymenoides |
East Side |
Grass |
Little Bluestem |
Schizachryium scoparium |
High Country Garden |
Grass |
Muhly Grass |
Muhlenbergia hybrid |
High Country Garden |
Grass |
Sand Dropseed |
Sporobolus cryptandus |
West Side & East Side |
Grass |
‘Raspberry Delight’ Sage |
Salvia hybrid |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
‘Vera’ English Lavender |
Lavandula angustifolia |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Ava’s Hummingbird Mint |
Agastache hybrid |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Blackfoot Daisy |
Melampodium leucanthum |
East Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Blue Flax |
Linum lewisii |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Chocolate Fower |
Berlandiera lyrata |
East Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Desert Marigold |
Baileya multiradiata |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Desert Mule Ears |
Wyethia scabra |
Library Entrance & West Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Eaton’s Penstemon |
Penstemon eatonii |
West Side & East Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Evening Primrose |
Oenothera fremontii |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Fame Flower |
Phemeranthus calycinum |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Firewheel |
Gaillardia aristata |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Globemallow |
Sphaeralcea sp. |
South Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Hartweg Evening Primrose |
Calylophus hartwigii |
Library Entrance & East Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Licorice Mint Hyssop |
Agastache rupestris |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Maximilian Sunflower |
Helianthus maximiliana |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Maximilian Sunflower |
Helianthus maximiliana |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Perky Sue |
Hymenoxys scaposa |
High Country Garden & East Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Pineleaf Beardtongue |
Penstemon pinifolius |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Prairie Coneflower |
Ratibida columnifera |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Rocky Mountain Penstemon |
Penstemon strictus |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Rocky Mountain Zinnia |
Zinnia grandiflora |
High Country Garden |
Flowering Perennial |
Common name |
Botanical name |
Location |
Category |
Sand Penstemon |
Penstemon ambiguous |
West Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Scarlet Bugler |
Penstemon barbatus |
West Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Scarlet Bugler |
Penstemon barbatus |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Scarlet Gilia |
Ipomopsis aggregate |
West Side |
Flowering Perennial |
Stemless Evening-primrose |
Oenothera caespitosa |
South East Corner |
Flowering Perennial |
Yerba Mansa |
Anemopsis californica |
Library Entrance |
Flowering Perennial |
Engelman prickly pear |
Opuntia engelmanii |
South Side |
Cactus |
PLANT SPECIES RECORDED ON THE PLACITAS COMMUNITY LIBRARY LAND SURVEY*
BY WILLIAM W. DUNMIRE AND MICHAEL CROFOOT 2012 & 2013
Trees
Juniperus monosperma
Pinus edulis
Quercus turbinella
Quercus undulata
Shrubs, Half-shrubs
One-seed juniper
Piñon pine
Shrub live oak
Wavyleaf oak
Artemisia filifolia
Artemisia bigelovii
Atriplex canescens
Berberis fremontii
Brickellia californica
Chrysothamnus nauseosus Rubber rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus Sticky rabbitbrush
Dalea formosa
Ephedra viridis
Fallugia paradoxa
Gutierrezia sarothrae
Lycium pallidum
Nolina microcarpa
Opuntia imbricata
Rhus trilobata
Yucca baccata
Yucca glauca
Grasses, Grasslike Plants
Andropogon gerardii
Andropogon scoparius
Bouteloua curtipendula
Bouteloua eriopoda
Bouteloua gracilis
Bouteloua hirsuta
Bromus tectorum
Muhlenbergia porteri
Muhlenbergia torreyi
Oryzopsis hymenoides
Sitanion hystrix
Pleuraphis jamesii
Sporobolus contractus
Sporobolus cryptandrus
Stipa neomexicana
Feather indigobush
Joint-fir
Apache plume
Broom snakeweed
Wolfberry
Beargrass
Cane cholla
Threeleaf sumac
Banana yucca
Narrowleaf yucca
Big bluestem
Little bluestem
Side-oats grama
Black grama
Blue grama
Hairy grama
Cheatgrass**
Bush muhly
Ring muhly
Indian ricegrass
Bottlebrush squirreltail
Galleta
Spike dropseed
Sand dropseed
New Mexico feathergrass
Sand sagebrush
Bigelow sagebrush
Fourwing saltbush
Fremont barberry
California brickelbush
Astragalus mollissimus
Berlandiera lyrata
Castilleja integra
Chrysopsis villosa
Cirsium ochocentrum
Coryphantha vivipara
Woolly locoweed
Chocolate Flower
Southwestern paintbrush
Golden aster
Santa Fe thistle
Plains pincushion var. arizonica
Dyssodia acerosa
Echinocereus fendleri
Echinocereus triglochidiatus Claret cup cactus
Eriogonum jamesii
Euphorbia fendleri
Gaura parviflora
Gilia rigidula
Haplopappus gracilis
Hedyotis rubra
Helianthus petiolaris
Lygodesmia juncea
Machaeranthera linearis Purple aster
Melampodium leucanthum
Mirabilis multiflora
Opuntia phaeacantha
Penstemon fendleri
Petalostemum candidum
Physalis hederaefolia
Salsoa kali
Senecio douglasii var. longilobus
Plains blackfoot
Four-o’clock
Prickly pear
Beardtongue
White prairie clover
Groundcherry
Russian thistle**
Threadleaf groundsel
Senecio multicapitatus
Solanum elaeagnifolium
Solanum triflorum
Thelesperma megapotamicum Indian tea Verbesina encelioides Crownbeard cactus
Needleleaf dogweed
Fendler’s hedgehog cactus
Antelope-sage
Spurge
Gaura
Stiffleaf gilia
Goldenweed
Bluet
Prairie sunflower
Stiff skeleton plant
Groundsel
Horse-nettle
Cutleaf nightshade
* The survey was conducted between fall 2012 and fall
2013 on the four acres of undeveloped land assigned to
the library (north and east of the library).
**Introduced species