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.

Placitas Community Library Garden

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