Garden #6 – The Cacti & Iris Garden – Darlene and David Dean
Darlene and David purchased this property nine years ago. They spent the first year remodeling the home to meet their taste in interior design. Since then they added defined planting areas and other landscape touches while maintaining existing plants. They gradually achieved an exterior design of pleasing proportion. As with all avid gardeners the list of desirable landscape projects continue to grow.
The owners worked with what nature provided in the landscape. They transplanted native varieties of cacti and grasses with varying shapes and textures to provide visual interest to the planting beds located on the southeast side of the property. Follow the stone pathways and learn about the different cacti species and native grasses as labeled.
They planted cacti and irises in abundance in garden beds on the north-west side of the home among naturalized desert willows, red yucca, and New Mexico bird of paradise. The iris bed flowering should be in its prime for the garden tour. Enjoy the panoramic view of the far west mesas and the Jemez mountain area from this side of the property. The owners converted an existing concrete water fall to a series of raised planting beds to save on water loss. They shut off the fountain water, filled in the surfaces with amended soil, and planted flowers and perennial plants, now irrigated by an automated drip system.
The front courtyard (facing the street) is defined by an outer brick pathway bordered by a stone wall supporting the upper terrace ground. The terrace ground is planted with cacti, pinon pines, grasses, and herbs, and is decorated with clay pot shards. The tall stucco-surfaced wall sections, located near the street, anchor the far south view of the Sandia mountain, and draw attention away from the street.
A mature Chinese pistache tree to the right of the front home entrance offers abundant shade in the summer and beautiful leaf color in the fall. A crab apple, New Mexico privet, barberry bushes and colorful pots and the wicker seating area define the front walk and porch.
Cactus & Succulents frequently seen in Placitas gardens
| Common Name | Botanical Name |
| Tree Cholla (Walkingstick Cholla) | Cylindropuntia imbricata |
| Bailey’s Hedgehog | Echinocereus baileyi syn E. reichenbachii v. baileyi |
| New Mexico Rainbow Cactus | Echinocereus chloranthus |
| Brownspine Hedgehog Cactus | Echinocereus chloranthus v cylindricus `corellii’ syn Echinocereus viridiflorus v corellii |
| Black Spine Claret Cup | Echinocereus coccineus |
| Spiny Hedgehog Cactus (scarlet hedgehog) | Echinocereus coccineus |
| Texas Rainbow Cactus | Echinocereus dasyacanthus |
| Oklahoma or Lace Hedgehog | Echinocereus reichenbachii |
| Strawberry Hedgehog (Fendler Hedgehog) | Echinocereus fendleri |
| Claret Cup | Echinocereus triglochidiatus |
| White Sands Claret Cup | Echinocereus triglochidiatus v gonacanthus ‘White Sands Strain’ |
| Clustering Snowball | Escobaria orcuttii |
| Clustering Pin Cushions (Beehive Cactus) | Escobaria vivipara syn Coryphantha vivipara |
| Pincushion Cactus | Escobaria vivipara v radiosa |
| Behive cactus (spiny star) | Escobaria vivipara var neomexicana |
| Devil’s Club Cholla (Daggerspine Cholla) | Grusonia clavata (alt Opuntia clavata) |
| Baby Rita Prickly Pear | Optuntia basilaris x O. santa-rita |
| Grizzly Bear Prickly Pear | Optuntia erinacea syn Opuntia polyacantha var. hystricina |
| Starvation Prickly Pear | Optuntia polyacantha |
| Spineless Prickly Pear | Opuntia ellisiana / cacanapa |
| Desert or Engelmann Prickly Pear | Opuntia engelmannii |
| Cow’s Tounge Prickley Pear | Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis |
| Blackspine Prickly Pear (Purple Prickly Pear) | Opuntia macrocentra syn Opuntia violacea var. macrocentra |
| Tulip Prickly Pear | Opuntia phaeacantha |
| Mountain Ball Cactus | Pediocactus simpsonii |
| Harvard Agave (Harvard Century Plant) | Agave havardiana |
| Parry’s / Mescal Agave | Agave parryi/ neomexicana |
| Texas Sotol | Dasylirion texanum |
| Blue Sotol / Desert Spoon | Dasylirion wheeleri |
| Ocotillo | Fouquieria splendens |
| Red Flowering Yucca | Hesperaloe parviflora |
| Yellow Flowering Yucca | Hesperaloe parviflora |
| Banana Yucca (Datil) | Yucca baccata |
| Soaptree Yucca (Palmilla) | Yucca elata |
| Great Plains Yucca (Soapweed) | Yucca glauca |
| New Mexico Yucca | Yucca neomexicana |
| Torrey Yucca | Yucca torreyi |
Placitas Garden Tour 