They Make It Look Easy in Santa Fe

I've posted about my trip to Santa Fe recently and how taken I was with the native plantings and use of native materials. I first posted about it on Oct. 23rd and again on Nov. 16th. As I sit here in the cold and dark at 5:00pm, with rain beating against the window, it is not hard to recall how warm and welcoming this city was, just one month ago. 

I purposely tried to explore on the first day without taking photos like a tourist. But at some point I just had to snap some. Here are a few photos I took while wandering around downtown. I went past this doorway a couple of times and the tree shadows make it hard to see clearly, but it was impressive in it's subtlety.

A secret doorway

With intricate wood carving and details.

The blue door of my dreams (at The Rainbow Man)

Flowers that compliment the stucco and wood stain

A rain barrel at our hotel, look closely and you'll see
pervious paving in the parking (no asphalt)
 and vines providing vertical planting along the walk

This place has everything that interests me about landscape. Sustainable practices, practical use of native plants and elements, artistic detail that evokes the vegetation. And it is all so simply done. Since coming home to the northwest I keep comparing how we would do things and wondering why we don't.

Yes, it was a beautiful couple of days away from home, but even now as I look at these photos I can see that what really caught my eye was the way all of the elements were working together. As I said in a previous post, the first thing I noticed there was the use of twigs and branches to screen a garbage dumpster. It was functional, but the screen made it attractive. Simply.