Mediterranean Garden in Albuquerque Part 1: Introduction

A garden in Arles, France

One of my friends calls me a “Mediterraneophile.” I have no resistance to admitting that it is true. I attribute this affinity to my having grown up in California, a decidedly Mediterranean climate. It is probably more accurate to describe me as a “Californiaphile,” at least in terms of plant choices, although a recent trip to France and Italy suggested that in these countries I would be just as happy gardening and designing gardens. I’d just have to expand my language base exponentially.

It doesn’t appear that I am the only one with such affectations. My exploration through the showpiece homes in Albuquerque’s annual Parade of Homes, suggests that Mediterranean style architecture, particularly the Italianate or Tuscan style home is particularly popular. There are probably a number of factors that contribute to this. Perhaps it is due to the number of California immigrants to New Mexico, who are accustomed to Spanish style architecture. Perhaps it is a desire to emulate the lifestyle of the Mediterraneans, who seem (at least in the movies) to be so relaxed and happy (and don’t we all want to be relaxed and happy at home?). Perhaps it is due to the desire to have history, which a new home in a new land doesn’t have, but one that appears to be old world appears to have. Perhaps it is the desire for the newly wealthy (moving to New Mexico from California can contribute to that), to appear to have come from old money. Whatever is the case, the Mediterranean style is popular.

Although it is relatively easy to emulate this style in the architecture, it is more difficult to do so in the garden, since the garden is much more climate dependent. Although the climate here is similar in some ways to the Mediterranean climate, in many more ways it is not. The Mediterranean climate is characterized, by definition, by the Mediterranean ocean, and Albuquerque is far from any ocean. So while those climates of Italy, France and Spain have mild dry sunny summers and cool (but not cold, being barely below freezing) rainy (not typically snowy) winters, Albuquerque’s summers are hot, with a pronounced monsoon season, and winters can be twenty degrees lower than that expected for a coastal climate (well below freezing). Coastal climates are clearly, by association, at sea level, whereas Albuquerque lies a mile or so above sea level. This makes the climate in Albuquerque decidedly un-Mediterranean, even more so than the surrounding states of Arizona and Texas, who can create a reasonable facsimile of the Mediterranean using adaptable plants. A more appropriate climate to emulate, should one wish to emulate the old world, would be the landscapes of mountainous eastern Turkey, which of old world climates is most similar to that of Albuquerque. But this part of the world is not known for its gardens, particularly not peaceful garden escapes (although I'm sure this is arguable - would you say that the construction of Italy's gardens was peaceful?). And even though Albuquerque is not the ideal climate for Mediterranean gardens, it is a better climate for the Mediterraneophile than, say, Minnesota.

But why create a Mediterranean garden here? Wouldn’t it be better to simply accept the local flora and character of the area? It could be argued that we should embrace architectural vernacular style and eschew the foreign imitations. This would be a simplistic argument, however, since how do you define these qualities? Are the Spanish missions here considered to be foreign and should we xenophobically destroy them? Of course not. They are considered an important part of the local history. We could argue that the new local vernacular should be a hybridization of the cultures that live here, and that the landscapes should reflect that. But what time period do you choose? Pre-Columbian? Spanish mission? or now?

It could also be suggested that the garden exists with an entirely different set of rules. Historically, the garden has existed frequently as a collection, as a place to exhibit the souvenir’s of one’s travels, and what has been more evidence of the exoticism of travel than that of the plants from that region attended? “The practice of importing foreign plants, trees, and seeds in order to enrich local botanical stocks reaches back to ancient times” (Paradise on Earth). The garden has been a place to coddle such trophies. Gardens of the wealthy have been intended for pleasure, scenic creations (called the picturesque), or the formal geometric forms in France and Italy. Gardens of the working class have been cottage gardens, a combination of beauty and functionality, flowers and vegetables, with some plants being both (e.g. Dianthus which not only has beautiful flowers, but whose primary purpose was to produce leaves that acted as a purgative in snails destined for the dinner table). In all these cases, the garden is seen as a place separate from the surrounding landscape, a place to keep the native out, but particularly a place to secure the valuable (e.g. edible).

So why not a private garden with a mediterranean bent? In the modern garden, the garden would be a place to sequester the exotic natives (not only from animals that may destroy the precious cargo, but if designed well, may also to keep potentially invasive species from spreading or at least - hopefully- identify them before they reach wild space). It could also be a place of escape, as travel becomes more expensive from rising costs (and increasing concern about the use of) fossil fuels. With increasing concern about water use, a Mediterranean garden is particularly adapted to low water use. Although it may not be as water conscious as a purely native plant garden designed with plants of little or no irrigation needs, it would certainly be more so than the garden based on midwest ideals as is currently seen throughout the city.

Tivoli at Villa d'Este, Italy

That being said, the goal of this investigation is not to transform the Albuquerque landscape into a pseudo-Mediterranean one. I firmly believe that in large and public spaces, Albuquerque should embrace its inherent beauty and capitalize upon it. In small private spaces, however, there may be many options, and that of a Mediterranean garden is only one.

Before getting started - that of the plants that can be used to create a Mediterranean garden - we must first discuss the question of what we mean by this type of garden in Part 2. Then we’ll address those Mediterranean plants that grow well in Albuquerque (Part 3). Finally those plants that are not native to the Mediterranean but have been grown there so long that they are indelibly associated with the Mediterranean will be discussed.