APRIL : Apache plume : Fallugia paradoxa
Scientific name: Fallugia paradoxa Common name: Apache plume Family name: Rosaceae Article from writings of Janice Tucker (1946-2021) Every year from spring through fall in and around Santa Fe, the Apache plume returns for an encore performance with its “bloom and [...]
MARCH : ‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth : Amaranthus cruentus ‘Hopi Red Dye’
Scientific name: Amaranthus cruentus ‘Hopi Red Dye’ Common names: ‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth, amaranto komo, blood amaranth, purple amaranth, caterpillar amaranth Family name: Amaranthaceae Life form: Annual plant Occurrence in New Mexico: Cultivar Seed Production: 110 days after planting Water [...]
FEBRUARY : claret cup cactus : Echinocereus species
Scientific names: Echinocereus triglochidiatus and Echinocereus coccineus Common names: claret cup cactus Plant family: Cactaceae In Memory of Our Great Friend John (Obie) Oberhausen John "Obie" Oberhausen. Photo: Cactus Rescue Project Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cactusrescueproject/ Tribute by Wendell S. (Woody) [...]
JANUARY : sacred datura : Datura wrightii
Scientific name: Datura wrightii Regel Common names: sacred datura, sacred thornapple, jimson weed Family: Solanaceae Article by Peggy Rudberg One of the largest wildflowers in the Southwest, the showy white flowers of the Datura wrightii can spread as wide as eight [...]
DECEMBER : ‘Moonglow’ juniper : Juniperus scopulorum ‘Moonglow’
Scientific name: Juniperus scopulorum 'Moonglow' Common name: Rocky Mountain juniper, cultivar 'Moonglow' Family: Cupressaceae By Claudia Karll I am writing to you today in early November from my apartment in Seattle, WA. Needless to say, the contrast with Santa Fe is [...]
NOVEMBER : ‘Zig Zag’ blue grama grass : Bouteloua × ‘Zig Zag’
Scientific name: Bouteloua × 'Zig Zag' Common name: 'Zig Zag' blue grama grass Plant family: Poaceae Article by Susan Bruneni The late David Salman described himself as “an off-the-wall plant nerd” and “a plant explorer with a gift for talking [...]
OCTOBER : pink-flower hedgehog cactus : Echinocereus fendleri
Scientific name: Echinocereus fendleri (Engelm.) Small Common names: pink-flower hedgehog cactus, Fendler's hedgehog cactus Plant family: Cactaceae (Cactus) By Monica Harmon Echinocereus fendleri in Garden, late May. A native cactus in New Mexico, pink-flower hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus fendleri) grows [...]
SEPTEMBER : nodding onion : Allium cernuum
Scientific name: Allium cernuum Hort. ex Schult.f. Common names: nodding onion, ajo-cebolla (Spanish) Family name: Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis) Life form: Geophyte (bulb, corm or tuber) Bloom time: June to August Water conditions: Dry to medium, elevations from 2000 - 10 000 [...]
AUGUST : Building Shakespeare’s Garden in Old Santa Fe
August 2022 Article by Suzanne Burstall Cross I have been a gardener for more than 50 years, and I’ve loved Shakespeare’s plays about that long. All the places I’ve lived, I’ve planted flowers Shakespeare’s plays show he loved, and most [...]
JULY : prairie coneflower : Ratibida columnifera
Scientific name: Ratibida columnifera Common names: prairie coneflower, Mexican Hat Family: Asteraceae Article by Peggy Rudberg In July 2021, after a month of abundant rain, we came upon a field resplendent with wildflowers in Arroyo Chamisa, about two miles south [...]
JUNE : houndstongue : Cynoglossum oficinale
Scientific name: Cynoglossum officinale Common names: houndstongue, beggar’s lice, dog’s tongue, sheep bur, dog bur, glovewort, wool mat, gypsy-flower Family: Boraginaceae Article by Jeanne Gozigian I still remember how excited we, the docents at the Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve (LCWP), all were [...]
