Hi! My name is Wendy Blair, and I’m a Master Gardener from Albuquerque, New Mexico. My family moved here from Los Angeles in 2011 and bought a home on an acre North ABQ. The house was plopped in the middle of the lot with very little curb appeal or plantings. I’ve always loved gardening but had no idea what an amazing (but challenging) climate I was moving to.
In the 12 years we’ve lived here, we have completely changed our landscape. With approval from local agencies, we diverted an arroyo that went through our land. This enabled us to install a nice-size yard space. We’ve put in pergolas, a lawn, a cutting garden, a pool, a chicken coop, a small orchard, a moon garden, a raised vegetable garden, as well as a Japanese-themed garden. The jewel of our home is the Spanish-themed courtyard we built in 2017. It has a gorgeous fountain, a fireplace, a grapevine-covered pergola, and a pizza oven.
My husband is a contractor, and with the help of our kids, we have done most of the construction on the hardscape ourselves. We’re big DIYers! I have personally done all the plant selecting and planting/digging. We now have a four-season landscape complete with conifers, shade trees, fruit trees, and lots of gorgeous flowering shrubs and perennials. My favorites are roses, hydrangeas, and peonies! I’ve also gotten our space certified as a backyard wildlife habitat. We think it’s beautiful, and I hope you do too!
Ample grassy area for kids and pets to play
Beautiful single white peonies (Paeonia lactiflora, Zones 3–8) in full spring bloom
Have you ever seen roses looking better? The low New Mexico humidity helps reduce disease problems in roses.
Gorgeous yellow foliage from a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, Zones 5–9)
Spring view, with white tulips (Tulipa hybrid, Zones 3–8) and bearded iris (Iris hybrid, Zones 3–9) in the foreground bed
About the happiest roses ever
Red-flowered annuals showing off in this urn
Grapes growing on the arbor in the courtyard
If you want to see more of Wendy’s garden, check out her Instagram: @505garden
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