It wouldn’t be fall if I didn’t go to Santa Fe, New Mexico. On one latest journey, I revisited Georgia O’Keeffe’s residence and backyard in close by Abiquiu. Most individuals acknowledge O’Keeffe as a stellar artist who painted the landscapes of the Southwest. She had an ideal vista, overlooking the Chama River Valley with majestic mountains within the background.
Much less well-known is her ardour for gardening. She had solely to step out the entrance patio of her rustic Spanish Colonial residence to be in her backyard. A lounge window shelf options rocks and bones she found in her backyard. The property is now maintained by volunteers from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. A number of had been tending the backyard throughout my go to.
O’Keeffe grew quite a lot of fruits, particularly strawberries and raspberries, in addition to a smorgasbord of greens — broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuces, string beans, tomatoes and zucchini. Every had distinctive flavors and textures, particularly leafy, small greens and small-leaved herbs.
Among the many herbs she favored had been lovage, mint, oregano, parsley, sorrel, summer time savory and thyme. The herb backyard continues to be intact. Watercress was grown in a close-by spring creek. Amongst fruit timber lining the backyard are peach, pears and plums. Apple timber had been a should; O’Keeffe grew up on her household’s Wisconsin apple farm.
O’Keeffe employed members of Abiquiu’s Lopez household for her backyard/family assist. She and one Lopez son clashed about planting corn. He used heaps of seeds for planting. O’Keefe planted single seeds at exact intervals.
Her long-time assistant, Margaret Woods, known as O’Keeffe “exacting.” She preferred deviled eggs with completely different herbs added to every one. She ate millet grains for breakfast. She preferred chopped herbs, blended with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic for salad dressing.
O’Keeffe started gardening in 1952, working her backyard till her eyesight dimmed, though she was nonetheless portray. Day by day she and Miss Wooden walked the backyard, with Margaret holding a big straw basket for O’Keeffe to fill for that evening’s dinner. O’Keeffe typically invited celebrities to her eating desk for 4. The desk was merely a sophisticated plank of wooden.
Like her artwork, O’Keeffe’s residence/backyard is a dramatic examine in simplicity. She died in 1986 at age 98, leaving a legacy of artwork and gardening.
Micki J. Shelton is a Muskogee native and grasp gardener.