Sighting Stonehenge: Placitas Garden Tour features unique landscapes including a monumental replica

Gardens in Placitas become works of art during the eighth annual Placitas Garden Tour.

The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8, at various locations in Placitas.

Seven gardens, with unique themes, will be open for the public to view. Master gardeners will be at each location to act as guides and answer visitors’ questions. Bernalillo County Extension Master Composters will be present at “The Zenful Garden” to provide tips on composting and sustainability.

Sighting Stonehenge: Placitas Garden Tour features unique landscapes including a monumental replica

Proceeds from the tour benefit the Sandoval Master Gardeners, made up of volunteers trained by New Mexico State University to provide better gardening techniques to the community.

“We have three very new gardens and we have one that was planted about 20 years ago,” said Sandy Liakus, Placitas Community Library chair. “We have something for everybody.”

Maps display a suggested tour route, but guests can begin their tour at whichever garden they choose. Gardeners and artists will be at each home tour, displaying works of art in all forms and answering questions.

The theme of this year’s tour is “Seeding for Sustainability,” where gardens will highlight the best ways to be resource conscious while maintaining a beautiful garden.

“We’re trained to show guests ways to protect our environment,” Liakus said. “That includes seed saving, harvesting water, mulching to build healthy soils, planting pollinator friendly blooms and encouraging the naturalization of surrounding spaces for protection of watershed and wildlife.”

One of the gardens − “Books, Blooms and Seeds” − is featured at the Placitas Community Library. The library features a native garden grown by library volunteers. Visitors can speak to Sandoval County Extension Master Gardeners about gardens while walking through the library’s meditative seven-circuit labyrinth.

The library also will host fall cooking demonstrations and offer guests the chance to create seed balls from soil. Visitors will also have access to the library Seed Garden, where they can drop off plant seeds or request up to five seed packets to take home for their own gardens. For questions about the native garden, the library has a garden plant database where information about the library garden can be found.

This year, the tour will feature a unique garden focusing on native plants and natural landscape called the “Placitas Stonehenge Garden.” The entrance to the garden features a replica of Stonehenge. Various sculptures have been placed around the garden to create a mystical feeling when entering.

The tours have become more popular over the years, according to Liakus.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen more families coming to the tour and more people moving into Placitas and the surrounding area,” she said. “They like to see what they can do to build up their landscape and how to garden. People like to see how people spend their free time and relaxation time because a garden is a very personal space and everybody’s garden is different.”

Liakus said the tour is a great way to build the community and encourage sustainable living.

“For many of the master gardeners, it’s a way to reach the community,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for them to come out and volunteer and interact with the public and teach about gardening. Sometimes, you just want to do something for the community.”