tissy - I live in Monument (actually, just east of town at 7500ft) on sandy clay soil. Welcome! I agree - treat this as Zone 4 for the most part. Rosemary does not survive here outside over the winter. Mine are kept as container-grown plants and come inside until late May. Thyme and kitchen sage do really well over our winters. Vegetables can be a challenge - I've given up on tomatoes and peppers because they really require a mini greenhouse in order to get fruit before frost - too much work for me. Spinach and greens in general do well. So do cool weather crops like peas and broccoli. Because of the gopher problem we have, I plant my veggies in containers. Shrubs and roses get planted in root cages. English Lavender is awesome here - it usually dies back to the ground over winter, but comes back reliably. Tons of flowers and shrubs do really well - if you want specifics, please PM me. Roses that do well are (as mentioned): the Canadian Explorer Series, rugosas, gallicas/albas/damasks, some hybrid perpetuals, and some of the English roses. Hybrid Teas can't handle the cold. Most floribundas croak too. If anyone wants a list of what does well here for me, let me know and I'll give you the specific names. Be prepared - winters are LONG here! We've had killing frost on June 21 (last year). Late April and May can be especially challenging because of the constantly shifting temps - it can be 70 deg one day and 15 deg the next night. I've lost several roses this spring not to the -20F we had in Dec and Feb, but to the warm/cold swings in April and May. I won't be replanting those varieties! Basically, if a plant breaks dormancy too soon it can get nailed by almost-arctic temps we can get in the late spring. This spring was especially bad for this. Although we've had a really dry winter and spring this year, Monument historially gets a decent amount of snow - mostly in the spring. We can get dumped on too :) 2ft or more during one storm is not uncommon. Good luck! Nancy

Hi Jae, I'm in Santa Fe and came here from N California. Basically, it took me 7 years to "get it" about gardening here - but now I have a courtyard wonderland that is the envy of everyone who sees it. We don't have lawns and huge gardening spaces - even on large properties. The idea is that you do "spot" gardens near the dwelling and leave the rest of the property to native growth. Dig a hole in our soil and you have a clay pot with a very small drain hole. So, your first approach is to amend small areas at a time and do a lot of container gardening with annuals while you slowly amend beds and add perrenials. This gives you a "flowering garden" while you build up what's actually in the ground. Use really rich potting soil like Fertilome for amending and for the containers. Every year, the slightly spent potting soil from the containers gets worked into my flower beds, and with the addition of composted mulch, the beds have gotten deeper and richer every year. When planting a perennial, you dig a hole much deeper and wider - like a large flower pot. Loosen the clay bottom and then fill with Fertilome or other really rich soil. It's exactly as if you are planting the perennial in an underground "pot" which will eventually break down and blend with the soil. Do enough of this and eventually the whole bed or area will be amended (along with top dressing with composted mulch, of course). The most wonderful thing about gardens here is the relative absence of pests (no slugs or snails or mosquitoes or fleas - pets don't need flea protection), and the proliferation of wild birds, little lizards, quail, and other critters that are so willing to occupy your garden space with you and make it more like a natural paradise! Plants need watering *every* day here, which is why containers, soaker hoses, and Native plants are a great idea, because water is a precious commodity here. Another essential is to understand microclimates. Because of adobe walls which store heat, and wind issues, you can have 3-4 climate zones right in your Zone 5 garden. Here is a link to our most wonderful local gardening resource: http://www.highcountrygardens.com/ Periodic vists to their store/nursery, Santa Fe Greenhouses, is a must and *such* a fun experience. Hope this helps - and welcome to Paradise. jessica

Sorry I haven't responded here in a couple of days. I know you all understand, though. Jeanne, your photo is gorgeous! What a lovely walk that must have been. Oh, and I'll have deviled egg appetizers waiting for you when you get here. I love them, too! I have one of those storyteller candles! I bought it years ago when we were in Taos. That's where they make them. I've never lit it, though, and don't ever plan to. Here she is: PartyMusic: thanks! You're more than welcome to jump on the Holiday Bus and come along for breakfast, too. MM: too funny! I get the same way when I see pics of Huevos Rancheros. Most restaurants out here serve it all day, because so many of us love them anytime. Last night when we went out to dinner, I almost had them again but chose Chile Rellenos instead. Mmmmm! Luvs: You are always welcome here! And, scrambled eggs are wonderful with salsa or red chile on them. I always have some on the table when I make scrambled eggs. I hear you regarding Spanish pronunciations! I took 7 years of it as a kid in Michigan. Never got to use it much, because you hear more French there. But, once I moved to NM, a lot of it came back to me. The "LL" sounding like a "Y" throws most people off and so does the "J" sounding like "H" do, too. Funny! As for my seed placemats, I'm really liking them. At first, I was going to take them back as I was worried that they'd be very hard to keep clean, but they're not that bad. I just have to be careful about what I serve when I use them. Drips down between those seeds would not be a good thing! Kathleen, I'm Scot and I love them. I think it becomes an addiction when you move here ;^D When DS was in college, I had to send him chile on a regular basis. The main requests our NM service men & women have from home are canned green chiles and salsa! I can't imagine getting on without it now. OK, I'm making myself hungry! Karen: they sure can be made with scrambled eggs! Do you ever make Breakfast Burritos? You roll a flour tortilla around warm scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon, sausage or ham, add some hash browns, beans if you like, shredded cheese and then salsa or red chile sauce. That's got to be New Mexico's other favorite breakfast! Even the McD's out here serve them. Punk: I'd love to have you come for breakfast! I love the pinecone napkin rings that Jane sent me, too. They look great with three of my dish sets: these pinecone ones, the ones with actual pinecones painted on them and my green Solare dishes. They get used a lot! Glor: Yes, that dip is very popular out here. We usually add diced jalapenos or green chiles to ours. I've had it used as a stuffing for enchiladas and burritos, too. Have you ever had Green Chile Roll-Ups? They're a pinwheel-type appetizer and very popular out here. Luckygal: I don't care for very hot food either. But, what I now consider mild, I find that my Michigan family thinks is medium-to-hot. I guess I've just gotten used to it over the years. OA: thank you :~ ) Yes, that brown pedestal is from HL and was meant to hold a candle, I think. I keep looking for a more rustic one to use on a table like this, but haven't found it yet. I'd love to hear any ideas you might have for a substitute. That pedestal is probably the main thing I don't like about this vignette. The pottery comes mainly from two NM potters, one is my neighbor. I love his work and, as I've mentioned, use it every day. I feel the same way you do about centerpieces! I have several 5x7 frames with easel backs I keep just for adding an interesting card to for a centerpiece. There are so many possibilities out there these days and the frames are so quick and easy to change out. Well, now I'm REALLY hungry for something with chiles! I think I'll go make myself a grilled cheese with green chile sandwich for lunch. Lynn

My late DH and I spent a week at Santa Fe and Taos every year for 7 or 8 years. What did we do? We ate and shopped! LOL! We stayed at The Inn at Loretto most of the time and loved having breakfast on the patio there. And we ate dinner there several times too. Very nice! Another favorite place was La Casa Sena, just off the Plaza. Lunch in the courtyard, or a late drink or snack in the Cantina was great. The Pink Adobe was another favorite....in fact I had my birthday dinner there a couple of years. And we ate lunch there several times. We found the Coyote Cafe, "OK"....actually better than OK but not for the price. In Taos I don't think you can beat Doc Martin's in any way!.....except for price! Lots of $$ but worth it! We also ate several times at The Apple tree and loved that....but you had to be sure you reserved early! There was a place on the East side of the plaza that had dining on a second floor balcony where the people watching on the plaza was great. Good place for a beer and a bowl of chili....informal and good. And there is another place who's name escapes me...north of Santa Fe on the Opera road....think it was at Chimayo. Of course we ate lots of other places too....but those were the memorable ones where we returned to repeatedly. Enjoy!! Sounds like a great trip....and what fun to be part of the artist crowd!! Linda C