Georgia O’Keeffe’s Garden
Local Students Revitalize Famed Artist’s Abiquiu Yard
By KATHERINE MAST
For high school students in New Mexico’s ing sophomore, and Brandon Arevalo, a senrural regions, finding summer work can be ior, it was the connection to the famous challenging. Paid jobs that are also educaartist that initially sparked their interest. tional are fewer still. But one program, now Fernandez applied to the program “because it in its second year, is helping to provide a was Georgia O’Keeffe. It’s unique.” she says. unique summer experience for students in Arevalo, who had never gardened before and the Abiquiu area. This summer, eight stuonly knew a little about O’Keeffe through his dents from Española Valley High School and history classes, believed the experience, and Mesa Vista High School in Ojo Caliente the O’Keeffe name, would look good on a worked the soil, planted crops, pulled resume. “It’s been interesting to see the weeds and harvested produce at the historic impact she has had,” says Arevalo, noting Georgia O’Keeffe house that overlooks that busloads of visitors arrive for tours of Highway 84 in Abiquiu. the house each week. When O’Keeffe purchased the property in Mollie Parsons, education director at the 1945, an extensive vegetable garden was part Santa Fe Botanical Garden, has worked to Rique Fernandez (left) and Angelica Ferran pull weeds in of her original remodeling plans. Almost until the Georgia O'Keeffe garden in Abiquiu. Photos by make the summer program go beyond garher death in 1986, she tended the garden, dening. Students had to submit applications Katherine Mast. putting up its bounty for the winter and servwith letters of recommendation and sit for ing its fresh harvest to guests. The fertile land is watered by a spring-fed interviews before a panel. Parsons also brought in guest speakers who acequia. In 2014, employees from the Santa Fe Botanical Garden and the discussed such topics as health and nutrition, farmers markets, money Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe partnered to revive O’Keeffe’s garmanagement, investment and botany. The students also took field trips den, while offering local kids a chance to learn about the artist’s life and to other gardens in the region and researched natural farming methods. get hands-on experience working the land. “It’s not just about making a few dollars for the summer. It’s about a In its first year, 11 high school interns from Mesa Vista High School came bigger experience,” says Parsons. to the property once a week. While this summer’s crew is smaller, the The interns also have been exploring ways to use technology. “One of program has expanded to include students from Española Valley High our big goals is to expose students to different ways of thinking,” says School and offers two site visits each week. Four of the participants in Parsons. Davies, using her landscape architecture background, helped last year’s program enjoyed the experience so much they returned this the students plan and design this year’s garden before entering the data year. Two of those into an AutoCad computer design program. The interns have learned to – seniors Misty read the printed landscape architecture plans. They also are documentSuazo and Isaac ing their experiences in a blog and through a video that will be added Baldonado – took to the museum’s archive. on new roles as Davies says she hopes the students will leave with a sense of ownerstudent supervisors. ship and responsibility toward the garden, as well as a deeper appreciaSuazo, who says tion for teamwork. They have all been asked to do new — and someshe was fascinated times scary — things, like give tours to family members and visitors. with the corn and And Parsons couldn’t be more pleased with the response from the stukale last year, is dents. “A lot of things that people tend to complain about, like weeding happy to still be or digging holes or getting hot and sweaty, I haven’t heard them comlearning new plain one word,” she says. things. “There’s so And no experience at a Georgia O’Keeffe site would be complete withIsaac Baldonado and Misty Suazo discuss the much to do, and out an art education as well. Staff from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum morning's chores at the garden. you get to work introduced the interns to solar printing, and Davies is encouraging the with different students to sketch in journals. dditionally, the students get to interact things,” she says. Her new favorite crop is eggplant, a vegetable she with current staff who knew O'Keeffe. Agapita Lopez, who works on-site hadn’t seen grow before. She enjoys seeing the shades of purple appear as director of Abiquiu Historic Properties, was O’Keeffe’s personal seceven in the eggplants’ stems, leaves and flowers. She also enjoyed sharretary. Lopez’s brother, Margarito Lopez, has worked on the O’Keeffe ing her gardening knowledge with her two younger sisters, who joined property as a gardener since he was 17 years old. her for a day this summer. On a warm July morning, a gentle rain fell on the garden as the stuMany of the interns have had some experience with agriculture and dents were beginning their garden chores. The clouds passed quickly, have helped parents or grandparents in family gardens. “I try to encourand the interns picked up age them to share any knowledge they have,” says Francesca Davies, a hoes and garden gloves landscape architect and the historic garden project coordinator with the and spread out among Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. For Baldonado and Angelica Ferran — also a the rows of beans, corn, returning participant — the work is familiar territory. Both students squash, chiles, kale and help tend family gardens at home. But the experience at the O’Keeffe potatoes. They began house has introduced them to new methods of planting, like building pulling up weeds. mounds and digging trenches, and given them experience with new Parsons said she hopes crops, says Baldonado. “I’ve learned a lot,” says Ferran, noting things to open the program to like crop rotation, using marigolds for pest control, and planting certain more of northern New types of flowers to attract beneficial insects. Mexico’s rural high For Española Valley High School students Rique Fernandez, an incomschools next year. Misty Suazo tends a bean patch.
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New Mexico Kids!
September/October 2015