There’s an ineffable spiritual quality to gardening near Santa Fe. It’s not just that many Santa Feans have religious icons in their gardens. Or that, surprisingly, Vishnu and Ganesh look as at home here as the Madonna and St. Francis. It’s also about the kind of gardens that develop in a community where artistry of all sorts is nurtured. Gardens here have a distinctive personal stamp.

The combination of low humidity, high elevation, and minimal air pollution produces beautiful light too, says Santa Fe landscape designer Richard Wilder. “Its clarity makes vivid colors sing, but it also allows subtle variations — like the difference between catmint and artemisia leaves — to stand out.” Conveniently, the light gets even clearer in fall, when Santa Fe’s most characteristic perennials — sunflowers, asters, coneflowers — are in peak bloom, and its grasses are golden.

Light and liberty — what a heady combination. Is it any wonder gardeners in Santa Fe bloom right along with their gardens?