Cultivating a Waterwise Landscape in Santa Fe
As Bee City USA & Tree City USA community, the City of Santa Fe is committed to fostering citywide garden and landscape efforts that support pollinators, urban wildlife, and foster a healthy urban tree canopy while maximizing outdoor water efficiency. It’s important to plant native and/or drought tolerant trees, shrubs, and plants that are well-suited to Santa Fe’s arid high desert environment. Planting the right plants helps ensure that our “urban forest” is climate ready for the future.
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Save water outside and support our pollinators by planting native and other xeric species in your yard! See what’s featured in our Water Conservation Demonstration Gardens.
See what’s growing in our Waterwise Demonstration Gardens

































Don’t overlook cacti at the nursery!
Cactus Gardens are becoming increasingly popular in Santa Fe. We have a beautiful Cactus Demonstration Garden that consists mostly of native species, installed by the Cactus Rescue Project in 2018.
Whether you create designated areas as cactus gardens or just spread cacti throughout your landscape, it helps create lots of depth and texture to your overall landscape. Offering gorgeous blossoms that attract pollinators, cacti provide an important source of food and shelter for pollinators and wildlife in our urban forest. They are incredibly drought hardy and only need once-a-month waterings in the summer.