The nightlife of a garden: tropical plants rustling, nocturnal creatures calling outside the walls. Candlelight patterns the walls and shines on glasses clinking, on laughing smiles. A fountain musics the dark against the sound of waves on sand far down in the moonlight bay. There is a romance in outdoor spaces where the nights stay warm, an invitation to remain outside as bright sunshine fades.
During daylight hours, running water offers a promise of cool, a huge tree covers the tiled patio in leaf-pattern shade, and the courtyard is full of three generations tucking into comida, the midday meal. The children jump up to play in the fountain, and the jacaranda sifts lavender blossoms into everyone’s hair. Welcome to a Mexican garden.
There are formal and informal iterations on the theme – boxwood parterres imported from Europe, and gardens that look like jungles, xeriscaped areas of agave and stone or verdant growth of canna, banana, hibiscus- but there are certain elements that make a Mexican garden instantly recognizable and attractive.
Light is one of the most important features in any garden. Not only the night lighting, but the light of the garden itself, how the sun plays on leaves and comes through the branches. In tropical areas, where midday can be very hot, shade is an all-important landscaping device. A big tree provides an aesthetic and physical cool as you move into the dim light and hear a breeze.
The lacy leaves of a mimosa, Brazilian pepper, or a jacaranda create soft shade with lots of movement. The jacaranda and mimosa have the added benefit of lovely flowers, where the pepper adds interest with clusters of small pink berries. Avocados offer a deeper shade and tropical effect with their large oval leaves, plus delicious fruit. The cypress, or ahuehuete, is the national tree of Mexico. In Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, there is a grande fiesta of a tree celebration on October 7th in the shade of their giant, thousands-of-years-old cypress.
Whether you choose a venerable cypress, a graceful mimosa, or another tree to shade your patio, it is important to remember the mature spread of the tree, as well as consider water and maintenance issues. Your choice will repay you with dappled light and cool breezes for years to come. Shade in a Mexican garden needn’t always come from living plants. The palapa tradition reflects the desire for welcoming cool, as do Spanish arcades lined with potted palms and wicker chairs.
But what of the hours after sunset? In the warm tropical night, firelight becomes characteristic of the Mexican garden. Whether from flickering candles or firepots, nothing makes tropical shadows move like flame. Wrought iron candelabra, hurricane lamps, torchieres, and wall sconces all offer appropriate fire displays. Chimineas, clay fireplaces derived from functional bread ovens, are a Mexican product. Lighting a flame against the night is both primeval and convivial, an act that ties you to a thousands’ year old civilization.
Fountains are characteristic of European gardens, either wall-mounted or the grand type that grace the center of town squares. The colonial tradition has become important to private Mexican gardens. Although the water might no longer be used for drinking, washing, or watering horses, the sight and sound of liquid flow is a welcome to hot and thirsty visitors. Cut from rough rock and covered in ferns, a corner standing fountain might evoke a jungle grotto. Wall fountains of tiered bowls or spitting gargoyles work well in passageways and inner courtyards, recalling Mediterranean influence. And a formal garden asks for a fountain in the classical tradition.
There is a range of architectural styles and materials that demonstrate the spirit of a Mexican garden, from simple adobe to elaborate wrought iron, Spanish style arcades to stucco boxes. Terra cotta pots or tiles, heavy wood beams, and volcanic rock all have their place in local tradition. Mexican gardens tend towards hardscaping, plenty of patio space and potted plants. The inner courtyard or walled garden recalls Moorish Spain, the oasis tradition representing Eden, a part of heaven on earth.
Shade and fire, running water, and local materials are all important to the vernacular. But the single vital characteristic of the Mexican garden is that it is a place for people. Celebration of family and friends is central to the culture, and everything from the town plazas to small rooftop terraces reflects this desire to be together. Plenty of seating, places to set drinks, tables to gather around. The life and breath of a Mexican garden is human at heart.
