Tony Vaccaro. Georgia Picking Angelica for the Salad, 1960. © Tony Vaccaro.
Georgia O’Keeffe purchased her house in Abiquiú in 1945, attracted in part by its large garden served by the local irrigation system known as an acequia. She hired Maria Chabot to manage the restoration and rebuilding of the property, undertaken from 1946 to 1949, while O’Keeffe was in New York settling her husband Alfred Stieglitz’s estate. Chabot had overseen daily affairs at O’Keeffe’s house at Ghost Ranch, and understood the artist’s ambitions for the home and garden in Abiquiú. To this end, she created the plan for the adobe house and surrounding landscape.
Chabot planned to line the perimeter of the garden with tamarisks, willows, and various fruit trees. The center of the garden would be leveled for planting vegetables and flowers (corn, radishes, roses, irises, poppies, and hollyhocks). By the time O’Keeffe made Abiquiú her permanent home in 1949, the garden was able to supply almost all of the fruits and vegetables for her homes. She harvested the plants during the summer, enjoying the fresh produce at her Ghost Ranch home and preserving other herbs, fruits, and vegetables for winter use at the Abiquiú house by drying, canning, and freezing them.
The garden at her Abiquiú home remains much as it was during her lifetime. Staff and interns, who live in Abiquiú and surrounding communities, work the land every summer and distribute the fruits and vegetables locally and to nearby food banks.
Tony Vaccaro. Georgia Picking Angelica for the Salad, 1960. © Tony Vaccaro.
Georgia O’Keeffe compró su casa en Abiquiú en 1945, en parte atraída por su gran jardín regado por el sistema de irrigación conocido como acequia. Contrató a Maria Chabot para que se encargara de la restauración y reconstrucción de la propiedad, la cual se llevó a cabo de 1946 a 1949, mientras O’Keeffe estaba en Nueva York arreglando lo relacionado con la herencia de su esposo Alfred Stieglitz. Chabot había supervisado los asuntos de la casa de O’Keeffe’s en Ghost Ranch y entendía lo que la artista deseaba para su hogar y jardín en Abiquiú. Con ese fin, Chabot creó el plano para la casa de adobe y los jardines a su alrededor.
Chabot planeaba delinear el perímetro del jardín con tamariscos, sauces y árboles frutales. El centro del jardín sería nivelado para sembrar verduras y flores (maíz, rábanos, rosas, lirios, amapolas y malvarrosas). Para cuando O’Keeffee se instaló permanentemente en Abiquiú en 1949, el jardín proveía casi todas las frutas y verduras para sus casas. Ella misma cosechaba durante el verano y disfrutaba los productos frescos en su casa en Ghost Ranch y secaba, enlataba y congelaba otras hierbas, frutas y verduras para usar en la casa de Abiquiú en el invierno.
El jardín en su casa de Abiquiú permanece como era cuando ella estaba viva. El personal y pasantes que viven en Abiquiú y comunidades aledañas cultivan la tierra cada verano y distribuyen las frutas y verduras localmente y en los bancos de comida cercanos.
Todd Webb. Georgia O'Keeffe in Abiquiú Garden, ca. 1962. Chromogenic print, 5 x 3 1/2 inches. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation. © Todd Webb Archive.
Maria Chabot. Georgia O'Keeffe in the Garden, ca. 1944. Gelatin silver print. Maria Chabot Archive. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of Maria Chabot. © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.
Todd Webb. Georgia O'Keeffe's Abiquiu House, Garden, 1960-1965. Gelatin silver print, 6 1/16x 4 1/8 inches. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation. © Todd Webb Archive. [2006.6.604]
Fred Mang Jr., National Park Service. Georgia O'Keeffe's Abiquiu House, Exterior and Garden, 1979. Color photograph. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation. Courtesy of the National Park Service.
Fred Mang Jr., National Park Service. Georgia O'Keeffe's Abiquiu House, Exterior and Garden, 1979. Color photograph. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation. Courtesy of the National Park Service.
Doris Bry. Abiquiú House Garden and Wall, Looking East, 1949. Photographic print. Maria Chabot Archive. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of Maria Chabot. © Doris Bry Trust.
The garden in Abiquiú uses an acequia to flood irrigate. Acequias are communal irrigation ditches. Once a week, the irrigation channels on the property are opened to flood the garden.
Acequia by 
