Garden season at Los Poblanos arrives alongside Women’s History Month, offering a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the women who have shaped the property through the landscape itself. From historic garden design to present-day farming, their vision and stewardship continue to guide how the land grows and evolves each spring.
At the same time, every garden season is the result of many hands. Gardeners, farmers and groundskeepers have tended this land year after year, pruning, planting, harvesting and caring for the soil. Their steady dedication sustains the beauty and abundance we experience across the property. The gardens tell a collective story rooted in collaboration and care.
Rose Greely and the foundation of the formal gardens
In 1932, Rose Greely designed the formal Spanish-style gardens surrounding the Hacienda and La Quinta. Greely was the first woman to graduate from Harvard’s landscape architecture program and built her career primarily in the Washington DC area designing residential estates. Los Poblanos remains her only known work in the Southwest.
Her work here was made possible by the vision of Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms, who hired Greely when Los Poblanos Ranch was first established. Before moving to New Mexico, Ruth was a nationally recognized leader in the women’s suffrage movement. She believed deeply in civic progress and thoughtful reform, and that same sense of purpose shaped the early development of the property. By commissioning Greely, Ruth ensured the gardens would reflect refinement, permanence and beauty, laying the foundation for the cultural landscape we continue to steward today.
Nearly a century later, Greely’s design still defines garden season at Los Poblanos. Vibrant flower beds unfold along structured pathways. Spanish tile fountains anchor gathering spaces. Rose cutting gardens bloom in succession. Winding paths and mosaic stonework by folk artist “Pop” Shaffer add texture throughout. The entrance drive, lined with mature cottonwood trees, frames the experience from the very first turn.
Structured yet alive and formal yet generous, the gardens endure because generations of gardeners have faithfully tended and preserved them.
Penny Rembe and the revival of the Greely Garden
As co-founder and matriarch of Los Poblanos as we know it today, Penny Rembe has shaped the property in lasting ways. Her leadership and determination made it possible for the farm and Inn to flourish into what they are today.
One of Penny’s favorite places is the historic Greely Garden, tucked privately behind the Inn. When she and her husband Armin began restoring the property, they discovered the original garden plans. Over the years, Penny has worked to return the space to its intended design, honoring Greely’s vision while ensuring the garden continues to thrive.
In spring, the garden overflows with peonies, tulips and magnolia blossoms. As the season shifts toward summer, the roses arrive. Staying true to the original plan, Penny has preserved and expanded the collection of heirloom roses, with more than 30 varieties now growing in the Greely beds.
Penny and Armin also planted the lavender fields that now define Los Poblanos. Those rows of lavender shape the landscape each summer, define the scent of the property and form the foundation of our bath and body collection. What began as an act of planting has become one of the most recognizable elements of the Los Poblanos experience.
Judith Phillips and evolving the landscape
As Los Poblanos has grown, so too has its approach to landscape design. Judith Phillips designed the landscapes surrounding the Farm Suites, incorporating more drought-tolerant species while maintaining continuity with the historic gardens. Her work introduced a more environmentally responsive approach suited to the Rio Grande Valley.
Judith also served as a plant consultant during the development of the Field Suites, selecting species that are lower water use, edible, pollinator friendly and beautiful. Her philosophy reflects a broader commitment to stewardship and ecological balance during garden season and beyond.
She is also the author of The Gardens of Los Poblanos, documenting the history and evolution of this unique cultural landscape and the many individuals who have shaped it over time.
Judy Hartline and the work of the present season
While historic plans guide the structure of the gardens, it is the daily work of farming that defines each growing season. Farm Manager Judy Hartline, born and raised in Albuquerque’s North Valley, brings deep regional knowledge to the fields.
After beginning her farming career in Corrales in 2008, Judy developed a strong foundation in organic and regenerative practices. Today, she oversees the planning, seeding, transplanting, planting and harvesting of the vegetables, herbs and fruits grown on the property.
Her focus is not only to provide fresh, seasonal food for the restaurant but also to support and advocate for the local food economy. Her work, alongside the broader farm and grounds team, ensures that garden season at Los Poblanos is both productive and sustainable.
A shared and living legacy
Garden season at Los Poblanos is not simply about what is blooming now. It is the result of visionary leadership, thoughtful design and the many hands that have shaped this land over time.
From Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms’ decision to commission the gardens to Rose Greely’s enduring design, from Penny Rembe’s restoration and lavender plantings to Judith Phillips’ environmentally responsive landscapes and Judy Hartline’s regenerative farming practices, women have played an essential role in defining this place.
Alongside them are the countless team members, past and present, who prune, weed, plant, harvest and care for the gardens each day.
As spring unfolds in the Rio Grande Valley, we are reminded that gardens are collaborative works of art. They require vision and patience, creativity and care. During Women’s History Month and throughout garden season at Los Poblanos, we are grateful to honor the women who have guided this landscape and the many hands who continue to tend it, season after season.