Rancho La Puerta ~ La Cocina Que Canta

The rainy season has arrived in Northern California, a long-awaited drenching for garden beds and borders.

La Cocina Que Canta Cooking School

I rarely have time to post these days. Life seems to be getting in the way.

As Fall moves toward the Winter season, I sit with a cup of tea and dream about my visit a few years ago to Rancho La Puerta. The inspiring landscape of Tecate, Mexico remains in my mind's eye, along with a high point of my week long-stay at the spa: a cooking class at The Kitchen That Sings! ... La Cocina Que Canta. 

With the sound of falling rain outside my office window, I'm imagining the scent of something wonderful baking in the oven. A savory tart for dinner? Or, I might just step out into the garden to pick Lemon Verbena leaves before the first frost of the season. If I turn the oven on very low, the leaves can be quickly dried for tea to enjoy in the months ahead. The wonderful aroma of the drying herb will fill the house!

Artful Surroundings .. Enrich and Invigorate

Rancho La Puerta - Part III

A profusion of drought-tolerant rosemary - shrubbery and swathes of the prostrate form,

blooms endlessly during the winter months.

At times, as I explored the grounds in silent meditation,

I would stop abruptly, enveloped by the fragrance of sweet alyssum!

Rounding a bend along a walkway, or gazing out at a serene landscape,

one finds life-size bronzes by acclaimed Mexican artist, Víctor Hugo Castañeda,

which appear as eye-catching focal points

throughout the property.

Conjoined eyebrows are key to revealing a work as a depiction of the artist, Frida Kahlo.

Perhaps the sculpture pictured below is associated with Kahlo more often.

A scrambling cape honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) 

weaves through the lively ironwork design 

of the entryway gate.

Stained glass casts glowing patterns,

 encountered as one approaches the reception area at check-in.

Mosaics embellish a spot where I stopped to read this quote from H. G. Bohr:

"The soul is not where it lives, But where it loves."

Among a grouping of sculptures of Frida Kahlo displayed in the main building;

this piece stands as a powerful reminder of the artist's self-portraits.

Aficionados of Kahlo's paintings will be intrigued by the collection on-view.

 (Madonna and I apparently share this fascination!)

Link to Part II - Rancho La Puerta 

 Landscape / Hardscape

Link to Julie Gallaher's .. thingsyoushoulddo

to find out more about the bloggers in my group.

Landscape / Hardscape - Rancho La Puerta

Sunlight through stained glass ... interior wall, Las Piedras Environmental Center

The prevalence of natural rock formations influenced the design of...

Las Piedras Environmental Education Center at Parque del Professor 

Tecate, Mexico .. a project of Fundación La Puerta

Landscape architect Ron Lovinger designed the parkland (we'll be returning here soon!),

while more recently, landscape architect Enrique Ceballos of Rancho La Puerta

contributed to the design of the education building that school children adore.

Sunset ...  foothills of Mount Kuchumaa.

 Walking the grounds of Rancho La Puerta with landscape architect Enrique Ceballos,

we came upon a casita with not one, 

but two of these beautifully constructed benches adorning the patio.

Imagine resting on such a bench, 

watching the advance of rose-flushed clouds as the skies darken.

One picture... worth a thousand words: Typical of the Rancho's fine stonework. 

Tecomaria capensis .. a habitat plant that qualifies as a hummingbird magnet!

Our group delighted in the Rancho's friendly felines.

Gaillardia .. a brilliant bloomer native to Mexico.

Stay tuned... much more to follow!

Link to Part I:  A Passion for Life .. Deborah Szekely

A Passion for Life .. Deborah Szekely

Deborah Szekely

"You have to have a passion to live long,"

... Rancho La Puerta owner/director Deborah Szekely (88 years young),

speaking to our gathering of invited bloggers.

First in a series of features on the Rancho's landscape, kitchen gardens & cooking school,

as RLP enters its 70th year of commitment to healthy living, protection of the environment, 

 & under the auspices of Fundacion La Puerta,

giving back to the area's school children and the community of Tecate, Mexico.

The landscape and guesthouses nestle in the foothills of Mount Kuchumaa.

Majestic evergreen live oaks offer shade and shelter throughout the gardens, 

while succulents, countless native & Mediterranean species, and drought-tolerant

 plants such as Grevilleas create inviting wildlife habitats.

Bird song enlivens every pathway & patio during daylight hours.

On a bird walk I encountered year-round residents - many breed at the Rancho:

 Phainopepla, California quail, Anna's hummingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, 

California thrasher (what a sight!), various finches and sparrows.

Winter visitors include Cedar waxwing & Hermit thrush.

Can anyone identify the bird pictured above in Aloe arborescens?

The jogging track encircles a field of grapevines.

Each dormant grapevine spoke to me: 

Their aged, contorted forms demonstrating a unique sculptural bearing

...or anthropomorphic quality.

Aloe lutescens

Link to: Radiant Respite .. Rancho La Puerta

Radiant Respite .. Rancho La Puerta

Improbable but true to its 70-year history, the destination spa/retreat,

Rancho La Puerta evolved from an unembellished adobe hut.

One day I plan to visit!

To chill.. to tune out.. to leave my computer in quiet mode - a well-deserved  respite for me & my machine.

Rancho La Puerta engaged in organic gardening methods before the practice was popular. 

The nearby 6-acre organic farm, Rancho Tres Estrellas provides the fresh produce served to guests,

in beautifully presented repasts to entice all the senses.

Sustainability and conservation are high on the list of the Rancho's guiding principles, 

as they were in the beginning: In the 1940s, 

when founders Edmond and Deborah Szekely brought their vision for a 'health camp' to Baja California.

La Cocina - Photos courtesy, Rancho La Puerta

For now, I'm dreaming. 

Imagining the clear, brisk air surrounding Mount Kuchumaa, the peak spanning the Tecate border,

connecting the U.S. to Mexico while overlooking the 3,000-acre valley setting of Rancho La Puerta.

The Rancho - basking in the mountain's splendor.

A recent video narrated by Deborah Szekely chronicles Rancho La Puerta's development over 7 decades. 

A place where Aldous Huxley and like-minded notables were drawn to the writings and philosophy 

of the late Edmond Szekely. 

Look for the Video icon when clicking on the link below, to hear Deborah reveal the remarkable history of:

Rancho La Puerta