Most of the property is covered with a variety of trees, shading benches, and unpaved walkways to provide a pleasant respite from the summer sun. It’s not uncommon seasonally to be buzzed by a Broad-tailed or Black-chinned Hummingbird while you’re walking the garden paths. A large gazebo is located on the more open south side. That area is an excellent viewing point for the copse of mature evergreens southeast of the gardens; be alert for raptors that may perch there. At the west end of the gardens is a small pond, with water about a foot deep, often worth checking out.

The 2-acre Landscape Demonstration Garden is part of the Fabian Garcia Science Center. That larger facility includes, among other facilities, a vineyard abutting the north side of the gardens and an onion breeding plot on the north side of NM-101 (also called West University Avenue) opposite the entrance to the gardens. As you travel west on NM-101, that entrance is your first left after crossing under I-10. There is a small (4-vehicle) parking area just inside the entrance. The gardens are open daily from sunrise to sunset.

The main campus of New Mexico State University occupies a core of 900 acres in the city of Las Cruces. It is located adjacent to I-25, surrounded by desert landscapes and greenhouses. The main campus is also bordered by I-10, which is the main east-west interstate highway across the southern part of the United States. To the east of I-25, the campus facilities consist of the President’s residence, NMSU Golf Course, the “A” Mountain west slope, and the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. South of University Avenue is Pan American Plaza, 48 acres of a horse farm, and the Fabian Garcia Science center, which houses the Chile Pepper Institute’s research, teaching and demonstration garden, algal biofuels research equipment, grape vineyards and gazebos, and fields and greenhouses for plant research projects. About six miles south of campus, on 203 acres of land, is the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center.

The Las Cruces campus is home to a nesting population of Swainson’s hawks, a raptor species currently protected by federal law. In defense of their nest, the hawks are often mistaken for attacking pedestrians. Pedestrians are advised to be careful when walking on Stewart Street, as signs have been posted all across. Umbrellas are also being provided to students for their convenience, as well as protection from the aggressive nesting hawks.

The first master plan of the university was to create a “Horseshoe”, a U-shaped drive, in an open large lawn. At the center was Old Main, the original campus building, originally known as McFie Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1910 (the remains are now a college landmark). The cornerstone and remains of Mcfie Hall stand near the flagpole in the middle of the Horseshoe. Today, the Horseshoe is the center of campus and is the location of the main administration building, Hadley Hall, which sits at the top of the Horseshoe, and other classroom buildings.