Artists' Gardens - Frida Kahlo and Casa Azul

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Self Portrait - The Frame 1938 Frida Kahlo

“I paint flowers so they will not die.”
– Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo’s short life (1907 - 1954) was filled with color. Casa Azul, her home from childhood, remains a legacy to her love of flowers and brilliant color. Today, sixty-seven years after her death, the gardens and home are a museum open to the public. (Be sure to check the Casa Azul website for Covid-19 restrictions.) The garden is maintained as closely as possible to the inspiration that first created it, with plants that were used in Kahlo’s art and in her life, some still flourishing from when she lived there.

In 1929, Kahlo’s father, Guillermo, transferred ownership of the home where Frida was born and had grown up, to Frida and husband, Diego Rivera. They transformed the home and gardens to celebrate indigenous Mexican culture, removing non-native plants and European influences.

Flora and fauna surrounded Kahlo. She wore flowers from her Casa Azul garden…