Thank you .. ‘Dirt du Jour’

for the glowing review! "Go ask Alice ... where all the best vineyard gardens are. She's an erudite charmer; you'll have fun!"
Garden Touring

John Greenlee - A Mediterranean Meadow

A Garden Installation at Cornerstone Sonoma

Greenlee meadow Cornerstone © Alice Joyce

Gentle paths wind through John Greenlee’s The Mediterranean Meadow garden at Cornerstone Sonoma / Greenlee’s meadow design takes its cue from the prairies that once blanketed the Sonoma landscape.

Greenlee Meadow Detail  © Alice Joyce

Shifting with the changing seasons and the sky above, the garden’s naturalistic style exhibits an atmosphere colored by the weather or time of day: Its contours subdued on an overcast morning; aglow in the setting sun; or brillantly basking in the sapphire haze of a summer afternoon.

Meadow grasses & sedges Cornerstone  © Alice Joyce

Greenlee’s plant selections were chosen to fit the Cornerstone site’s heavy soils, hot summers, and windy conditions; taking into account that the garden is sited on a septic mound. Used on walkways: Carex pansa “makes a fine natural lawn,”

Other choice grasses used in the meadow: Dark green Carex divulsa, “one of the best groundcover grases for meadows.” Pennisetum ‘Fairy Tails’  and P. ‘Tall Tails.’ Boer’s Love Grass – the grass with glaucous blue fine-textured foliage.

Garden Installations & Shops, Cafe & Wine Tasting at Cornerstone

Cornerstone Sonoma

Cornerstone Sonoma – a wine country destination features garden installations and wine tasting and a bevy of shops filled with art and ornaments for home & garden.

Cornerstone Arbor Rosa Sombreuil © Alice Joyce

Arbor draped in the fragrant blooms of Rosa ‘Sombreuil’ – Vignette: Cornerstone Sonoma Event Space designed by Ron Lutsko, Lutsko Associates.

5 comments - (Comments are closed)   Garden Touring, Horticulture   , , ,  
California Wine Country

Bardessono - Beguiling on a Winter Day

Bardessono Magnolias © Alice Joyce

Bardessono: Napa Wine Country: A grey, rainy winter day in Northern California gives way to the staff’s friendly welcome, and the warmth emanating from fireplaces in the hotel’s comfortable lounge areas.

Hestekind Sculpture Olive Courtyard © Alice Joyce

Architecture designed by Ron Mitchell (WATG), art in stone by Richard Hestekind, and an evocative landscape crafted by Bertotti Landscaping unite harmoniously at Bardessono, the first California hotel and spa to be given LEED Platinum certification.

Bardessono Magnolia bloom © Alice Joyce

Magnolia Courtyard / Bertotti Landscaping – Outdoors, the glowing blooms of magnolias abet the brilliantly executed landscape, and the modernity of the hotel’s environmentally conscious design. In constructing the main buildings and guest room clusters, a tactile combination of materials and plantings softens the sleek angles.

Recycled and organic materials (in general, locally sourced) are used throughout the property, including wood from salvaged trees and organic fabrics.

Yuba river blue boulders articulate a planting bed within one cluster where magnolias are a late-February highlight. The sinuous sweeping curves of stone paving play off the linear footbridge, especially emphatic when viewed from the second level.

7 comments - (Comments are closed)   California Wine Country, Foodie Havens, Hotels & Inns   , , ,  
California Wine Country

Artesa Winery - Carneros .. Napa Valley

Vineyard Vista 

February in Northern California Wine Country  .. Artesa Winery

I didn’t fully appreciate the beauty of the mustard bloom until I’d been living in the Bay Area for a while. Now, as winter draws to a close, signs of spring appear in alleyways and along side streets where wild plantings of flowering quince emerge along with cherry and plum trees planted by birds or perhaps by the wind.

The Carneros region is one of my favorite areas in Northern California Wine Country. The vineyards are glorious on a winter day, as all roads seem to be aglow with the bright yellow mustard flowers.

Artesa Winery

Architecturally intriguing Artesa Winery is a perfect spot to raise a glass. Situated atop a knoll, it’s a low, broad structure built into the hillside; a masterpiece of design with smoky quartz windows, and a slanted grass-blanketed facade planted with native grasses. Approached via a stairway flanked by fountains, reflecting pool and narrow channel, the music of moving water is ever-present as you take in the stunning views. The interior – cool and contemporary – features a central courtyard and sculpture exhibition.

I opt for the terrace to enjoy a perfect, albeit, brief afternoon get-away. There is a connection between Artesa and Spain, which I’ve written about on Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel.  Artesa began as Cordoniu Napa in 1991, in association with Spain’s Cordoniu wine cellars – founded in the mid-16th century. Thus the sparkling – methode champenoise – wine I love so much. Recently Artesa has been crafting fine Pinot Noir, Merlot & Chardonnay. Next time you’re in wine country, seek out this special place, tucked away off Dealy Lane on Henry Road.

Aretesa Winery Sculpture by Gordon Huether © Alice Joyce

9 comments - (Comments are closed)   California Wine Country, Wine Tasting   , , ,  
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