Napa / Sonoma ~ Wine Country Sojourn
The renowned lavender fields of the Matanzas Creek Winery burst into bloom in June, filling the air a beguiling fragrance. Some 4,500 plants grow on staggered terraces: ‘Grosso’ and ‘Provence’ varieties.
Visit any time of year and enjoy the winery’s Estate Gardens, exhibiting an elegant naturalism and robust verdure. Majestic native oaks tower over extravagant ornamental grasses planted with choice arrays of shrubs and trees, roses and perennials.
The Chateau St. Jean landscape is a portal to a Mediterranean garden, boasting a plan originally conceived by The Olin Partnership. The formal layout draws inspiration from the winery’s Mediterranean-style villa, built in the 1920s. Experiencing this landscape of graceful proportions and symmetry is akin to taking a stroll in a traditional garden in Italy perhaps, or the south of France.
Native plantings enliven the contemporary courtyard setting of
The Hess Collection Winery & Art Museum
Hess Collection Winery Walker Designed Landscape © Alice Joyce
….in a garden designed by landscape architect Peter Walker, with plantings by John Greenlee, noted expert in grass ecology. Here, plantings encourage beneficial insects, taking in species of common yarrow, Western columbine, bush anemone, creeping ceanothus and blue beach aster. Add further color are Mimulus ‘Pumpkin,’ Purdy’s Foothill penstemon, Salvia cleavlandii and S. Spathacea – consorting with yellow-eyed grass & brilliant Zauschneria californica or California fuchsia.
The gardenscape of Darioush Winerysurrounds a 22,000 square foot winery building. Designed by Nozari & Nojari Architects of Santa Monica, with a landscape design by Sabrina Tanner of Proscape, the setting celebrates Persian culture in myriad references to ancient Persepolis.
Tunisian oil jars over 100 years old nestle among richly scented roses. The jars’ assertive forms are a focal point in the planting beds at the front of the main building. Inside the visitor center, a cascading water feature takes center stage near the wine tasting area.
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