John Greenlee - A Mediterranean Meadow

A Garden Installation at Cornerstone Sonoma

John Greenlee's Mediterranean Meadow (Alice Joyce photo)

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.

Mediterranean Meadow by John Greenlee (Alice Joyce photo)

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.

Greenlee's design takes its cue from the prairies that once blanketed the Sonoma landscape.

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,” as Greenlee states in his new book, The American Meadow Garden. Other choice grasses used in the meadow: Dark green Carex divulsa, ”one of the best groundcover grases for meadows.” Pennisetum ’Fairy Tails’  & P. ‘Tall Tails.’ Boer’s Love Grass – the grass with glaucous blue fine-textured foliage.

Cornerstone Sonoma

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

Cornerstone arbor - Rosa 'Sombreuil' (Alice Joyce photo)

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