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.
Chateau St Jean Statuary © Alice Joyce
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.
Chateau St Jean Formal Parterres © Alice Joyce
Chateau St Jean © Alice Joyce
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.
Darioush Pool & Border © Alice Joyce
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.
I LOVE your new site, Alice! And this is a topic near and dear to my heart….winery gardens! (Sabrina Tanner is one of my very favorite designers, too. The other being her husband Freeland!!).
Thank you, Rebecca! Stay tuned… still lots of work to do on the site.
Alice,
I’m enjoying the new format.
Classy and informative.
Looking forward to visiting you often.
michelle
Love the new website! Does this mean you’re not using the old one anymore?
Hey Wendy, At this point it looks like Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel will remain up and running along with this new site. But will keep you posted;~D
Congratulations on your new web site! It looks great! I would love to see the lavender fields at Matanzas Creek Winery. I can imagine the heavenly smell. All of these wineries are lovely.
Your posts and photos are always beautiful and informative, so i will always be a follower, and put you in my constant links.
Alice – the new website is so good and so is the title – very appropriate indeed.