Intoxicating Lavender Fields .. Matanzas Creek Winery

The lavender and estate gardens at Matanzas Creek Winery are situated amid hilly terrain in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley. Washed over in luminous hues, the setting combines an elegant naturalism and robust verdure, where majestic native oaks tower over extravagant plantings.

Dragonfly (ALICE JOYCE photo)

It’s difficult not to be swept away by the heady perfume of lavender that greets you during a June visit.  Some 4,500 plants grow on staggered terraces, the cultivated varieties ‘Grosso’ and ‘Provence.’ The distinctive hues and textures create diagonal patterns, leading you on a gradual ascent up the steps of a central path toward the winery’s main building.

Matanzas Creek Winery (Alice Joyce photo)

Drifts of swaying grasses like the tall purple moor grass, which produces blooming spikes from June through December, soften the hillsides and walkways, alike.

Grass featherheads (Alice Joyce photo)

Masses of perennials thrive under Sonoma’s bright skies, in a design first conceived by landscape designer Gary Ratway (Digging Dog Nursery):  Gary is acknowledged for his contributions to the restoration of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.

Lavender field Vista (Alice Joyce photo)

In addition to compositions of ornamental grasses and pungent herbs, the gardens feature selections of ornamental vines, shrubs and unusual trees:  Parrotia persica boasts medleys of amethyst & lemon-lime leaves in spring, shifting to shimmering golds and reds in the fall.

Fountain Sculpture Matanzas Creek Winery (Alice Joyce photo)

Eloquently described in the winery’s garden tour booklet, the governing philosophy at Matanzas Creek is one of “designing to reduce design.” It’s readily apparent throughout the grounds, but perhaps the most striking examples are boulders weighing 21,000 pounds. Set in place near a stairway, these massive forms look as if they have been there forever.   Matanzas Creek Estate & Lavender Gardens

Matanzas Creek Winery (Alice Joyce photo)

Dry Stream Bed (Alice Joyce photo)

June 21st, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: San Francisco, Wine Country | 4 comments - (Comments are closed)

Patrick Blanc - Vertical Gardens

Patrick Blanc – A Vertical Garden for San Francisco’s Drew School

These photos were taken at a reception last year to celebrate Drew School’s New Roots Project.Construction is underway on the building in San Francisco, which will comprise the high school’s new assembly wing, performing arts space, and classrooms. Renowned creator of vertical gardens – an artist and scientist – Blanc presented a fascinating talk about where he finds inspiration, and how he creates indoor and outdoor living walls, showing completed projects world-wide from Quai Branly in Paris to the Siam Paragon shopping center in Bangkok.

Patrick Blanc   (Alice Joyce photo)

Patrick Blanc (Alice Joyce photo)

I’m looking forward to documenting the installation this summer, when Blanc will be creating a 1,700 square foot vertical garden as part of the new Drew School building’s 30% living surface area:                   To include a green roof created by Rana Creek – known for the popular roof atop the California Academy of Sciences roof. The Drew addition aims for LEED-Gold certification when completed.

Check back for updates….

Pictured below: A mur vegetal Blanc created in Madrid at the Caixa Forum Museum.

Living Wall - Caixa Forum Museum - Photo courtesy Patrick Blanc

Patrick Blanc

May 5th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Green Roofs/Vertical Gardens | 3 comments - (Comments are closed)

Native Plants at The San Francisco Botanical Garden

Saxon Holt Photo: Native Garden SFBG

Take note: although there are always plantings to savor at the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park, Springtime is especially alluring, when California’s wildflowers put on a breathtaking show in the Native Plant Garden section. Word has it that this year will be outstanding, quite possibly the best year in a decade to see the colorful contrast between irises and poppies, rhododendrons and lupines.

Point of fact: California has more native plants than all the other states combined. We can all enjoy their beauty, while gardeners look to native species for their drought-tolerant character; a benefit to pollinators and beneficial insects.

Visit the web site for information on guided tours of the garden. Tours leave from the Friend Gate at the north entrance.

San Francisco Botanical Garden

March 22nd, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: Botanical Gardens | 2 comments - (Comments are closed)
 
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