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!"

California Wine Country

Quixote Winery Reprise

Wine Country is on my mind at this time of year, as beautiful October days in Northern California often coincide with the grape harvest. After touring various Sonoma County winery gardens this week, I now look toward Napa Valley.

Quixote Golden Entry Glazed Pillars Photo © Alice Joyce

This brings to mind the amazing architecture and beautiful setting of Quixote Winery in Napa’s Stags Leap district AVA, which is 5 miles north of the town of

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Garden Travel

A Thomas Church Garden: Fay Park

Fay Park Latticework © Alice Joyce

To find Fay Park — formerly a residential garden which was designed by Thomas Church in 1957 — walk down toward North Beach, just beyond the city’s ‘crooked’ landmark street, where Lombard twists & turns to the delight of photo-snapping tourists. Fay Park is tucked away at Leavenworth and Chestnut Streets, adjacent to the spacious Edwardian home on the corner: The house and garden bequeathed by Mary Fay Berrigan to the City of San Francisco. Fay Park is the only residential garden designed by Church, a renowned American landscape architect, that is now open to the public: 10AM to 4PM Daily.

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Garden Travel

The Wave Garden

Wave Garden Sculpture Concrete Detail  Photo © Alice Joyce

Vistas of San Francisco Bay, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County enhance the flowing hardscape and knockout plantings of the Wave Garden, an off-the-beaten-path San Francisco destination: The Wave Garden is located in the East Bay, at 615 Western Drive, Point Richmond, California. The terra-cotta hue of Victor Amador’s concrete hardscape is abetted by the richly creative Mediterranean, drought-tolerant plant palette by garden designer Kellee Adams.

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