“Garden of Contrasts” by James van Sweden, Oehme van Sweden and Associates, Washington, DC

Situated along the main gateway between Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley, The Gardens at Cornerstone Sonoma are a series of walk-through garden vignettes showcasing new and innovative designs from the world’s finest landscape architects and designers. When commissioned, these artists were given the freedom to create anything from traditional gardens to modern, conceptual installations. According to 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die, Cornerstone has twenty installations by some of the world’s most well-respected garden designers and  landscape architects. Some of the gardens are in place for only a season, others for longer. This combination provides Cornerstone with a sense of permanency while constantly providing opportunities  for garden designers and gardeners.

I visited in January when the gardens were not at their best, but I still saw some wonderful installations. Founded in 2004 by Chris Hougie, and modeled after the Chaumont Garden Festival, this complex offers many ideas to the home gardener. If I lived nearby I would go every season.

www.cornerstonegardens.com

For Oehme van Sweden Associates go to www.ovsla.com, and the Chaumont Garden Festival (in French) go to www.domaine-chaumont.fr/index.php

On the Web:

Note: my last post, Home groan tomatoes, listed tomato events for the next 4 weeks!

Thursday, March 17: Book signing for  From Seed to Skillet by Jimmy Williams and Susan Heeger, Potted Store on Los Feliz in Atwater Village: (323) 665‑3801, www.pottedstore.com

Saturday, March 19:

• Free lecture at the Los Angeles Arboretum sponsored by the Arboretum and the Theodore Payne Foundation: The Amazing Life of Bees, Wasps and Ants with entomologist Eric Grissell, 6:30, free/www.theodorepayne.org, www.arboretum.org
• Saturday and Sunday: Cherry Blossom Festival at Descanso Gardens, free with admission, www.descanso.org

]]> http://www.socalnurseryplants.com/nursery-information/cornerstone-gardens/feed/ 0 http://www.socalnurseryplants.com/garden-travel/1001-gardens/ http://www.socalnurseryplants.com/garden-travel/1001-gardens/#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:27:33 +0000 susan http://socalnurseryplants.com/?p=2177

1001 Gardens is a book to die for!

.….YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE. That’s the title of a book edited by Rae Spencer-Jones that I had to have when I spotted it at the Huntington Gardens gift shop (www.Huntington.org/). Weighing in at about 2 pounds and with 960 photos and 800+ photos, this is not a take-along book. It really is intended for armchair traveling (to actually visit a listed garden you will evidently need to do some digging on hours, directions, etc.) I like it because there may be a garden not far afield to visit that the reader is not aware of. The format lists designers, owners, garden style, size, climate, location and a brief description. Listings are eclectic, on every continent, with a heavy concentration on the British Isles.

1001 GARDENS YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE, Published in January 2007 by Barron’s Educational Series Inc.