Traditional Home Magazine has chosen top designers from the Wine Country and beyond to transform an old guest house at the historic Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena into a surprisingly sleek and ultramodern interior showcase.
The Napa Valley Showhouse, open through Nov. 17, is a window into how the now classic modernist design of the mid-20th century has matured into the 21st century, with eclectic mixes of contemporary and antique elements, machine-made and natural surfaces, retro and up-to-the-minute trends.
Among the 10 design firms tapped to bedazzle visitors with fresh ideas, fabulous product finds and the latest design ideas is Jacques St. Dizier, the Louisiana-born designer with headquarters on the Healdsburg Plaza.
The showcase will be open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed the afternoon of Nov. 8 and all day Nov. 10. The $40 admission includes wine tasting. Advance registration is recommended.
The winery, which has just undergone a major renovation of the original 1872 Redwood Cellar by renowned Napa Valley architect Howard Backen, is located at 2800 Main St./St. Helena Highway 29. For information, visit traditionalhome.com/napashowhouse or charleskrug.com.
ROHNERT PARK: Pearson to discuss sustainability
It’s a word that is thrown around a lot, but just what defines “sustainability”?
Master Gardener Kim Pearson will discuss the concept, and why it’s important for the future to employ sustainable practices in our own gardens right now, during a free talk Oct. 26 at the Rohnert Park-Cotati Library. Using the example of a small garden, she will suggest projects that could transform a typical yard into a more environmentally friendly space that is both beautiful and enjoyable. 6250 Lynn Conde Way, Rohnert Park. For information, visit ucanr.edu.
KENWOOD: Free autumn walk at Wildwood Nursery
Sara Monte, the owner of Wildwood Nursery in Kenwood, will lead a search for gold in her own garden at 2 p.m. Oct. 26. The free autumn walk through the nursery’s garden will focus on trees whose foliage provides rich golden tones in the fall. 10300 Sonoma Highway., Kenwood. For information, call 833-1161.
SONOMA: Olive expert Landis offers free tips
Make the best of your olive harvest, whether you have one tree or an orchard, using tips from Don Landis, the olive man.
Landis will give a comprehensive talk Oct. 27, beginning with the history of the olive and focusing on ways to debitter this winter fruit, making it edible without using lye. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free, but RSVP required; call 940-4025. Held at Cline Cellars, 24737 Arnold Drive, Sonoma.
SANTA ROSA: Garden Club selling ‘Christmas Rose’
Tired of decorating with the same pedestrian poinsettias for Christmas? The Santa Rosa Garden Club is selling two awesome alternatives for holiday decor or gift-giving.
As a fundraiser, the club is selling a “Christmas Rose” hellebore with snow-white petals and bright yellow centers on flowers that pertly look up, rather than drooping down like most hellebores. A Christmas Rose can jazz up your late-winter garden after you have enjoyed its beauty indoors. It is drought-tolerant and likes shade with morning sun.
The club is also featuring the Shooting Star hydrangea, with brilliant white multi-petaled stars that shoot out like fireworks. It’s the longest-lasting of the lace cap hydrangeas and thrives both indoors and outdoors.
Cost for either plant is $21. Proceeds benefit the club’s scholarship program for horticulture students at Santa Rosa Junior College. Deadline to order is Oct. 31, with plants available for delivery on Nov. 22 in Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Marin. They can also be picked up between noon and 3 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Luther Burbank Art Garden Center in Santa Rosa.
Checks can be made payable to Santa Rosa Garden Club and sent c/o Sharon Whitten, 8001 River Road, Forestville, 95436. For information, call 537-6885 or email gardenclubevents@yahoo.com.
SANTA ROSA: Hands-on workshop on propagating plants
Garden designer Gail Fanning will demonstrate how to propagate plants during a hands-on workshop Oct. 19 at the Harvest for the Hungry Garden in Santa Rosa.
Fanning will show how to create new plants from perennials and shrubs such as rosemary and roses, using soft wood cuttings. The free workshop will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 1717 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa. For information, call 484-3613.
SANTA ROSA: Bargains on plants at Willowside School
Willowside School’s nursery offers good bargains on a wide selection of plants suitable for fall planting.
The student nursery will hold its next Saturday sale Oct. 19, featuring perennials, roses, grasses, trees, succulents and more, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 5299 Hall Road (corner of Hall and Willowside Road) in Santa Rosa. For information, call 569-4724.
HEALDSBURG: End-of-season fest at Russian River Rose
The Russian River Rose Company celebrates the end of the season Oct. 19 and 20 with a Russian Tea Fragrance Festival inspired by the region’s early Russian settlers and the Russian heritage of owner Mike Tolmasoff.
The festivities include live folk, Slavic and gypsy music, tea leaf readings, rose tea samplings, rosewater-infused nibbles by Chef Jake Martin of Restaurant Charcuterie of Healdsburg, and cups of Russian “Sweee-touch-nee Tea” prepared in antique Russian samovars. Visitors are invited to stroll the gardens, still colorful with late blooming roses.
Cost is $5. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1685 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg. Information: 433-7455 or russian-river-rose.com.
You can direct Home and Garden news to Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204.
