As we celebrate our fourth year of gifting butterfly & hummingbird garden seeds to the community, I’d like to share my recent visit to the home and garden of my collaborator on this project, Karin Campion Mattoon, as well as my own home in Sonoma.
Karin & I dreamed up this idea in the middle of the pandemic when spirits were low, and business was slow. We harnessed our resources and engaged the mentors and mentees at the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance to help with this meaningful project. Our focus remains beauty, life, joy, and the importance of collaboration for the pollinators on our planet.
Today, we are grateful to the many local business’s who have joined us in sharing these gifts with their clients and friends. We are part of a greater movement to support butterflies and hummingbirds. I understand that the Monarch butterfly count has increased substantially across the nation.
Planting new seeds in 2024, surrounded by the flowers from 2021 planting.
Art of Leisure Butterfly & Hummingbird Seed Gift Businesses • 2024
Sign of The Bear
Café Mac
Summer Vine
Prohibition Spirits Distillery
Sonoma Country Antiques
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
MacArthur Place Hotel
Refill Madness
Caddis Winery
Baker & Cook
Off Broadway Cleaners
Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau
Woof
Sonoma Valley Certified Farmers Market
Plain Jane’s
Oak Hill Farm
Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance
Edward Jones, Lindsey Stone Sonoma Syrup Co. Scott Nichols Gallery Readers Books Eraldi’s Men’s Wear & Shoes The Loop Sonoma Potter Green & Company Vintage House Chateau Sonoma Half-Pint Tiddle E. Winks Artefact Design & Salvage Wine Country Garden Center Sonoma Mission Gardens Jak-W Valley Swim Club Williams-Sonoma, Sonoma The Sonoma School of Martial Arts
Cafe La Haye
The Olive Press
Cline Cellars
This year, for a limited time, locally owned Sonoma Mission Gardens is offering a sample of an organic product to help the seeds to start their growth, and Wine Country Garden Center is offering a sample of an organic product to support healthy flower growth. These complimentary samples will be available after April 16th; visit each nursery to pick up your sample and to inquire about additional tips for planting success.
Porches are so valuable in a home where you may enjoy the day or evening surrounded by gardens endlessly changing activity and beauty.Entering the home, we see a dining table waiting to display vases filled with colorful cuttings from the garden.
Art of Leisure & Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
A lovely setting with abundant flowers at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, awaiting guests and the Spring Garden workshop.
In addition to the businesses participating in the seed giveaway, we are honored to collaborate with historic Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa as they celebrate Earth Day on April 19th with a Spring Garden workshop, creating sustainable hummingbird and butterfly gardens using our curated seed packets and garden pots. Gathered on the South Lawn at Fairmont Sonoma, you will learn more about these beautiful creatures and the importance of flowers as a food source for pollinators. Enjoy delicious tea featuring Sonoma Syrup Co. and made with nature’s freshest herbs while you assemble your own personal garden.
Saturday, April 19th, 3: pm, $35 per person (one garden box per family of 4). You may view the program and purchase a ticket at their website here.
Bring Beauty to Your Home this Spring with a Butterfly & Hummingbird Flower Garden
As we welcome Spring this beautiful year of 2023, I’d like to share with you a community outreach butterfly & hummingbird seed distribution program created just in time for Spring planting and the celebration of Earth Day.
Gardens are an important part of a home here in the Sonoma Valley and beyond. My friends and I invite you to enliven yours with a gift of seeds to create beauty and abundance around you. These high quality seeds have been specially curated to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Both butterflies and these tiny, lovely birds are treasured contributors to our larger ecosystem. Whether in a personal garden or expansive field, they bring inspiring charm and joy into our lives.
The seed gift packets will be gifted to the community during the week before Earth Day 2023 at the local businesses listed below, located throughout Sonoma County. It is our hope that recipients will plant these seeds in their pollinator gardens in the spirit of celebration for Spring and our Mother Earth. Each gift will contain a mix of seeds ready for planting that will bloom into glorious flowers. These seeds are appropriate for a wide number of garden zones across the United States.
Included with the seed packets will be an information sheet with complete list of the flower varieties and simple planting guidelines.
Gifts will be dropped off at Sonoma businesses on April 20th. The community can stop by one of the following participating locations to pick up a Butterfly & Hummingbird seed packet from the 20th through the 29th of April.
Art of Leisure, Brenda McNeill, Coldwell Banker Brokers of The Valley
Scott Nichols Gallery
Readers Books
Eraldi’s Mens Wear & Shoes
The Loop
Potter Green & Company
Vintage House
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
Chateau Sonoma
Bartholomew Estate Winery
Half-Pint
Tiddle E. Winks
Artefact Design & Salvage
Wine Country Gardens
Café La Haye
Art of Leisure & Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
A lovely setting with abundant flowers at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, awaiting guests and the Spring Garden workshop.
In addition to the businesses participating in the seed giveaway, we are honored to collaborate with historic Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa as they celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd with a Spring Garden workshop, creating sustainable hummingbird and butterfly gardens using our curated seed packets and recycled wine boxes.
Learn more about these elegant creatures and the importance of flowers as a food source for pollinators. Enjoy delicious hot tea made with fresh herbs while you assemble your own personal garden, and linger afterwards for live music and elevated street food from CaliForno, Fairmont Sonoma’s signature food truck. Tickets include all of the materials needed to craft your unique garden box. If you are unable to take a box home with you, a seed packet will be provided for you to plant your own garden at home.
Saturday, April 22nd, 3:30pm – 5:00pm, $35 per person. You may view the program and purchase a ticket at their website here.
Mentor and mentee work together to create seed gifts for the community.
Wherever you call home, it is my hope that you may find time to plant lots of flowers this Spring.
And, whether you are renovating a home or relaxing with a hobby, that you may enjoy the Art of Leisure. Wishing you a beautiful Spring. If you would like more information on this project, please feel free to give me a call.
Happy Spring! As we begin this season of growth, I’d like to share a few ideas for a leisure weekend of rejuvenation and restorative wellness. In Sonoma and Napa Valleys, the abundance of rain this year has brought what we hope to be healthy vines as they emerge from their winters rest. Thus, this is a perfect time to step out and enjoy something new and special before the full excitement of this season is upon us.
The idea of rejuvenation and wellness is inspiring because it evokes renewal, an abundance of energy, and a sense of optimism. To experience this feeling, here are a few places that offer various forms of personal tranquility and serenity. From the visual to the experiential, these places and rituals allow the true feeling of rejuvenation to bubble to the surface naturally. From the simplest idea of a few drops of eucalyptus oil on a steaming washcloth in the morning, to visiting a spa-golf hospitality venue, or just maybe, up-close gazing at stars and planets at the most advanced observatory in the West . Whether inside or outdoors, a focus on rejuvenation and wellness is an element of the leisure lifestyle any day of the year. As always, I wish you many moments of ease and joy as you experience the Art of Leisure.
Beauty and Tranquility as expressed by International artist/photographers today: Available at Scott Nichols Gallery, Sonoma Square. www.scottnicholsgallery.com
Regarding real estate, we are in a time of many questions and uncertainty. If you would like to know the facts, historical data, and trends that we are seeing for 2023, contact me for a Market Update that will help define today’s reality. Here are a few highlights as we peer into the future:
In the luxury market, we are seeing a trend toward more conscious spending with a movement towards minimalist luxury. The trifecta of location, home condition, and amenities are the primary decision making priorities.
Move-in-ready homes are highly sought after today. In some cases, homes are sold fully furnished, including linens and cutlery.
Overall, the mindset in real estate is evolving, as properties are taking longer to sell and buyers are in a less competitive environment. Every market is unique.
Recently, I visited a site in Healdsburg with new construction containing many of the elements of an Art of Leisure Home.
The property is the Mill District, and although quite different from a home in the country with land or in town, it does offer many desirable amenities to clients.
The interiors have clean lines, minimalist decor, and include some furnishings, including appliances and window coverings. This is a very move-in-ready property that is located close to the Healdsburg Plaza for entertainment and casual to gourmet dining.
I wanted to share this property with you as it is an example of the trend location, home condition, and amenities as we look towards the future.
It is my hope that you will enjoy a beautiful spring, and as always, please contact me anytime with questions or thoughts about the leisure lifestyle or the market which is adjusting quickly today.
As someone who has been circling around homes and land for over 30 years here in wine country, I wanted to share with you some thoughts about the positive effects of good design and most importantly, some recurring principles & notable patterns that I have found in the successful homes that I encounter. These common themes are a part of the idea of living well that is especially important today.
As we move through the second quarter of the year and in the coming months, I will expand upon my concept that an Art of Leisure home or property has the ability to support and transform your life.
The nucleus of my interest in this idea began with visits to my grandparents’ summer home on a lake in the north woods of Wisconsin. This was leisure living with elegance and ease. Years later, when I departed the high-tech industry in San Francisco and started a hospitality business in the hills above Sonoma Valley in the late 1980’s, my perspective was expanded. After selling large scale computer systems to State of California government agencies, the idea of creating a “leisure lifestyle oasis” in wine country was welcoming. The ensuing, successful business led me to help clients create a beautiful environment for themselves, family + friends. It also developed into a service that assisted wineries with guest homes for their brand.
Fast forward to today: As I guide clients in evaluating or marketing beautiful homes and properties, I have come to focus consistently on the aspects of a property that have the ability to not only shelter, but to lift the spirits + support those who call it home as well. The following six principles are certainly not new, yet they are worthy of focus today when considering the Art of Leisure in a home:
Location
Light
Space
Nature
Materials
Decoration
To begin, as I recently completed the Earth Day celebration here in Sonoma and Napa Valley, I share with you an expansion on the idea of the importance of nature. Supporting, conserving, and including the natural world in our lives is a valued topic in the Sonoma and Napa Valley vineyards and home worlds. One example was my gift of 400+ Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden Seed gifts to the community with the help of over 35 shops and other businesses in Sonoma. The story was beautifully presented in an article written by Jason Walsh for the Sonoma Index Tribune newspaper.
So, to continue this important conversation about the natural world, it was well said by this noted architect many years ago ~
‘Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.’ Frank Lloyd Wright
In the case of a home, the idea is to create an outdoor environment that will enhance and increase the joy of the indoor space as well as the continual feeling of well being. Today, indoor and outdoor organic environments mesh more than ever. It begins with the view, and continues with healthy plants, beautiful flowers outside and in, nutritious vegetables for the table, space to relax and experience nature, and simple access to a place where you may wander. Some version of this is something to look for when purchasing a new home, or to create over some version of this in most any home.
Nature – a few questions to consider when choosing a home and deciding if the property has the connection to nature which you want:
What is the view from the interior and exterior or does it have deep window ledges for plants?
What do you hear at this property? Is it bees buzzing, leaves rustling or birds?
What is the tree canopy?
What are the natural elements inside the built space?
Is it located within walking or biking distance to destinations you will frequently visit?
These homes contain examples of the appreciation of nature here in Sonoma and Napa Valley.
This lovely home is near the town of Sonoma and brings nature inside with the view of vineyards, hills, and an expansion of refreshing blue sky, You may see this online at 969 Country Club Lane, Sonoma.
A bedroom with added decorative color, texture and pattern to bring the organic environment into the space.
These bright-colored flower and vegetable planters have been known to have a positive effect on the mind and body with their uplifting color and nutrition.
This is an example of bringing a small amount of nature inside. The few clippings next to the sink plus the painting add a visual reminder of nature to the feel of this kitchen area at the Shoppe Amber Interiors.
Here we see how a few simple pots of herbs added to a bookcase can bring the natural world into most any room.
Including nature in the design of your home or property many times involves creating space for your personal passions. Here we see horse paddocks that offer the owner the ability to have animals and pets nurtured nearby. You may view this online at 973-977 Country Club Lane, Sonoma.
A grove of older oak trees on the side yard of this property which is next to vineyards.
At this property, the owner has fully opened the barn-style rolling door inviting the oak trees into the room.
A well appointed sitting area with an inviting spot to relax near the window of this home on Country Club Lane in Sonoma.
An additional comment on nature is well said by author Leonard Koren in his book on Wabi – Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers.
“In the context of wabi-sabi “nature” means several things. It refers to the dimension of physical reality untouched by humans: things in their pure, original state. In this sense, nature means things of the earth like plants, animals, mountains, rivers, and the forces – sometimes benign, sometimes violent – of wind rain, fire and so on. But nature in the context of wabi-sabi also encompasses the human mind and all of its artificial or “un-natural” thoughts and creations.“
The Art of Leisure home looks to take all of these elements into consideration and bring to the person a hopefully completely satisfying experience.
Because this is important, my certification by the National Association of Realtors as a green home consultant has brought me further insight into how I may help clients and friends. I would be happy to talk with you anytime about your thoughts and any questions which you may have about nature, green materials and a healthy home.
It is April 2022 and we are celebrating Spring and Earth Day 2022. This year, the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, Sonoma Syrup Co. and I are coming together to help the community and the environment during this beautiful time of the year. We have gathered and created 350+ spring garden gifts composed of thoughtfully curated pollination-encouraging plant seeds packets so that the recipients of this free gift may plant their own gardens to attract Butterflies & Hummingbirds in the warm + sunny days ahead.
Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden Seeds; Bring Beauty to your Home this Spring with a Butterfly & Hummingbird Flower Garden
Let’s Celebrate Spring, Earth Day 2022 and Help our Pollinator Friends!
Sonoma, CA (April 2022) – Gardens are an important part of a home here in Sonoma Valley. Brenda McNeill and friends will help you join in with a gift of seeds to create beauty and abundance around you. These high quality seeds have been specially curated to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Both the butterflies and these very lovely small birds are treasured contributors to our larger ecosystem. Whether in a personal garden or expansive field, they bring inspiring beauty and joy into our lives.
The seed gift packets will be gifted (free) to local residents the week before Earth Day 2022. It is our hope that the community will plant these seeds in their pollinator gardens in a spirit of celebration for Spring and our Mother Earth. Each garden gift will contain a mix of seeds ready for planting which will bloom into beautiful flowers. In addition to the seed packets, a complete list of the flowers will be enclosed, an overall information sheet, and simple planting guidelines.
Brenda McNeill, Karin Campion and both the Sonoma Nature Club members and Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance mentors + mentees have carefully created these packages for community gifting to be picked up at local businesses. It is our hope that in addition to helping the birds and butterflies, this Spring gift will also support our local Sonoma business community.
We are grateful to the many helping hands that contributed to this garden gift.
A group of mentors and mentees in April 2022.
Created and donated to the community by Brenda McNeill, luxury real estate and leisure lifestyle specialist + founder of Sonoma Nature Journal Club, with the help of the Sonoma Mentoring Alliance mentors and mentees and the support of specialty food company Sonoma Syrup Co. As local professionals who help clients with homes, gardens, families and food, we hope that you will call upon us if we can assist you in any way. Or, visit us on Instagram: @artofleisuresonomanapa, @sonomasyrupco, @sonomavalleymentoring.
We will provide the gifts to Sonoma businesses by April 15th. The community can stop by one of the local business participants to pick up Butterfly & Hummingbird seed packets from the 15th through the 25th of April. A few are listed below.
Participating businesses include;
Shops: *Summer Vine *Half Pint *Prohibition Spirits Distillery *Sonoma Country Antiques *Chateau Sonoma *Refill Madness *Sign of The Bear *Wine Country Garden Center *Tiddle Winks *Woof *The Corner Store *Readers Books *Nomad Botanicals *Williams-Sonoma, Sonoma *Scott Nichols Gallery *Potter Green & Co.
Services: *Café Mac *Edward Jones, L.Stone *Off Broadway Cleaners *Vinny’s Shoe Repair *Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance *Art of Leisure, B McNeill *Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau
Dining: *Basque Boulangerie Café’ *Taub Family Outpost *Café La Haye *Caddis Wines *Baker & Cook *Oak Hill Farm *Sonoma Syrup Co. *Cline Cellars
Education: *Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau *Musette Atelier *Sonoma School of Martial Arts
Lodging: *Bancroft Inn of Sonoma *MacArthur Place
We are so grateful for all our pollinator helpers, from those who teach, plant + grow the garden, to the butterflies, bees, and birds that we treasure.
A Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance mentor and mentee in front of their garden, planted from the Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden Seeds gifted to the community in 2021.
A few flowers from one of the 400+ seed packages that we shared last year with the community.
Please enjoy a short video of the Wine Country Pollinator Garden above that was planted with our flower seeds: Vimeo • Youtube
A lovely caterpillar that will hopefully become a Swallowtail butterfly.
A bee box at Sonoma Garden Park with many pollinator friends who will enjoy these gardens.
A nest with a few very young hummingbirds. The picture was taken from a distance; here you see a close up.
It is almost Spring in the Wine Country, so in the spirit of something beautiful and fresh, I visited the flagship location of an iconic store and two homes that have many inspiring spaces. Sonoma was the site of the first Williams-Sonoma; here is a colorful holiday presentation that they have created this Spring.
This store is lovely both inside and outside. Located near the end of the El Camino Real, the main boulevard leading to Sonoma Plaza, it remains a hallmark of the city.
An evening view into the window.
In 1956, Chuck Williams purchased a hardware store at this spot and created a small area in the back for his now-renowned chef-quality cookware offerings.
Today, the store is displays an especially beautiful table for the Easter holidays.
As someone who has filled many Easter baskets with these sweets, I do know that they are adored by kids of all ages.
In contrast to the sweets, here is a more formal place setting from Summer Vine on Sonoma Plaza.
This very personal table setting from Chateau Sonoma speaks of the sea. Composed of linen napkins, stones, shells, glass and lovely plates on a worn wooden table, this would make an enchanting place setting for gatherings this Spring.
A block away is Sonoma Plaza, with its many shops and a lively duck pond. Nearby are two properties that embody the leisure life in Sonoma.
Both homes are located on the much coveted east side of Sonoma, and both have the very desirable proximity to Sonoma Plaza. One nestles on land near a winter creek with vineyards nearby. The other is surrounded by grape vines near to the historic Buena Vista Winery. Each property offers thoughtful and inviting spaces for enjoying the best of the wine country leisure lifestyle, with easy access to all that Sonoma Valley offers.
Just inside from the screen porch entrance is a large, open kitchen with very unique appliances in an amazing red color. The detail on the cupboards and countertops is impressive. Exceptional hardwood floors and the decor brings this house a comfortable yet elegant feel.
In keeping with the design of the home, this bedroom has time honored linens.
Many parts of this property are reminiscent of another age, yet retain fine quality today, as seen in the guest house kitchen.
Between the main house and the guest house, this relaxing pool has expansive views of mature trees and vineyards. Having just enjoyed a spring rain, this property was brought to the market and presented by Holly Bennett at Sothebys International Real Estate in Sonoma. Full details can be found here.
This welcoming screened porch overlooks the vineyard and basks in an abundance of afternoon light on a property that can trace its roots back to the beginning of the California wine industry.
Whether or not you choose to make your current home as beautiful and comfortable as these, it is my hope that you will have a beautiful Spring in the Wine Country and enjoy the holiday season. Feel free to contact me anytime if you would like to discuss more ideas or to see properties in this area.
Spring is here and Earth Day is fast approaching. Sonoma Syrup Co. & Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance have joined with me to bring over 330 Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden Seed Gifts to anyone who is visiting Sonoma Valley from April 15th through the 25th. These gifts, as seen above, will be available at the shops and wineries listed on the last post at no cost, only with the thought of helping our winged friends.
This lovely swing on a spacious wine country property’s front porch is the perfect spot to pop on a straw hat, pick up your binoculars, and enjoy the afternoon light while getting a closer look at the hummingbirds and butterflies who come to visit flowers in your garden.
We hope you’ll take a moment to read two fabulous articles recently published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that speak to the importance of butterfly & hummingbird gardens.
The butterfly and pollinator garden at Jordan Winery in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, was designed to encourage a trip around property to view the sanctuaries created for our pollinating friends. Read the wonderful overview here.
A simple, meaningful afternoon project with mentors and mentees.
It is a joy to see such happy faces and to understand that this effort is truly making a contribution to the community and our greater ecosystem.
We were inspired by our surroundings as we created with enthusiasm this gift to benefit butterflies and hummingbirds in the Sonoma Valley and beyond.
Tina Baldry, the program director at the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, spearheaded this project with Karin Campion Mattoon and myself.
We look forward to hearing from you with pictures and thoughts on how your garden grows. Enjoy a beautiful Earth Day!
Bring Beauty to your Home this Spring with a Butterfly & Hummingbird Flower Garden Let’s Celebrate Spring, Earth Day 2021 and Help our Pollinator Friends!
I want to share with you a community outreach butterfly & hummingbird flower garden seed distribution program created just in time for Spring planting.
Painting by Brenda McNeill
Gardens are an important element of homes here in Sonoma Valley. In a spirit of celebration for Spring and mother earth, Brenda McNeill and friends will help you to enhance your own with a gift of seeds to create beauty and abundance. These high quality seeds have been specially curated to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, treasured contributors to our larger ecosystem. Whether in a personal garden or expansive field, they bring inspiring beauty and joy to our lives. The garden above is my own, wisteria in full bloom, and is often visited by local pollinators.
The butterfly and hummingbird flower garden seed gift packets will be available to residents during the week before Earth Day 2021. Each packet contains a mix of seeds ready for planting and chosen to promote beautiful flowers. In addition to the seed packets, a complete list of flowers will be enclosed, as well as an overall information sheet and simple planting guidelines.
Brenda McNeill, Karin Campion, Sonoma Nature Club members and Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance mentors + mentees have lovingly created these seed packages for community gifting to be retrieved at local businesses. Our intention, in addition to helping the birds and butterflies, is that this Spring gift will serve to support our local Sonoma business community.
Explaining the idea to the wonderful members of Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, partners in this gifting program.
I love this picture of a mentor and mentee taking a closer look at a hummingbird nest I had found alongside the road recently. Nature + Science + Curiosity are a bedrock of what I hope to encourage.
We all had a wonderful afternoon of filling seed packages and chatting about butterflies, birds and bees. Here we are at Sonoma Garden Park.
As local professionals who help clients with homes, gardens, families and food, we hope that you will call upon us if we can assist you in any way. Or, visit us on Instagram: @artofleisuresonomanapa, @sonomasyrupco, @sonomavalleymentoring.
We will deliver the gifts to Sonoma businesses by April 15th. The community can visit one of these local business participants to pick up a Butterfly & Hummingbird seed packet from the 15th through the 25th of April. A few participating businesses are listed below. This list will be updated regularly until the 15th.
In and around Sonoma, the Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden Gifts can be found at:
Baker & Cook
Bartholomew Estate Vineyards And Winery*
Basque Boulangerie Café
Caddis Wines
caféMac
Candlestick Shop
Chateau Sonoma
G’s
Half Pint
Off Broadway Cleaners
Prohibition Spirits Distillery
Refill Madness
Scott Nichols Gallery
Sign of The Bear
Sonoma Country Antiques
Sonoma Mission Gardens
Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau
Summer Vine
Sweet Scoops
Taub Family Outpost
The Corner Store
Tiddle E. Winks
Vinny’s A-1 Shoe Repair
Williams-Sonoma, Sonoma Store
Wine Country Garden Center
Woof!
Gifts will be available at Bartholomew Park beginning on Earth Day, the 22nd.
Sponsors: Brenda McNeill, Luxury real estate + leisure lifestyle specialist Art of Leisure, Coldwell Banker Brokers of The Valley Karin Campion Mattoon, Home design and specialty food company Sonoma Syrup Co. Susie Gallo & Tina Baldry, Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, Family support
The Butterfly & Hummingbird Seed Mix contains seeds that will grow some version of the following flowers from Spring into Fall. Flowers reach about 3 1/2′ and create a meadow effect.
Eschscholzia californica – California Poppy (A)
Gaillardia aristata – Blanket Flower (P)
Gaillardia pulchella – Indian Blanket (A)
beris umbellate – Candytuft(A)
Liatris spicata – Blazing Star (P)
Lobularia maritima – Sweet Alyssum (A)
Lupinus perennis – Perennial Lupine (P)
Monarda citriodora – Lemon Mint (A)
Ratibida columnifera – Prairie Coneflower (P)
Rudbeckia hirta – Black-eyed Susan (P)
Salvia coccinea – Scarlet Sage (A)
Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly Milkweed (P)
Callistephus chinensis – China Aster (A)
Centaurea cyanus – Bachelor’s Button (A)
Cheiranthus allionii – Siberian Wallflower (P)
Clarkia amoena – Godetia (A)
Coreopsis lanceolata – Lanceleaf Coreopsis (P)
Coreopsis tinctoria – Plains Coreopsis (P)
Delphinium consolida – Larkspur, Rocket (A)
Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower*
An example of wild California poppies ,which grow naturally and in abundance along Valley roads and open fields.
Early Spring blooming lupine can be found in and around Sonoma Valley. Both lupine and poppies are favorite pollinator plants for bees and butterflies and are included in the seed mix.
Sonoma has a beautiful pollinator garden at Sonoma Garden Park which is carefully tended by a few dedicated volunteers.
Nearby at the Garden Park is this very active bee hive. Bees are one of our most essential pollinators. California has close to 6,000 flowering plants, and bees perform a key role in the dissemination of pollen, allowing these plants to provide much of the produce that we consume.
These white pear tree blossoms are aglow in the late afternoon light. I recommend the Picture This app which was well reviewed by a renowned gardener recently. Capture a photo of a plant or tree with the app for immediate identification.
Simple Planting Guidelines:
DAYS TO GERMINATION: 10-28 days at 65-75°F (18-24°C)
SOWING: Direct seed (recommended). Prepare a weed-free area or pot. Broadcast mixture lightly and evenly over the planting area. Gently tamp seeds into the soil to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. Plant no deeper than 1/8″. Keep the area moist to aid germination.
PLANTING SEASON: Plant in spring, early summer, or late fall. For fall sowing, wait until the soil temperature is too cool to allow seed germination (below 40ºF/4.4ºC).
LIGHT PREFERENCE: Sun.
PLANT HEIGHT: 10-48″ Plant heights vary depending on species.
SOIL REQUIREMENTS: Average, well-drained soil.
A favorite food of the monarch butterfly is milkweed, included in our Garden Seed packs.
I wish you a lovely Spring and hope that you will stop by one of these Sonoma Valley shops or the Visitors Bureau to pick up your Butterfly & Hummingbird Flower Garden Seed Gift, beginning April 15th.
Those of us who are sponsoring this community gift would love to hear how your garden grows. We are so excited to support our pollinator friends and look forward to making a contribution to the Sonoma community and our friends who own businesses in this area.
Ahhhh, eating outside under the shade of a tree, with everyone who matters around, is pure delight! The beauty of a garden filled with flowers, an abundance of food on the table (with maybe a few puppies under it), and at the end, a feeling of satisfaction which comes only from a moment in life well lived. This is true Sonoma and Napa Valley living any day of the year, but especially simple in the summer.
Of course, the beginning all this is a visit to the local farmers market on Tuesday evening or Friday morning. There we find the warmth of friends and farmers with just brought in from the field seasonal offerings of organic fruits and vegetables. Summer is the time of plenty – every market stall bursting with flowers, peaches, nectarines, tomatoes and green beans- it is tempting to grab a child’s vintage wagon and bring home crates of everything!
If it’s the Friday morning market, a very late breakfast of a brioche donut with rasberry filling or a homemade baguette sandwich is the perfect way to start! So many colors, smells, tastes and atmosphere – it is a wonderful lifestyle and way to buy food.
Brioche jelly donuts and baguette sandwich with brie, Meyer lemon & frisee by Harvest Moon Cafe and the most reasonably priced eggs, squash and dragon beans from Bee-Well Farms , Sonoma .
A stecca baguette and loaf of locally grown and milled Einka bread by Mike the baker of The Bejkr.
With over 500 varietals of organic fruits and vegetables, Long Meadow Ranch brings to the St. Helena market these baskets of melons, onions and so much more. Gorgeous fragrant flowers are grown by Jesus just minutes from the stall in Sonoma.
Upon arriving home, you know that you are truly set for the weekend, at least. Such an abundance of rich, bright colors everywhere to inspire an endless array of delightfully fresh dishes and floral arrangements for interior and exterior seating areas. It is then that the cooking begins! This is food and alfresco dining at its best, especially in the summer.
This time of the year, yellow mustard blankets the fields of Sonoma and Napa Valleys and much of our agricultural soil. The vines are resting. Soon this plant will be gently tilled into the land to provide valuable nutrients to the awakened grapevine roots. In the garden, the tulip magnolia is in full bloom. Such a welcome sight, with its large purple and white flowers it has a beautifully subtle fragrance as you stroll or ride a bicycle quietly by.
Mustard in Kenwood
The brilliant yellow wild mustard signals that spring is upon us. The days are getting a touch warmer and we see the sun just a bit more. This mustard belongs to the Brassicaceae family of flowering plants. Broccoli, cabbages, horseradish, watercress and turnips are fellow members of this large and complex family. Distinguishable by its sharp, distinct, somewhat sulphurus taste, it is most commonly grown here to bring nutrition to the soil. A feast for the grape vines, it thrives just until bud break when it is then turned under to mulch and provide valuable phosphorus to the emerging vines. When grown for it’s greens, as the weather becomes warmer, the hot flavor continues to develop. That is why early spring, when it is still cool, is ideal for viewing and tasting this valuable flowering plant.
Legend has it that a Franciscan missionary first spread the mustard seed while landscaping church properties throughout California. The seeds were simply carried in a large sack slung over his back, each sack had a small hole in it, as the missionary walked the seeds would fall to the soil and take root. Today, much of that early mustard is still growing wild and is quite useful to hold steep hillside soil in place during heavy rains, such as we have had this year. Of course, very smart vineyard managers also plant the seeds for soil nutrition reasons and for the simple beauty of the yellow, gold and orange blanket which it creates amongst the orderly march of the vines.
Napa mustard after a storm
among the vines, small vineyard in Sonoma
red tail hawk with a watchful eye
speaking of Spring, the magnolia trees are just beginning to bloom
Magnolia flowers in Sonoma
The magnolia is loved for its pretty foliage and glorious flower display; it is also heat resistant and tolerant of damp soil. Although this slow growing tree can take some drought, they look their best only when amply supplied with water. That was certainly the case this year in the Sonoma and Napa Valley. With our record breaking amount of rain, the blooms of the trees shown here were especially abundant and lovely.
Watching the coming of spring is a miracle of reinvigoration. It is always such a welcome and immutable act of joyful continuity.
As we celebrate our fourth year of gifting butterfly & hummingbird garden seeds to the community, I’d like to share my recent visit to the home and garden of my collaborator on this project, Karin Campion Mattoon, as well as my own home in Sonoma.
Mustard in Kenwood
Napa mustard after a storm
among the vines, small vineyard in Sonoma
red tail hawk with a watchful eye
speaking of Spring, the magnolia trees are just beginning to bloom
Magnolia flowers in Sonoma