Sonoma County fun for gardeners and Francophiles

SEBASTOPOL

A great pairing: Wine and flowers

A flower arranging workshop called Rosé & Roses will be held Sunday at Petaluma’s Garden Valley Ranch. It will begin with a splash of Red Car Rosé of Pinot Noir and a tour of Garden Valley Ranch, with organizers pointing out the best parts of the property to forage flowers. Wine and light snacks will be provided for guests during the workshop. Tickets are $45 per person and additional bottles of wine will be available for purchase. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 498 Pepper Rd., Petaluma, gardenvalley.com, ?707-795-0919.

SONOMA

How to entertain with joie de vivre

Sharon Santoni, the blogger of “My French Country Home,” will give a free talk on the beauty of French decorating and entertaining June 30 at Chateau Sonoma. She will bring examples of her new “My Stylish French Box,” a quarterly subscription box for Francophiles. Santoni works directly with French brands to create this curated box of items. She will also sign copies of her book “My French Country Home.” 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., 23588 Arnold Dr., chateausonoma.com, 707-935-8553.

MENDOCINO COAST

Gardens by the sea

The Mendocino Art Center is celebrating its 26th anniversary with a Mendocino Coast Garden Tour on June 30. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the coast’s most striking private gardens between Albion and Fort Bragg. On the tour, the center’s Garden Shop will be featuring garden art and a range of plants. Tickets for the tour are $40 per person and can be purchased online at mendocinoartcenter.org. But you’ll have to pick up the tickets at the center, 45200 Little Lake St., Mendocino, by June 29 to get a map of the gardens you’ll visit. Check the website for all the events surrounding the tour. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 707-937-5818.

GLEN ELLEN

Take a walk and spot beautiful butterflies

Bay Area butterfly expert Don Mahoney will share insights about the colorful winged creatures on June 30 at Quarryhill Botanical Garden. He will help identify a host of butterflies inhabiting the garden, including Pipevine Swallowtail, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Buckeye, Skipper, Tiger Swallowtail and West Coast Lady. The garden has a few gentle hilly trails so participants should wear walking shoes and bring water and binoculars if they have them. Mahoney is the president of the Hallberg Butterfly Gardens and curator at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. He earned a Ph.D. in Wildland Resource Science from UC Berkeley.

Advanced registration is required. The fee is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. To register, visit quarryhill.org. 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., 12841 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen. 707-996-3166.

MENDOCINO COAST

Visit coastal gardens on self-guided tour

Celebrate the solstice on the Mendocino Coast on today by taking a self-guided tour of some of the region’s most intriguing gardens.

The Garden Conservancy-sponsored Open Garden Day features three private gardens. Visitors can choose to explore one garden, two gardens or all three.

Among the open gardens is the Moss Garden, a multiroomed landscape with distinct spaces set apart by rammed earth walls and boasting a heather garden, an orchard and ocean views (45145 Brest Road, Mendocino.) Also welcoming visitors are Cherie Christiansen and Franz Arner. The couple have a sculpture garden and studio in a woodland setting surrounded by clumping bamboo, rare rhododendrons and camellias, vegetable and herb gardens and more (8085 Outlaw Springs Road, Mendocino).

The open day is also a rare opportunity to visit the private gardens of Deborah Whigham and Gary Ratway of Digging Dog Nursery in Albion. Ticket holders can visit the gardens surrounding the nursery throughout the day. As a special offering, they also can take a guided tour at 1 p.m. - led by Whigham - of the couple’s private gardens, which were featured in the Garden Conservancy’s “Outstanding American Gardens” book.

At 3 p.m. Whigham and Japanese maple expert Patricia Smyth, who owns Essence of the Tree, will give a talk and demonstration on selecting a Japanese maple and companion plants for a container that will look good year-round.

Admission to each garden is $7 (check or cash) and can be paid the day of the event at the gardens themselves. Children 12 and younger enter free. The nursery is located at 31101 Middle Ridge Road, Albion.

For more information, visit opendaysprogram.org or call 888-842-2442.

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