Top picks for Sonoma County home and garden events for week of May 14-21

SONOMA: Sunset Celebration Weekend

A “Smart Cottage” equipped with the coolest electronic gizmos will be set up at Cornerstone Sonoma in time for Sunset Celebration Weekend May 20 and 21.

The two-day outdoor event is a salute to the good life, centered around home improvement, gardening, cooking, food, wine and travel.

The Sunset “Smart Cottage” is a highlight, a 900-square-foot house wired with the latest in smart technology and design, from companies like Mosaic, Decorist, California Closets and Thumbtack. The cottage will remain as a permanent installation at Cornerstone, a food, wine and boutique marketplace that also is home to Sunset Magazine's test gardens.

Event-goers will also be able to explore the “Smart trailer,” a special edition Tommy Bahama Airstream filled with portable and easy-to-install smart devices.

Other highlights include Camp Sunset, with tips for glamorizing your outdoor adventures, cooking demonstrations, visits through the Sunset gardens, wine seminars and tasting and live music. General admission is $35 or $45 at the door. VIP admission is $125 and includes early admission, unlimited tastes and more. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Free parking and shuttles will be available at the Sonoma Plaza, Adele Harrison Middle School on Broadway and at the Sonoma Valley Schellville Airport. Cornerstone is at 23570 Arnold Drive. For informations and links to ticket sales visit Sunset.com.

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SEA RANCH: Take a tour of Sea Ranch architecture

The site-sensitive architecture of The Sea Ranch is renowned around the world. The annual Architectural Tour, Wine Tasting and Auction today is a chance to see some of best examples of Sea Ranch architecture from the inside.

The self-guided tour will feature new, newly remodeled and historically significant homes both at The Sea Ranch and along the south coast of Mendocino County.

Participating homes are open to ticket holders from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tour-goers are invited to a wine tasting and auction from 3-5:30 p.m. at Gualala Arts Center, featuring 25 wineries and more than 80 lots for bidding.

Cost for the tour is $60 in advance or $65 the day of the tour. Student tickets are $25. Tickets are available at the Gualala Country Inn, 47975 Center St., at the Stewart's Point Store just south of The Sea Ranch, by phone at 800-838-3006 (event 2760517) or online at brownpapertickets.com/event/2760517).

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SONOMA COUNTY: Tour 24 earth-friendly gardens

The Eco-Friendly Garden Tour today is a chance to check out gardens that are easy on water and friendly to wildlife.

There are 24 gardens throughout Sonoma County and North Marin that will be open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no cost for admission but visitors must register by visiting savingwaterpartnership.org/eco-friendly-garden-tour.

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SANTA ROSA: Benefit garden tour

Eight gardens, from a French Normandy-style cottage garden to a rocky hillside “staycation retreat,” will be open to visitors for the annual Sonoma County Medical Association Alliance Foundation Garden Tour. In addition to a chance to check out a range of vastly different gardens and landscapes in the Santa Rosa area, the tour features master gardeners on hand to answer gardening questions, a plant sale, an exhibit and sale of “Original Heart Art” and food from Franchetti's and the Foodie Farmhouse food truck. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 19 and 20. Tickets are $50 and are valid both days of the tour. For information and tickets visit scmaa.org.

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HEALDSBURG: Perfume rose harvest tours set

The picturesque Russian River Rose Co. is hosting tours offering a close-up look at the harvesting of rose petals for essential oils and rose water on May 20 and 21.

Tour-goers help with harvesting baskets of Bulgarian, French and Persian roses from the rose farm's perfume fields, and then watch a demonstration of the distillation process in antique copper kettles while learning about the history of fragrance and perfume from roses. The tour includes a sample of edibles infused with roses and rose water, including sandwiches, rose jam, rosewater sorbet and more. Cost for the experience is $75. Tours are limited to 18 and tend to sell out quickly so reservations are required. To reserve visit russian-river-rose.com 1685 Magnolia Dr., Healdsburg. 707-433-7455.

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SANTA ROSA: Learn about dahlias

Dahlias can add a dash of excitement to your beds and borders later in the season. Learn how to grow great ones during a free workshops led by Jim Lang, a master gardener who has grown dahlias for more than 30 years and has also served as a dahlia judge. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 20 at the Rincon Valley Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa.

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ROHNERT PARK: Design an herb garden

Herbs are among our most versatile plants. Master Gardener Janet Barocco will lead a free interactive workshop presenting design ideas and container considerations to help design an herb garden for culinary and medicinal uses. Participants should bring a pencil, eraser and flat drawing surface. Graph paper will be provided. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 20. Rohnert Park Library, 6250 Lynne Conde Way.

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SONOMA COUNTY: Upcoming plant sales slated

Clear out your best cargo vehicle, grab a tarp and hit the road for a plant sale crawl through Sonoma County. This is the season to find bargains and in many cases, support charities.

Willowside School in Santa Rosa holds its next big plant sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, rain or shine. Students help out in the nursery. Look for perennials, including abutilons, salvias, a multitude of succulents, grasses, trees, native and drought-tolerant plants. $4 a gallon container. The nursery also has many trees, including Japanese maples for $25-$45. 5299 Hall Road, Santa Rosa.

Coming up:

Forni-Brown Gardens in Calistoga has been a big supplier for years to some of Napa Valley's best chefs. It opens its garden each spring to home gardeners who want to stock up on edible starts, including unusual and heirloom varieties. Most plants are in 4-inch pots, with some 1-gallon and 5-gallon containers and a few 6-packs. They also sell seeds for beets, corn, winter and summer squash, cucumbers, melons and more. Open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday to Sunday each week through May 27. Located on Cedar Street, two blocks east of the Calistoga Inn and Brewery, in Calistoga. The entrance is marked with a Plant Sale Today sign at 1214 Pine St. For information, email fornibrowngarden@aol.com or call 707-942-6123.

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GUERNEVILLE: Varmint control

Learn how to reclaim your garden from pesky gophers during a free workshop May 20 led by Master Gardener Fred Revetria. He will cover traps and how to tell trails and markings of gophers, moles and deer. 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Guerneville Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville.

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HEALDSBURG: Learn basics of flower arranging

Learn the basics of floral arranging and how to make culinary and body care products with harvest from your backyard garden during a workshop today at Shed in Healdsburg.

Designers Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis will lead the class. They are founders of the Bay Area-based Homestead Design Collective and authors of “The Beautiful Edible Garden.” $65. 1-2:30 p.m. 25 North St., Healdsburg. Healdsburgshed.com.

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HEALDSBURG: See a garden full of roses

Don't just give mom a vase of roses. Treat her to a garden filled with thousands of blooms during the annual Mother's Day Open Garden celebration at The Russian River Rose Co. on Sunday.

The picturesque nursery is known for its Rose Allee with huge rambling roses billowing down from 12-foot arches.

All moms receive a special treat. $2 donation. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1685 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg. 707-433-7455 or russian-river-rose.com

Written by Meg McConahey. You can send Home and Garden news to meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or call 707-521-5204. Please submit items at least three weeks in advance of an event.