Sonoma style: Tuscan splendor to farm simplicity: alfresco living in California's wine country

Sunset, June, 2005 by Kathleen N. Brenzel

Twilight in the Valley of the Moon; the air is warm and still, bathed in gold. Beneath a vine-covered arbor behind their Tuscan-style home in the hills above Glen Ellen, California, Susan Skinner and Bob Heisterberg laugh and chat with a handful of friends over glasses of chilled Chardonnay. Nearby, in the town of Sonoma, Elizabeth Minigan gathers fragrant basil and ripe tomatoes in her family's kitchen garden to serve with fresh mozzarella cheese for dinner, while her four children leap into the pool for one last swim.

Like everyone else in this laid-back agricultural valley, where summer days are long and warm, both families spend lots of time outdoors when they're at home. What makes their gardens work so beautifully for outdoor living and entertaining? Mixing roomy gathering spaces with smaller ones, "intimate for family, larger for friends," says landscape architect Paul Harris, who designed both gardens. And furnishing them for casual comfort.

Tuscany without travel

When Susan Skinner and Bob Heisterberg planned their dream house on the western slope of the Sonoma Valley, they wanted it to resemble a walled village in Italy, with different levels and rooflines, a front courtyard, patios for lounging and dining, and lots of room for parties. Transplants from New York, they looked forward to frequent alfresco gatherings in this mild Mediterranean climate. "All our entertaining is geared to the outdoors," Skinner says.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

To complement their home, designed by architects Sam Wells and Diana Marley, the couple worked with Harris, who created a garden that's every bit as Italian in feel as the house. A fountain burbles in the entry courtyard. An olive grove leads to the backyard with its series of pocket patios, a dunking pool, and a bocce court. Plantings are simple--lots of lavender and ornamental grasses.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Because crushed-stone mulch covers the ground right up to the foliage, the planting areas have no defined edges. "The Japanese call this technique kansei, meaning peaceful simplicity," says Harris, who worked as a landscape architect in Japan. Adds Skinner: "My husband doesn't want to cut grass, and I'm not a gardener. We got the idea for crushed-stone mulch in Italy."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What do Skinner and Heisterberg like best about their garden? "It's easy," Skinner says. "It looks right, feels right." And no passport is required. LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Paul Harris, Imagine Sonoma, Sonoma, CA (www.imaginesonoma.com or 707/939-1300)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

DESIGN: Diana Marley and Sam Wells, Marley Wells Architects, Petaluma, CA (707/762-8123)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Family "farm" escape

Space for their growing brood: That's what Mike and Elizabeth Minigan wanted when they moved west from Virginia. They found it on a 3-acre property once owned by a nursery. "There were no lawns, no patios, no places for the kids to play," says Elizabeth, whose family goes back five generations in Sonoma County. "Just a big house in need of work, a small barn, and a garden shed."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Now, the property is heaven for the Minigans' four children--Kelsey, 13, Jeremiah, 11, Frances, 7, and Mary, 5. The house has a new look, the barn a fresh coat of paint. And the garden has ample room for the kids to romp with their friends, their bunnies Fuzzy and Sparky, and their dog Zak (nicknamed Fig Boy because he eats figs right off the tree).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

On the north side of the house, a swimming pool with an adjacent deck, lawn, and outdoor kitchen becomes a bustling hub in summer. "Our parties are casual," says Elizabeth. "Guests show up in bathing suits. And our outdoor meals are simple--barbecued meats, fresh salads, locally made bread, big bottles of wine." On the sunny, south-facing side is a small patio for intimate family gatherings.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

To define the garden's various "rooms," Paul Harris chose simple lines and shapes, and materials that would appear natural.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"The garden captures the down-home ambience we like about Sonoma," Elizabeth says.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Paul Harris, Imagine Sonoma (see page 144)

INFO: Poolhouse and arbor design by Mark Creedon, M2 Studio, St. Helena, CA (www.m2-studio.com or 707/938-8345)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Where to shop

What defines Sonoma garden style? "It's all about rustic elegance," says Bruce Needleman, who co-owns Salsa Trading Company, an upscale home and garden store in Sonoma, with his wife, Edna Hayes-Needleman. "This is a place of oaks, grasses, vineyards, and old wood fences. We let things grow naturally. Wild." The store's merchandise reflects this aesthetic, he adds--big rounded pots, displayed either empty or holding dried grasses, and comfortable but durable furnishings.

You can mimic the look by shopping at the sources listed below. While you're at it, visit a winery such as Chateau St. Jean, where you can find ideas for fountains, container plantings, and more.