Kenwood Investments' acquisition of 36-acre wine country gateway Cornerstone Sonoma earlier this year for an undisclosed amount didn't make quite as big an impact amongst county food, wine, art and garden fans as did later, major news of an on-site Sunset Magazine collaboration.
Iconic Sunset Magazine, with its reported 1.3 million subscribers announced exciting plans in June to move its gardens, event space and test kitchen to this unique Sonoma property, the first gallery-style garden center in the United States, originally designed in 2004 as "an ever-changing series of walk-through gardens, showcasing new and innovative designs from the world’s finest landscape architects and designers.
Yet one Sonoma County resident, renowned Landscape Design and Sculpture Artist Suzanne Biaggi has significant cause for concern amidst the general horn tooting of the Cornerstone/Sunset announcement, geared towards a May 2016 design launch.
Suzanne was the celebrated designer behind a 2013 walk-through garden, created specifically to the ecosystem of the site at Cornerstone Sonoma. Over 70 friends and patrons of the arts supported the project financially and with on-site work. Their funding made the sculptural elements become a reality. It was designed as a 10-year garden, prior to the sale of the property and was four months in the physical making.
"I was recently informed that the new owners at Cornerstone have invited Sunset Magazine to install demonstration gardens at this location just outside of Sonoma and unfortunately, my garden is planned to be dismantled in the process," shared Suzanne this September (2015).
She is hoping that Cornerstone and Sunset Magazine will be open to consider options other than dismantling this community-supported garden installation. As yet, Suzanne is not aware of what specific plans are afoot for the other art gardens on site.
The artist, whose garden celebrates her late brother, designed the space to represent what she is most passionate about and what inspires her: "It highlights the importance of ecological balance to the future of our planet; honors the memory of my brother Phil; provides a place for discovery and contemplation; educates, by example, local restoration of native habitats; and employs universal design allowing the wheel chair experience to be same as the walking one."
If you've visited and appreciated gardens at Cornerstone and would like to support Sonoma County artist Suzanne Biaggi in her campaign to preserve this most recent of garden installations on the property, she suggests you email a civil message to the principal decision makers by Tuesday September 22nd 2015:
Cornerstone — Bill Hooper — billhooperca@comcast.net
Sunset — Kathleen Brenzel — brenzelk@sunset.com
Cornerstone Sonoma was the brainchild of Chris Hougie and Teresa Raffo. This innovative and enterprising couple based their avant-garde design on the Chaumont Festival of Gardens in the Loire Valley of France.
Gardens of this calibre have proved expensive to fund and rotate and consequently, many remain in place since the garden center opened. Of the 17 gardens currently at Cornerstone, Ecology of Place is the most recent. Hopefully Cornerstone/Sunset will do the right thing and work with the Sonoma County Based Suzanne Biaggi to find a win/win solution.
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