avant garden

Sonoma was once Napa’s blue collar neighbor. These days not so much. Just up the road from Infineon raceway on Hwy 121 you’ll find Cornerstone, an eye-popping contemporary art park. You can’t miss it. A 25 foot tall tree entirely crusted with pale blue plastic balls rises from Carneros’  vine-covered flatlands. It’s just one of 20 landscaped “rooms”, each more arrestingly whimsical and bizarre than the next.

Admission is free but if you’re itching to spend money they’re are adjacent shops filled with  strikingly unique and pricey merchandise, from a massive hand carved pergola to brilliantly colored pottery.  For visitors who feel like lingering there’s a tasting room from Roshambo winery as well as an elegant little cafe run by Sage Catering

Leashed pets welcome but there is a proprietary family of cats lurking.

Gardens open daily 10-4.

www.cornerstone gardens.com