It’s Schulz Country, Believe It or Not
Everything’s coming up roses this month in the gardens of Luther Burbank, the famed horticulturist who lived here for more than 50 years.
Santa Rosa’s annual Luther Burbank Rose Festival will climax May 21 with an old-fashioned ice cream social that marks the 10th year that Burbank’s home has been open to the public. You can tour his house and gardens during the special Sunday celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visitors will discover two other Santa Rosans who are internationally known. Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz has a museum/gift shop devoted to Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and his other Peanuts family characters. In addition to learning about Schulz’s illustrious career, you can go skating next door at his Redwood Empire Ice Arena.
Another cartoonist, Robert L. Ripley, was recognized throughout the world for his daily newspaper sketches, “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” Visitors can see one of his unusual subjects, a church built from a single redwood tree.
Known as the City of Trees, Santa Rosa is 50 miles north of San Francisco and can be reached via U.S. 101.
Take the exit for Santa Rosa Avenue and continue north to Luther Burbank’s home on the corner at Sonoma Avenue. He moved into the Greek Revival-style cottage in 1884 and surrounded it with gardens and greenhouses.
Burbank’s lifetime of horticultural experiments resulted in more than 800 new varieties of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and ornamental flowers.
Created the Plumcot
On a docent-led tour of his house and grounds, you’ll see oddities of the plant wizard. Among them is the plumcot, a fruit he created by crossing apricots with plums.
Also look for Lily of the Nile, a pure white agapanthus that Burbank developed. Burbank favored white as a color and even produced white blackberries and white peaches.
Tours start at the Carriage House, where exhibits detail Burbank’s life and work. The adjacent rose garden was planted a decade ago with mostly modern varieties, but docents point out an early Luther Rose bush that grows along the fence.
You’ll be guided through the home, which was given to the city by Burbank’s wife, Elizabeth. She was his 27-year-old secretary when they married. Luther was 67.
The house has many original furnishings, as well as photos of famous people who visited Burbank, including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Helen Keller.
Luther, his wife and several friends are buried at the base of a towering Cedar of Lebanon tree that the horticulturist planted in his yard at the turn of the century.
Docent tours of the Burbank home are offered on the half-hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $1, children under 12 free. The house is closed in winter, from October until April.
Adjoining Gardens
You’re welcome to stroll any time of the year in the adjoining Burbank Memorial Gardens, which are open daily without charge.
Walk across Santa Rosa Avenue to Juilliard Park and follow the right-hand path to a sign pointing to Ripley’s Memorial Museum in the Church of One Tree. A single giant redwood provided all the wood needed to build the church in 1873.
Today it holds the memorabilia of Robert Ripley, who traveled the world to find bizarre facts for his “Believe It or Not!” cartoons. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $1, 50 cents for children aged 7 to 17.
In 1937, Ripley bought and published the first cartoon of Charles Schulz. It was of Schulz’s dog, who ate tacks and nails, and the drawing was credited to “Sparky,” the cartoonist’s nickname. You can see the original cartoon and many others at Schulz’s own museum, called Snoopy’s Gallery, at 1667 W. Steele Lane.
Rejoin U.S. 101 north to the Steele Lane/Guerneville Road exit and drive left to pass under the freeway. Bear right on Steele Lane and look right for the ice arena that’s just beyond Range Avenue; the gallery/gift shop is to the right.
Schulz’s life is revealed in the two-story building, from the first drawing that earned him $8 to the array of Snoopy and Peanuts products that sell worldwide for a reported $1 billion annually. You’ll also learn of Schulz’s passion for ice hockey.
Adjacent is the indoor rink the cartoonist built for his family and friends to play the game. It’s also open daily to the public for ice skating. General sessions cost $4, juniors $3.50, children $3. Skate rentals are $1. Call the Redwood Empire Ice Arena at (707) 546-7147 for times and details.
If you have time, visit the Sonoma County Museum, 425 7th St., and the antique stores clustered in the Railroad Square historic district. Get tour information from the Sonoma County Visitors’ Center, 10 Fourth St, (707) 575-1191.
Convenient to Wineries
Santa Rosa is a convenient headquarters for exploring Sonoma County’s wineries. The 85-room Fountaingrove Inn, just off U.S. 101 at the Mendocino Avenue exit, offers a Great Escape wine country package for $99 per couple ($168 for two nights). Regular room rates are $95, spa suites $150. Call toll-free (800) 222-6101.
The inn’s popular Equus restaurant features a display of wines from 125 Sonoma wineries. On Sundays, a champagne brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and special dinners 5 to 9 p.m.
In a vineyard just north, at the River Road freeway exit, is the well-known Vintners Inn and award-winning restaurant, John Ash & Co. Weekend rates at the 44-room inn begin at $98 and go to $155 for a suite with fireplace. For reservations, call (800) 421-2584.
Round trip from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa is 992 miles.
