Big dreams for our new outpost in Sonoma

At the end of 2015, Sunset will be moving part of its headquarters to Cornerstone Sonoma (photo by Linda Lamb Peters)

We’re a little giddy. A team of us is just back from a field trip to our new satellite campus at Cornerstone Sonoma, and we’re bursting with ideas.

Sunset editor-in-chief Peggy Northrop and senior food editor Elaine Johnson explore one of Cornerstone’s many garden installations

For anyone just catching up on our move from Menlo Park, think Town Mouse/Country Mouse. At our main offices at Oakland’s Jack London Square, we’ll be soaking up the big-city vibe. In Sonoma, we’ll be thinking pollinators—and also programs. The Cornerstone campus offers acres of possibilities, about 45 in all. Here’s just a sample of the big ideas we’re exploring with our partners.

1. Test garden.2. Water-wise demonstration garden.3. Small-space garden.4. Border garden with plants of the Western coastline.5. Cooking classes with Sunset editors and wine-country chefs.6. Hands-on garden classes (floral arranging, composting, preserving the harvest, gardening with kids…).7. Travel itineraries for day-trippers and vacationers heading into the wine country.8. Seminars from local experts on everything from local grains and cheeses to planting for native habitats.9. Special events like an Airstream and vintage camp trailer glamp-out and a tomato mania day.

Will we pull it all off in the first year? Possibly not. But stay tuned! And meanwhile, here’s a look at what’s already happening at Cornerstone.

The Barn at Tyge William Cellars, under construction now, will offer a second space for weddings and special events.

Josh Heiser, landscape architect, and Lauren Dunec Hoang, Sunset associate garden editor, in Cornerstone’s really big chair. Photos by Linda Lamb Peters

Larger food and wine events can spread out under a big canopy

Some possibilities for garden and home at Artefact Design & Salvage, one of Cornerstone’s retail shops and galleries