Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Home and Gardens welcomes visitors

Step back into a 19th-century Christmas with a visit this weekend to the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens.

This historical landmark, where renowned horticulturist Luther Burbank lived and worked, is once again holding its Holiday Open House on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 4 and 5, with tours of the home decked out for Christmas, special activities for children and unique gifts for holiday shoppers.

Botanical illustrator Amber R. Turner will sign copies of her new book, “Eye Spy a Tree: Welcome to the Arboretum,” an introduction to the trees of Burbank’s downtown Santa Rosa property.

Visitors can hop on Rosie the Trolley for free round-trip rides to the Handmade Holiday Crafts Fair at the Finley Community Center across town. The trolley will make regular trips back and forth throughout the day.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $3. Children 12 and under free. Corner of Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues, Santa Rosa. 707-524-5445 or [email protected]

Learn basic basketry skills

Spend a day working with your hands and learning the fundamentals of basketry in the natural setting of the Laguna Environmental Center on Dec. 11.

Charlie Kennard of San Anselmo, a longtime basket weaver and student of California Indian and other traditional basketry techniques, will lead the Cordage-making Materials and Techniques workshop. He will show how to make string and rope from native and nonnative plants, each with a distinctive appearance, fragrance and strength. The class will cover the different types of fibers, and participants will work with several techniques and a variety of plants used by California Indians and others. 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. $100 per person, and advance registration is required.

This workshop is suitable for adults and teenagers and will follow all current Sonoma County COVID-19 safety guidelines. Unvaccinated participants must wear a mask. All cordage-making materials are included in the registration fee. Participants should bring a small water bowl, pocket knife and scissors, as well as a snack and lunch. Hot water and tea will be provided.

Kennard has taught at the Point Reyes Field Institute, East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, the Laguna Center in Santa Rosa and in many schools. You can see tule boats made in his workshops at the Bay Model in Sausalito.

900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa. For registration information, call 707-527-9277 or email [email protected].

Submit home and garden related news at least three weeks in advance of an event to [email protected].