Sunset Magazine Headquarters

My dad and I visited the Sunset Magazine headquarters in Menlo Park one fall, and took the self-guided tour of the grounds. The gardens were originally designed by Thomas D. Church (Western landscape architect, and author of Gardens are for People) in the 1950s, and then updated in 2000 to a more naturalistic style.

The Sunset Magazine headquarters and grounds in Menlo Park, CA.

The garden includes border plantings from each of the five regions the magazine represents - Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, Mountain, and Southwest and Desert. The border follows the San Francisquito Creek. The document, A Walking Tour of the Sunset Gardens, provides information about the garden, each of the regions, and the Sunset climate zones represented in each region.

Plant collection representing the Southwest and Desert region.

Plant collection and totem pole art representing the Pacific Northwest region.

I loved the ranch-style design used for the publishing headquarters, which captures the essence of mission and early California architecture; and I especially enjoyed the collections of Southwest and desert plants, and Pacific Northwest plants. My dad and I had a great day together, strolling the rambling paths, identifying plants from familiar Western regions, and eating a late lunch down the street at Mike’s Cafe. For information about the self-guided tour: http://www.sunset.com/garden/landscaping-design/sunset-garden-tour-00400000015024/.

Fall flower border at the Sunset Magazine headquarters.