INFORMATIVE TOURS... are the heart/soul of many an institution, whether the place deals in history or art or theater or education. We want to know more, to gain facts and perspective, and heading into a lofty building or structure adds some desired depth and seriousness to the situation. But something many of us pass, on our way indoors, are flowers and trees and the leafy hallmarks of the natural world. They're not on the tour, no sirree; they're there to add beauty and hue to the building's exterior. What if, though, we joined a walk-around that put the focus on those things we too quickly pass, too often, on our way to another tour? What if the tour could be about the buds and that building-exterior beauty? Such is the spirit of the Russian River Rose Company, an alfresco outfit that's very much about communing with our wilder world. Well, roses, to be fully specific, as the name of the Healdsburg-adjacent destination so aptly reveals. And while the company hosts a number of springtime happenings, from petal tosses to Maypole dances to Mother's Day events, the Perfume Rose Harvest Tours remain the plumpest blossom in their proverbial garden. For sure, these gatherings do sell out, so book your spot for...
APRIL OR MAY: A number of days and slots are still available, so slip into one and slip into a reverie of eye-bright, thorn-majestic, petal-soft joy. You'll get up-close with the flowers, and you'll "learn about the heady scents of ancient perfumes." Call it Rose Lore 101, if you like, with memory and fragrance and culture swirled into the final potpourri. Are you outside, basking in the sunshine? That's the only thing to do in springtime, bask. Are you among flower fans, those people who notice a row of flowers as they rush to a tour inside a building? You will be, yes. Are informative tours good, whether they're of the art or historic sort, the kind that happen under a roof, or flowery expeditions outside? Yes, tours are good, whatever their focus or fragrance. Things wrap up, tour-wise, before May ends, so don your garden gloves and hat and book your slot now.
