Hilltop garden party, concert mark San Francisco Symphony benefit Hilltop garden party, concert mark San Francisco Symphony benefit (May 12, 2004)

By Jane Knoerle
Almanac Lifestyles Editor

Looking for something new for their annual fundraiser, members of the Mid-Peninsula League of the San Francisco Symphony have come up with a winner.

On Sunday, June 13, they will hold a garden party and twilight concert at a Woodside Hills estate that would impress Jay Gatsby. It's easy to imagine women in garden hats and party dresses and men in blazers and white flannels gracing the lawns of this 3 1/2-acre estate that sets a note of opulence hard to match, even in Woodside.

"We wanted to try something new," says Gaye Bruce, co-chairman of the event with Mimi Kugushev, "And this is going to be terrific."

The idea for the garden party came about when Ms. Bruce's son, Steve, a general contractor, suggested that the estate -- whose home he had been renovating for the past two years -- might be available for a charity event.

The June 13 garden party, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., will include wine and hors d'oeuvres, woodwind concerts by the San Francisco Symphony, self-guided tours of the garden, and -- after the concert -- gourmet coffees and the League's signature cookies.

Only 300 guests can be accommodated. Tickets at $125 per person include valet parking.

The estate is set "at the top of the world" in Woodside Hills. From the terrace, where two concerts will be presented, visitors will have an 180-degree view of San Francisco Bay and the Peninsula.

A spectacular garden has been carved from the undeveloped site to complement the contemporary home built there 10 years ago by Roger McCarthy.

The all-metal, multi-story home, designed in Bauhaus style, took four years to build and is constructed to withstand an 8.3 earthquake. It is now the home of Anaflor Smith, who is opening it to the general public for the first time.

There were no gardens when Ms. Smith acquired the property in 2000. Now there are five distinct areas and a children's playground.

Ms. Smith worked with Los Altos landscape architect Thomas Klope and Mark Wheeler of Creekside Landscaping, Menlo Park, for three years to create her vision of the gardens.

The estate's sloping terraces are connected by walkways to each garden area.

As guests enter the party by the garden gate, the path will take them past a children's climbing set. Imported from Sweden, it is sleek and silver, almost like a piece of modern sculpture to complement the house.

The path leading up to the house passes a 4-foot man-made waterfall that splashes through boulders and plantings. Ahead is a terrace and infinity pool with a vanishing edge that seems to spill over the horizon. The pool was built by Skyline Pools and Spa of Menlo Park.

Paths down the hill lead to a bird and butterfly garden, through an oak grove, and over a bridge that crosses a dry creek bed.A path leads past a putting green to "Celestial Hill," now vivid with pink blossoms.

Ms. Smith was a major collaborator in the founding of Hotmail, the Web-based e-mail system. She also has been a managing partner of Chateau Masson and co-owner of the Mountain Winery in Saratoga.

She founded the AQS Foundation, a family foundation promoting self-sufficiency in children and their families through education. She is a founding member of the Bay Area Youth Fund for Education, which helps young people finish high school and become the first in their family to graduate from college.

Marcia and John Goldman of Atherton will be honorary chairmen of the "Symphony in Flowers" garden party. Mr. Goldman is president of the San Francisco Symphony's board of directors.

Serving with Mimi Kugushev and Gaye Bruce on the party committee are: Betty Adrian, Noyon Berg, Lilian Betters, Mary Britton, Jocelyn Blum, Peggy Chamberlain, Janet Conlan, Nancy Davidson, Glenda Derman, Sabra Driscoll, Betsy Furst, Karen Fry, Louise Geraci, Phyllis Gray, Leila Hill, Dana Horner, Gilda Itskovitz, Claire King, Kati Lindbloom, Betty Ogawa, Andrea Palmer, Kato Reis, Jean Ringe, Barbara Roberts, Dexter Scherling and Edith Zitelli.

For more information and tickets, call 364-5854 or go to gardenparty-twilightconcert@symphonyinflowers.org.

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