Chileno Valley Ranch

The flower garden around the house was put in in 1997 and consists of perennials and a few annuals. There are about 200 rose bushes planted around the ranch, most of which were rescued from a burn pile. 

Besides the flower and vegetable gardens, Mike has planted 400 apples trees. They are new varieties and are certified organic. Some of the varieties are Arkansas Black, Enterprise, Zesta, Candy Crisp, Jonagold, Wolf River, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Orin, Pinova, and Senshu. The apples are available on u-pick days in late August, September, and sometimes, October. 

There are over 1,000 pickets in the picket fence, all shaped from redwood boards salvaged from the old part of the house that Sally and Mike took down to create a space for the kitchen, bathrooms, family room and the master suite above. The picket fence is painted Navaho White, to match the trim on the house. It is a beautiful fence and took a good amount of time to build. It circles the front of the house like the lace on a green collar. After it was installed and all the pickets were painted one by one, a concrete curb was installed with a aggregate finish, to match the long, wide walkway to the main entrance.