Camp & Sons is an idyllic 400 acre forest retreat on the west facing slope of Foster Mountain in central Mendocino County.

Our terraced organic flower and vegetable garden with its pathways, arbors and ponds might be described as being in the “Formal English Garden” tradition – on the side of a mountain. The orchard of 22 fruit and nut trees is over the hill just past the labyrinth. We think it is certainly one of the most beautiful and imaginative private gardens in California.

We produce our electricity with photovoltaics when the sun is out and with a water wheel in winter. We are blessed with springs on the mountain which produce excellent drinking water as well as enough extra water to power the water turbine after the rains begin. Being mindful of the reduced summer flow from the springs, probably due to the rapacious logging of Foster Mt. during the 1950's, the water is used as many times as possible through interconnected ponds and marshes in the garden and finally to the barnyard watering hole. The ponds are really flower beds in water and along with the exotic plants, we raise catfish and frogs and perch and trout and salamanders and turtles.

At the barn and Chicken Palace we have chickens and horses and sometimes sheep and pigs. Zoe our guard dog has an apartment there.

Aside from the garden and orchard, there are many hiking trails on the mountain which are old logging roads. The property was clear cut in the l950's and is now showing signs of recovery.

Most of the acreage we share with wonderful birds and animals including wild turkeys, two species of quail, the pileated and acorn woodpeckers, as well as white-tailed deer, the occasional bobcat, mountain lion and bear, raccoon and skunks. Snakes and lizards too: and things that go bump in the night! The latter usually keep to their special part of the mountain so a sighting is a rare but wonderful event.

• For information e-mail us at: campnsons@gmail.com

Jane & Walter Camp
C A M P  &  S O N S
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Mendocino County
California