When Nancy and John Schaeffer bought their 320-acre northern California property in 1998, it was wild and untamed. They found rolling views of the Hopland valley, wide meadows, a natural spring, a seasonal stream and wooded groves. Seven types of oak trees thrived there, along with manzanita and numerous wildflowers. Eagles, mountain lions and bobcats roamed freely; they even spotted a bear.

For the couple, the challenge was not how to conquer or clear this land, but how to live in harmony with all its natural glory. Their plans were big: First they built an off-the-grid house (see “Spirit of the Sun,” November/December 2004). Then they surrounded it with abundant, organic vegetable gardens that enhance the ecosystem rather than competing with it. Most important, they invited their students to participate in the effort so that the principles of sustainability would be perpetuated elsewhere, especially in the next generation.

John is no stranger to large-scale endeavors. By the time he embarked on this one, he had founded two forward-thinking green enterprises. In 1978 he started Real Goods (now Gaiam Real Goods), a retail business specializing in renewable energy and sustainable products for the home that has provided more solar energy to U.S. residential homes than any other company. Then, in 1998, he founded the Solar Living Institute (SLI), a nonprofit organization that promotes eco-friendly lifestyles through environmental education.

Sustaining the earth has always been John’s central focus, and this project was no exception. In fact, it literally began with the land. “We planned the landscape before the building,” John says. “Too many people do landscaping and gardening as an afterthought, then blow their budgets on the house building.”

Orchards and a grotto

John called on landscape designers Chris and Stephanie Tebbutt, who had worked on the acreage surrounding SLI’s Solar Living Center in Hopland, to create a master plan for the property. Chris and Stephanie designed a pond area planted with water lilies, lotus and native carex sedges to capture water from rainfall and natural springs. The five ponds are landscaped with trees—redwoods, maples, alders and willows—that thrive in the locale and attract wildlife. Chaparral (a scrubby brush native to California), along with desert sages, lavenders and gaura (bee blossom) fill in the groves.

The designers planted cherries, figs, mulberries, five varieties of apples, Asian pears, peaches, pluots, apricots and plums and established an olive grove. The small orchards supply food for the Schaeffers plus a little extra for the local community, eliminating long-distance transportation of fresh produce. The land also serves as a laboratory for sustainable agricultural practices.