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Vineyard views: Los Altos Hills family transforms showcase property into Chateau d'Hitz

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Megan V. Winslow/Town crier
Los Altos Hills residents Nancy and Jerre Hitz own a 1930s adobe home that boasts views of the San Francisco Bay. The 12-acre property houses a working vineyard and winery.

The view from the Los Altos Hills home of Nancy and Jerre Hitz is a head-turner.

The San Francisco Bay and its surroundings are framed by the front windows of their California Mission-style home. On either side are ancient oaks, rock-lined paths and native vegetation. And in back, a vineyard, winery and undulating hills transport visitors to Tuscany.

Kuzak’s Closet: Playroom organization can help curb toy takeover

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Courtesy of Amanda Kuzak
Sorting and organizing toys into a functional space can reduce clutter and chaos in a playroom.

All of my clients struggle with space - they either have too much of it or not enough.

Size, shape, color: How to select which types tomatoes to grow

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Tanya Kucak/Special to the Town Crier
Ananas Noire, right, is a beautiful and tasty bi- or tricolor tomato. Also pictured are Purple Calabash, left, and Carmello, center.

The last week of August to the first week of September is the peak of the tomato-growing season in the Bay Area, according to Cynthia Sandberg, owner of Love Apple Farms in Santa Cruz.

Not all native oaks are susceptible to SOD

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Tanya Kucak/Special to the Town Crier
Blue oaks are named for the blue-green color of their deciduous leaves, seen here in the rain against the reddish-brown bark of a young tree.

If you love oak trees but are wary of planting one because of Sudden Oak Death, you’ll be glad to know that not all native oaks are susceptible to the pathogen.

SOD is a problem for home gardeners mostly on the edges of wildlands, where acres of trees, in places, have been lost. It is also prudent to avoid planting known carriers, or host plants, of the pathogen if you live near wild oaks, and to avoid importing mulch from areas where the infection has been found.

California lilacs come in all sizes

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Tanya Kucak/Special to the Town Crier
The profuse blue flowers of ceanothus shrubs in late winter to late spring lure many pollinators. On a sunny day, you can find the nearest California lilac by listening for the sound of happy bees.

Pete Veilleux experiments with all kinds of native plants at his Oakland nursery, has experience planting natives all over the Bay Area and takes regular trips to wild areas. At a recent Gardening with Natives meeting in Los Altos, he discussed some of his favorite ceanothus (also known as California lilac) varieties for gardens.