Nan Tucker McEvoy, a scion of a prominent publishing family who previously owned the San Francisco Chronicle, owns this ranch about 8 miles from downtown Petaluma that sits on 550 acres of rolling hills.

Toward the house and built into the pond is a swimming pool with a hot-tub that looks, from the deck, just like an olive in a martini glass. As landscape architect Patrick Brennan explains, the pool was set inside the pond so that one could jump from the warm pool into the cool pond full of water plants, snakes and tadpoles.

It is a working olive farm that Ms. McEvoy, 93, and Nion, 60, her only child, own together. The ranch sells its award-winning olive oil, honey from its beehives and other products at the San Francisco Ferry Building and elsewhere

Shown here is the kitchen garden of the McEvoy Ranch. Landscape architect Patrick Brennan recently widened the paths and added more flowers for Ms. McEvoy's enjoyment.

The architecture displays its owners' sense of whimsy, particularly in a remarkable Chinese-style dining pavilion, shown here. It was inspired by Ms. McEvoy's tours of Chinese gardens in Shanghai and elsewhere in 1998. It features three giant copper lizards crawling on the roof and lizard-shaped door handles. The lizard theme was drawn from Ms. McEvoy's grandchildren's fascination with lizards on the ranch.

Shown here is the interior of the Chinese-style dining pavilion. Interior designer Michael Booth, a founding partner of San Francisco's BAMO, worked closely with Ms. McEvoy to design the pavilion, the main house, and other parts of the ranch.

The ceiling is painted a cerulean blue and Venetian lanterns hang from it, while dragon-like light fixtures spring from the wall.

The farm includes 15 buildings—including the family's home, guesthouse, a 'Victorian' used for parties and a separate kitchen for staff meals and entertaining. There are also two chicken coops, groves of 18,000 olive trees and a frantoia, or traditional olive press, from Italy. Shown here is the dining room of the McEvoy house.

Across from the pavilion is a new house used for staff yoga classes and parties called the 'Victorian,' modeled after the Victorian home that once stood on the ranch. On a whim, the artist Wayne Thiebaud painted a cake, sandwich with pickle and pastry on the outside of the media cabinet.

Seen here are what Mr. McEvoy jokingly calls 'vegan antlers' in the Victorian house.

Contemporary art work can be seen throughout the house: Ms. McEvoy contributed $10 million to the rebuilding of San Francisco's de Young Museum, and she has been a longtime supporter of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Shown here is a sculpture of a girl and her beach ball by Carole A. Feuerman.

These glazed ceramic tiles above the stove were made by her grandchildren in 1998.

Although the McEvoy ranch is a business, it is also a private and very personal retreat. Shown here is personal Chef Gerald Gass preparing lunch.

Chef Gass bakes bread in the wood fired oven.

Alaskan cod is cooked in the outdoor wood fired oven.

At the head of the table is Mr. McEvoy, and eating with him are ranch staffers and guests.