"Not much of what you see was here when we came," says longtime Los Gatos resident Barrie Coate.

Pyracanthas (or "fire thorns"), huge thorny shrubs that once lined the driveway, were removed by a bulldozer. The solid eucalyptus trees were hacked away by chain saws. However, they have been replaced with an ancient Japanese bonsai garden, rare red buckeye, nine species of European hornbeam trees and even a 40-year-old grass tree from Western Australia that will bloom for the first time this year. These are only a few of the hundreds of non-indigenous plants from around the world that are located on the property. Each comes with its own story.

Barrie and Carol Coate moved to their quiet home tucked off Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1987, just after the massive 1985 Lexington fire. Since that time, the couple has completely remodeled the home and, of course, re-landscaped. The land was spared from the devastating 1985 blaze because a fire break was cut at the base of the hill behind the property.

Barrie, a renowned arborist and horticultural consultant, tends to bring his work home with him, especially since his business office for Barrie D. Coate and Associates is also located on the property. His expansive résumé includes serving as a certified arbor consultant for the Getty Museums in Los Angeles and Malibu as well as more locally as the arborist for the city of Saratoga.

"My company does tree surveys for cities [and] developers and is a consultant to landscape architects," he says. "I'm 71 years old, and I'm getting tired."

"That doesn't stop you," his wife chimed in.

Carol, who was interested in horticulture long before she met her husband, reflects her tastes through a perennial garden, vegetable garden and vineyard, which produces about 40 gallons of wine a year.

"My newest thing is edamame [a green vegetable soy bean]," she says. "They are super."

While it's a "his and hers" kind of garden, Carol's other main responsibility besides weeding and tending to the garden is keeping her extremely busy husband on track.

"I'm the controller," she says. "I take care of the money and the taxes and pay the gals that work in the office."

It's no easy task to keep her husband organized, she added.

"He's focused and hectic," Carol says. "He's utterly focused at every job he does. He's got that kind of artistic temperament. There is something else about him. He's utterly guileless. He's a 12-year-old boy who never has an axe to grind except being on the side of trees."

Carol knew of her husband's reputation in the horticultural world before she ever met him. He was giving a talk on Australian plants for the Northern California Turfgrass Council, and she was taking a turfgrass class at Diablo Valley College in the East Bay at the time. Barrie introduced himself to Carol after his presentation and obviously made an impression, since they've been married 25 years.

Their house, built in 1968 and once occupied by Methodist lay people, has lost all traces of its once-simple features. Their property instead exhibits rare and unusual plants Barrie has grown--some more successfully than others. He experiments on his own property before showing off the results that can be useful to his clients and landscape architects.

"After 60 years of this, you had better know what you are doing," says Barrie, dressed in a brown vest and felt-like hat. "I get paid an unusual amount of money to do that."

Carol holds an associate of arts degree in horticulture, but Barrie proudly mentions he has no degree whatsoever. He was attending what is today known as San José State University when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and then later married and became a father. Carol has three sons and Barrie has two, all of whom are in their 40s and are finally learning they like plants.

Carol says both of their mothers were responsible for them becoming gardeners. When Barrie was growing up, his father, Carl, was the caretaker on the Yehudi Menuhin estate on Alma Bridge Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Barrie was named after the Scottish playwright and novelist James Barrie, best remembered today for his work Peter Pan.

"It's so prophetic because Barrie is such a little pixie," Carol says.

The Coates were even married on the Menuhin estate. Yehudi Muhin, a child violin prodigy, debuted with the San Francisco Symphony at age 7 and traveled the world exhibiting his talent.

Carol and Barrie were also the caretakers of Cathedral Oaks, the home next door to the Menuhin estate. Carol explained that Cathedral Oaks belonged to well-known artists, designers and interior decorators George Dennison and Frank Ingerson, who later willed their land to Menuhin.

With historical significance embedded in their lives and also in their property's roots, it's only fitting that the Coate estate is being showcased as one of seven homes on the third annual Spring Mountain Garden Tour and Brunch. The event on May 7 and 8 is being presented by the Loma Prieta Community Foundation. The Coates participate in the event every other year.

On the tour, visitors may learn from Barrie and Carol how grape stakes in the garden have been collected from various ranches and parts of California where Barrie has worked through the years. A female Buddhist statue, Quan Yin, who embodies the qualities of mercy and compassion, also sits watching over the garden. Barrie says a client who didn't want it just gave it to him. Even the sliding glass doors to Carol's greenhouse, which is decked in holiday lights, were collected or were gifts from Barrie's various jobs.

Carol says they are both serious environmentalists.

"It's an ongoing, never-ending constant education and constant love of the subject," says Carol, wearing a gardener's tool belt, a straw hat and purple shirt. "Most of the plant people we know are as passionate as we are, and some are more."

Gardening hoops at the end of the Pinot Noir vineyard originate from the old Saratoga Horticultural Foundation, where Barrie was once the director. Barrie was involved in the foundation on and off for about 11 years. A rock wall that helps form a pathway in the garden comes from the old Paul Masson Winery in Saratoga.

"I had done a tree survey for the winery," Barrie explained. "And I says, 'Can I have some of those boulders?' and they says, 'Yes.' "

A pergola area, memorial plants, odd-looking trees and old, hand-laid adobe bricks have all been recycled from somewhere else. Colorful glass balls, once used to float Japanese fishing nets, also dazzle brilliantly in the sunlight throughout the property. They belonged to Barrie's mother.

From their travels to places like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the Coates have brought back seeds and plants. Rare pond cypresses grow on the back hillside of the property. They would normally be found in the more swamp-like conditions of the South, yet they are compatible with the wet hillside.

Barrie explained that, even though they have two wells, the water quality is so bad it's poisonous to the plants. They use seasonal ponds to collect rain water, and they store the water in tanks. While their property is surrounded by fences to keep out the deer, rabbits and gophers are a little tougher.

"We swear at gophers," Barrie says. "They eat everything."

Another helpful tip for visitors who take the tour is that some of the plants are identified with small placards.

"That's so we don't forget," Carol says.

It's undoubtedly a labor of love to be a mother. Many gardens in the Santa Cruz Mountains are also labors of love for their owners. That's why the two are being tied together this Mother's Day.

The third annual Spring Mountain Garden Tour and Brunch, presented by the Loma Prieta Community Foundation, takes place May 7 and 8. The gardens, which are the projects of their homeowners and are often rented out for weddings and special events, will be open to the public both days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Aided by the volunteer efforts of Los Gatos High School and middle school students and community members, a buffet brunch will be provided from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days on the garden terrace of the Loma Prieta Community Center. The center is located at 23800 Summit Road, Los Gatos.

The terrace will be decorated with linen tablecloths, fine china, floral centerpieces and pastel-colored umbrellas, paired with homemade brunch and views of Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

"It's not paper plates," said Michele Witten, co-chairwoman of the event. "The difference this year will be more time spent on all the little details."

"The gardens are fantastic and there is nowhere, at any restaurant, where you can get the buffet service--all you can eat for $12.50," said Laurel Dentoni, co-chairwoman of the event.

Tickets for the garden tour are $25 for adults in advance and $30 on the day of the event. Children ages 14 and under are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. The brunch is $12.50 pre-paid for adults and $15 at the door, with children's tickets $6 in advance and $8 on the weekend of the event. The garden tour tickets are good for both days.

The homes that will be featured on the tour include:

Milton and Joan Barber

Redwood Hills Garden

23111 Summit Road, Trail Ridge Road, Los Gatos

Marjorie Cassel

22561 Old Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos

Barrie and Carol Coate

23535 Summit Road, Los Gatos

Jim and Sandy Hart

17516 Old Summit Road, Los Gatos

Bill and Patti Hughes

Maison du Lac

23107 Summit Road, Trail Ridge Road, Los Gatos

Pippa Siersema

23960 Summit Road, Los Gatos

Loma Prieta Elementary School Garden

Maintained by community volunteer Myra Jones

23800 Summit Road, Los Gatos

For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, call 408.353.8025.