A 1910 Edwardian home \u2014 sitting on a double lot with a sprawling hidden garden attached to it \u2014 just hit the market in one of San Francisco\u2019s most coveted neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
With a price tag of $4.7 million, listing agent Michael Bellings of Compass said he\u2019s never seen anything like it. The handsome home with a period-faithful facade is on a quiet picturesque stretch of Clay Street.<\/p>\n
Behind it, however, is something almost never seen in the area \u2014 a deep, terraced, secret garden spanning across the second expansive lot, which makes the property feel more English countryside than urban San Francisco.<\/p>\n
The family who has owned the property for decades christened the outdoor space \u201cCamille\u2019s Garden,\u201d and the name stuck. Multiple terraced levels step down into a lush, landscaped retreat, layered with mature trees and greenery, meandering paths and a fountain and pool.<\/p>\n
The two homes have seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and span 4,026 square feet. Alex Rios & Team with Agent Stack Grand, glass-paned greenhouse<\/p>\n
A traditional, grand, glass-paned greenhouse\/conservatory anchors the garden in storybook fashion, completing the illusion that you\u2019ve left the city entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI live a few doors down, so this property is even extra special to me as a neighbor,\u201d Michael Bellings, who is co-listing the home with his brother Aaron Bellings of Compass, said in an email. \u201cAaron and I grew up in Presidio Heights (down the street from the property) and I\u2019ve never seen a yard this big or this magical. It truly is one of a kind for Pacific Heights.\u201d<\/p>\n
The property\u2019s garden isn\u2019t just an add-on side yard; it\u2019s legally a separate lot that has long been tied to the building and must be sold with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I know, this garden has always been connected to this property,\u201d Bellings said. \u201cIt\u2019s technically a different (lot), but it is directly connected to the building and it must be sold together per the title company. So I believe it\u2019s always been connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
The main building contains two full-floor residences, each with its own relationship to the outdoors. The upper home is a grand four-bedroom, two-bath residence with formal living and dining rooms rich in original moldings and period detail.<\/p>\n
A private rooftop terrace showcasing sweeping San Francisco views. Alex Rios & Team with Agent Stack Penthouse primary suite<\/p>\n
A penthouse-level primary suite includes a walk-in closet and a large rooftop view terrace with sweeping San Francisco views, extending the home\u2019s livable space out under the sky. An additional, flexible second living room off the kitchen is designed for more casual gatherings, providing a less formal counterpart to the front parlors.<\/p>\n
Below, the lower residence is a refined three-bedroom plus office, one-and-one-half-bath home with direct, garden-level living and seamless indoor-outdoor connection.<\/p>\n
Like the upper unit, it offers formal living and dining rooms with classic architectural elegance, but its most compelling feature is its immediate access to the terraces and garden just beyond its doors. Expansive patios at different levels of the building serve both homes, creating multiple vantage points onto the greenery.<\/p>\n
Multiple terraced levels step down into a lush, landscaped retreat, layered with mature trees and greenery, meandering paths and a fountain and pool. Alex Rios & Team with Agent Stack Decades of work on garden<\/p>\n
Both residences have newly renovated kitchens with breakfast nooks, updated for modern use while maintaining the building\u2019s historic character. Original hardwood floors run throughout, and the property includes a two-car garage \u2014 another rarity in the dense, postcard neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The garden itself is the result of decades of work, experimentation and, at times, obsession. Seller Roberto Martinelli, whose parents bought the property in the mid-1980s, recalled a very different landscape when they first arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe garden was connected when my parents bought it in 1985, (but) it was overrun with weeds,\u201d Martinelli said in an email. \u201cMy mom organized fixing it up. She was inspired by traditional English gardens and old roses. My parents would go to Sonoma County to get fertilizer over the years. So many bags. The pots and decorations were brought back from Provence in France over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The classic greenhouse that now stands as a focal point among the terraces is a later addition.<\/p>\n
For Martinelli\u2019s mother, the garden was more than a backyard; it was a long-running, meticulously documented project.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom kept a garden journal for decades that I have,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was part of a club at the SF Botanical Gardens and was asked to be on the garden tour, but never did it. However this led to garden being featured in SF Fillmore magazine maybe around 2010. I wish I knew where that magazine was.\u201d<\/p>\n
the result of that decades-long stewardship is a series of outdoor rooms stepping away from the house \u2014 patios for entertaining, shaded corners for reading, and pathways that reveal new vignettes as you move through the space. Alex Rios & Team with Agent Stack Urban garden<\/p>\n
Like many urban gardens, this one had a heyday \u2014 a period when years of planting and pruning came into full maturity. That peak period was between 2000 and 2018, Martinelli said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad started taking over as my mom\u2019s ability declined,\u201d he said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t allowed to do anything but lay dirt before then. We had a gardener, but he also wasn\u2019t allowed to really do anything, and he kept it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tightly controlled vision extended to the small circle of people permitted to work on Camille\u2019s Garden.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time my mom had vetted helpers to do work, including her Realtor assistant Paul Lowsley-Williams. Paul was from England, and so they vibed very well on gardens,\u201d Martinelli said.<\/p>\n
Today, the result of that decades-long stewardship is a series of outdoor rooms stepping away from the house \u2014 patios for entertaining, shaded corners for reading, and pathways that reveal new vignettes as you move through the space. Four Juliet balconies on the building\u2019s rear facade overlook it all, adding architectural romance and a visual connection from the upper levels down into the greenery.<\/p>\n
For a buyer, the property offers the flexibility of a multigenerational compound, an owner\u2019s residence with a high-end rental or guest unit, or a long-term investment in one of San Francisco\u2019s bluest-chip locations.<\/p>\n
Two homes both include newly renovated kitchens with breakfast nooks, formal living and dining rooms, timeless architectural detail and modern refinement with original hardwood floors. Alex Rios & Team with Agent Stack
A traditional, grand, glass-paned greenhouse\/conservatory anchors the garden in storybook fashion. Alex Rios & Team with Agent Stack <\/p>\n
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 1:53 PM.<\/p>\n
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