Filoli Garden

After seeing my post on Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s herb garden in Yountville, OMB reader from the Bay Area, Sophia, suggested that I also visit Filoli. I must thank Sophia for her suggestion because the place was beautiful. The herb garden in Napa is just a small patch of land with some potted plants, flowers and herbs. It’s meant to serve as the owner’s source of organic ingredients for her kitchen. The Filoli is far from just being a garden. It’s a 654 acre estate with about 16 acres occupied by the mansion, the well designed gardens, pond, pool, cafe, lanai, etc.

Imagine, we’ve been traveling back and forth to Northern California, plus my siblings have been living here for decades and yet no one has ever heard of Filoli. We didn’t know there’s such a beautiful place like these here.

I expected a lot of walking on uneven surfaces so I put my new Skechers to a test.

Kimberly and Ayleen at the parking lot

While waiting for Kay, we watched a free 10 minutes video on the history of Filoli. Knowing first the background was key to my better appreciation of the place. How this place came into being. Who’s this ultra rich fellow who built it, etc.

THE BOURN FAMILY

Filoli was built between 1915 and 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II, owner of one of California’s richest gold mines and president of Spring Valley Water Company, supplying San Francisco’s water. In 1910 they had bought an estate in County Kerry, Ireland, but wanted a country place nearer home. The San Francisco architect was Willis Polk, who had also designed Bourn’s houses in Grass Valley and on Webster Street in San Francisco. Polk’s friend Bruce Porter was commissioned to collaborate with the Bourns in planning the gardens, which were laid out between 1917 and 1922. The horticulturist who designed the plantings and fixed the original color schemes was Isabella Worn; she supervised the garden’s maintenance for 35 years.

Filoli served as one of the Bourns’ residences from 1917 to 1936. The name of the estate is an acronym formed by combining the first two letters from the key words of William Bourn’s credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”

The ROTH FAMILY

Following the deaths of William and Agnes Bourn in 1936, the estate was sold the following year to Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth. Mrs. Roth was Lurline Matson Roth, heiress to the Matson Navigation Company. The Roth family built Filoli’s botanic collections of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, notably in the woodland garden, and added the serene swimming pool and the screened-in teahouse.

In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated the estate in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with an endowment that helps support annual operating expenses. The estate operates as Filoli Center, a private, non-profit organization with its own Board of Governors, staff and volunteers.

(source: Wikipedia)

Kayleen thought we’re going to a fancy Italian restaurant named Filoli. When she arrived, she was disappointed to see that Filoli is not some fancy Italian restaurant. They do have food at their cafeteria: quiche, sandwiches and salad.

Ayleen and Bong have tatlong maria. Kaykay is the eldest. She and Nyke are only one month apart.
Kay with Brian Lim

Edmund assured Kaykay that we’re going to have Italian food after the tour. But first we needed to eat something before exploring the vast garden or we would starve.

The sunken garden is the most stunning part of the estate. It’s so inspiring but there’s no way I could have something like this even a miniature version.