Filoli is a grand country home and garden completed in 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II, whose world stretched from California mines to banks and reservoirs. Architect Willis Polk gave that ambition a graceful form. Bruce Porter gave it a landscape that continues to evolve more than a century later.
Garden rooms unfold one after another. Hedges become walls. Pools catch the changing sky. Orchards soften the geometry. Ancient oaks.
Around 75,000 bulbs are planted each year, sending rivers of daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses across the gardens. Spring arrives in layers. Color replaces color. One path tells a different story. The landscape never stands still.
After the Bourn family, the estate became the home of William P. Roth and Lurline Matson Roth, whose care expanded the gardens and preserved the spirit of the property for future generations.
The name “Filoli” comes from the phrase: Fight for a just cause. Love your fellow man. Live a good life.
Filoli is a living composition. A living painting where nature and gardener paint. Every path reveals another perspective. Every season changes the landscapes palette.
Filoli invites wandering. A doorway frames a garden. A garden frames distant hills. Formal design gives way to birdsong, fragrance, shifting light.
Sidenote: Before returning home, came to visit my friend Jennifer, who invited me to Filoli .❤️
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