Garden Beauties | floralove

When I think of a country estate I immediately envision British period-films, like Mansfield Park, Vanity Fair, and The Importance of Being Earnest. How nice it would have been to have that kind of home! The East Coast is also littered with these types of houses: previously owned by 19th century robber barons, and now historical landmarks open for the public to gawk in amazement at their beauty. I love visiting grand homes, but we have relatively few of them here on the West Coast. So today I made a small trek down to Woodside to visit one of the few that we do have: the beautiful Filoli estate.

You may remember this home as the Carrington Estate in the TV show Dynasty. Or as Nicholas van Orton’s family home in the movie The Game. Built in 1915 for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II, the estate was named for Mr. Bourn’s credo “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.” Filoli was later purchased by Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth, and it was Mrs. Roth who bequeathed the house and the surrounding 654 acres to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This predominantly Georgian country house is beautifully designed and furnished, but the main draw here is the garden. This was one of the reasons for my visit today.

Luckily I picked a beautiful day; the sun made the garden shine. Jewel-colored tulips clustered around entrances, wisteria blossoms danced in the gentle breeze, bluebells gathered under olive trees, and daffodils greeted the sunlight. It was a peaceful place and I understand why some people come every day to sit in the sun and enjoy the beautiful gardens. There is a sunken garden, a walled garden, a dutch garden, a daffodil garden, a yew allée, a fruit garden, an olive orchard, a woodland garden, a meadow, and something called a chartres garden.

I briefly toured the inside of the house, which was quite dark after having walked around outside. Throughout the house there are floral arrangements created each week by the Filoli Flower Arranging Committee using flowers from the gardens. The floral designs are an Old World Dutch style, which fits the interior very nicely. As I finished my tour, I ended up in the café where I took some photos of the counter. What?

This brings me to the second reason for my visit. Each year, Filoli hosts a flower show where designers from around the Bay Area create floral displays and beautiful table settings throughout the house and gardens. This year, the flower show’s theme is “Hats Off To Mother Nature” and will take place Mother’s Day Weekend, May 5th through May 8th. My visit today was an opportunity to scope out my spot which will help me decide on the final design. I was late to the gate, so the only spot left for me to display was the café. Sometimes you take what you can get. I am excited to participate this year and will be blogging about it (stay tuned!). Until then, if you live in the Bay Area and want to give your mom a lovely Mother’s Day, consider a trip to the Filoli Flower Show. www.filoli.org