Filoli is an historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century. It is a remarkable 654-acre property, including the 36,000 square foot Georgian country house and spectacular 16-acre English Renaissance garden. The sprawling estate was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, prominent San Franciscans whose wealth was made primarily from a gold mine in Grass Valley, California. Mr. Bourn was also owner and president of the Spring Valley Water Company whose property comprised Crystal Springs Lake and the surrounding lands. Filoli was built at the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake located 30 miles south of San Francisco.
The name, Filoli was create by Mr. Bourn by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”
Map image from filoli
On June 26th, I toured Filoli with my family. Even though I live just down the road, I hadn’t been there in years. Here are some photos I took of the lovely gardens. I am not going to add commentary because frankly I know very little about landscape design and horticulture. And I think the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!
*All photography from Simplified Bee
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