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Filoli – What’s in a name?

By Rosario Charie Albar

In the rose garden of the Filoli estate, I have an amusing time reading the names of the hundreds of roses that are grown and bred here.  There is an Ingrid Bergman, a Dolly Parton, Secret, Double Delight, Iceberg and yes, Bacardi.  I’ll drink to that!  And the fragrance that permeates the air is a French parfumerie’s dream.

The rose garden is just one of many in the property.  The interwoven plantings of green germander, red dwarf Japanese barberry and yellow lavender cotton create an unusual pattern in the Knot Garden.  It is a visually appealing mix of color and design.

Running the length of the garden is the Perennial Border where lavender in shades of vermilion, lilac and deep purple and a sprinkling of blue and white flowers bloom in wild profusion.  It is every gardener’s envy.  In the Cutting Garden, alstroemeria hybrids, watermelon watsonias, white peonies among others, will find their way into the vases in the historic house.

Retracing my steps to the Georgian Revival manor, I enter the Sunken Garden which is laid out in the formal style with a shallow reflecting pool as its focal point.  A hedge wraps around it providing an air of privacy. The Swimming Pool Pavilion to the west has a 25-by-74-foot swimming pool.  South of the pavilion, a rare Camperdown Elms weeping tree spreads out like a giant umbrella creating a quiet nook.

An elegant tree-lined walkway called the Yew Allée runs north to south and bisects the gardens.  The yew trees were brought to California from the Bourn’s property in Ireland. (The Bourn family was the original owner of the estate.) I love to look through this corridor of tall, stately trees.  It’s quite “old world”.

The interior of the house is as opulent as its gardens with period furniture, some bequeathed to the estate by its last owner, Mrs. William Roth.  In the reception room, a late 18th century Chinese Coromandel screen scales down the size of the room and transforms it into an intimate and inviting space. The drawing room, where the ladies retired to after a full meal, is light and feminine in sharp contrast to the dark oak paneling in the dining room.

Paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Bourn are hung in the library.  There are reproductions of sketches of the Bourn family on a corner table by the famous American painter, John Singer Sargent.  The adjoining study which was once the office of Mr. Bourn conceals a wine cellar and bar.  And who would expect a walk-in vault in the kitchen?  This is where the family silver was kept.

An invitation to a dance in the estate’s ballroom must have been a coveted prize. The Machiavelli marble fireplace kept guests warm as they sipped champagne under gleaming French crystal chandeliers. Murals portray the landscape by the lakes of Killarney and the Muckross House and Abbey in Ireland, which property was a wedding gift from the Bourns to their daughter, Maud and her husband, Arthur Vincent.

The house and gardens with the Crystal Springs watershed at its backdoor couldn’t be better situated.     But there’s more to discover about Filoli.  When Shakespeare asked “What’s in a name?” in Romeo and Juliet, little did he know that centuries later Mr. Bourn would pack so much into a name.  Mr. Bourn’s favorite maxim was “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”  Take the first two letters of the key words Fight, Love, Live and it spells Filoli! 

Directions

Filoli is located about 30 miles south of San Francisco in Woodside, California, just south of the Highways 92 and 280 junction. The address is 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, California.  Take the Edgewood Road exit which dead ends at Cañada Road.  Turn right again and go 1.25 miles until you see the second chain link gate on the left.

Hours:  Tuesday through Saturday, from February 8 to October 29, 2005, between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:30 pm (last admission is at 2:30 pm); closed on Sunday and Monday. Filoli is closed in observance of all Federal Holidays.  Admission fees are $12 per adult, $5 per student ages 5 thru 17 or with valid ID and children under 5 are free.

Photos by Rosario Charie Albar.

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