Filoli (pronounced “Fie-low-lee”) was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II, prominent San Franciscans at the turn of the twentieth century. Mr. Bourn arrived at the unusual name Filoli by combining the first two letters from the key words of his personal credo: “FIght for a just cause; LOve your fellow man; LIve a good life.” (https://filoli.org/history/)
The garden and grounds are beautiful. I have only gone in the spring, so I can not speak for the summer flowers. This year we just missed peak on the tulips. There was still some in pots that were in bloom.
The other flower in bloom is the wisteria. I love this vine. It is huge here. The whole back side of the house is covered. There are 3 shades. A dark purple, a lighter purple and white. The bees were dancing with each other as they hunted up the flowers that had not yet been drank from. I know one is the European honey bee, I don’t know the larger one. She was huge, and very loud as she flew among the flowers.
Here are a few of the other pictures I took. As a side note, none of the pictures have been edited in any way, so a few can benefit with cropping.
Rugosa Rose Photography 