The Beauty of Filoli House + Gardens
The gates to the gardens were even more breathtaking this time of year!
Filoli Gardens, Woodside, CA - May 2018
We love exploring our own backyard and sharing it with friends and family from out of town.
After a trip to the East Coast in May, we swung by Pennsylvania to pick up Rob's mother and grandmother and take them on their first trip to California.
Rob tasked me with taking care of Mother's Day festivities while he handled the other sites to see (more on that later)! I had a lot of ideas knowing they loved gardens and arming myself with one of my favorite (and cheap) book purchases: The California Garden Tour: The 50 Best Gardens to Visit in the Golden State by Donald Olson.
I already had it in my heart that we'd go to Filoli House and Garden but upon researching it, it looked like their Mother's Day Brunch and Tea was sold out. However, I did notice that they had an open terrace where they would be selling sandwiches, salads, and dessert and thought that might be a better option for the group, anyway.
Percy the peacock - Filoli
We rented the spacious and luxurious Tesla Model X, we rented from Turo and made the 45 minute drive down to Woodside from downtown San Francisco.
Immediately upon arriving, we were greeted by a beautiful peacock named Percy, that lives on the grounds. Feather tail on full display, he knew he was a star. Even with the absence of any other (female) peacocks, continued to show-off his colors. Vivi was thrilled!
We explored the sunken garden, the pool, the rose garden, the orchard, the wedding place, and both bonsai tree displays (one on the side of the house and the others circling the cafe). We also stopped for a meal at a makeshift terrace on the tennis courts - it was shady and perfect!
We also did a quick tour of the house - the floral arrangements in each room with elements from the gardens are a highlight alone. The home tour also provided a scavenger hunt for kids that quickly got even us adults involved.
There were so many photo opportunities throughout the property. If you live in or visit the SF Bay Area, you must visit this hidden treasure!
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