At Filoli House and Gardens

The Sunken Garden

It's so refreshing to be outside and to be surrounded by so much natural beauty. At Filoli, everywhere you gaze, there's a flower or tree or piece of pottery that will call your attention. How I wish I took notes of the names of the flowers, but I must remain content with the colorful images I had the pleasure of taking. Though none can equal seeing the gardens and house up close.

The Chartres Garden

The gardens change with the seasons. We just missed the tulips and wisteria. We're now into May when roses, foxgloves, peonies, lavender and violas captivate the landscape. There are so many varieties of roses (about 500) that we had a field day just looking for the Mr. Lincoln rose. In the process I found the Johann Strauss rose but I was most impressed with these October roses that are in full bloom and overwhelming its bush (shown below).

The October Rose in the Rose Garden

The Knot Garden is always a highlight. The intricate geometric design weaves the red purple dwarf barberry with the silvery santolina and green germander hedges. I am intrigued with the play of colors and maze like planting.

The Knot Garden

The entire garden encompasses 16 acres and includes a swimming pool and pavilion, a walled garden, the Yew Allée which is my favorite feature but is bare of foliage at the moment. I saw one of the volunteers in the cutting garden putting together a colorful bouquet of flowers for the House.

A vase of flowers in the Ballroom

I love how the borders are planted in layers with trees, flowers, and shrubs. It seems to grow as one. And they are carefully picked to blend. What a beautiful sight!

Foxgloves by the Garden Shop

The House contains 36,000 ft. of floor space on two floors. The second floor is closed to the public. The reception room is impressive with its 12 panel Chinese Coromandel screen from the late 18th century or early 19th century but is not original to the house. The silver vault in the pantry once held the family silver.

The Reception Room

There's also a Café and a Garden Shop where you can purchase potted plants and gift items.

The Garden Shop

For information about hours, blooming calendar, events, directions to Filoli and more, check this link: http://www.filoli.org/.
86 Canada Road
Woodside, California
650-364-8300

* * *

Images by Charie

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...

Timbulan ng Laya at Diwang Dakila

Timbulan ng Laya at Diwang Dakila, Carlos Botong Francisco, 1968, oil on canvas In 1963, Mayor Antonio Villegas wrote a report, Building a Better Manila, where he indicated in detail his accomplishments on his first year as Mayor of Manila and his vision for the future of the city. Villegas aspired for a prosperous Manila by providing its residents access to health, family and housing services, opportunities for education and employment and improved infrastructure for water and road systems. *Notice the hands at the top of the painting. These hands symbolize the protective reach of God over the city of Manila. Central Panel On either side of the seal of Manila are the former mayors of the city. At the bottom are the city’s old seals. Seal of Manila adopted in 1965 under Mayor Antonio Villegas Timbulan ng Laya (Beacon of Freedom) at Diwang Dakila (Noble Spirit) are written on the seal. A sunburst with 15 rays cast light across the canvas. Below the sun, in red, is the Baybayin let...

Masaganang Ani by Vicente Silva Manansala

Masaganang Ani (Bountiful Harvest), oil on canvas, 1962 The International Rice Institute of the Philippines (IRRI) was founded in the Philippines in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with the support of the Philippines government. The goal of IRRI is “to improve livelihoods, abolish poverty, hunger and malnutrition among those who depend on rice based agri-food systems”. Their headquarters is in Los Baños, Laguna. These two Manansala large scale paintings were commissioned by IRRI in 1962 to depict Filipino life, labor and leisure activities. The paintings were hung on the walls of the dining room and cafeteria at its headquarters. These weren’t ideal places to hang the canvasses because the smoke from the kitchen and the cleaning solutions used by the staff threatened the paintings. They are now on loan to the National Museum of the Philippines which declared these two masterpieces as National Cultural Treasures. In Masaganang Ani, Manansala chose themes celebrating th...

TravelswithCharie

Search This Blog