Filoli: Woodside, Calif.

Filoli: Woodside, Calif.

William B. Bourn William B. Bourn and wife Agnes Moody Bourn Agnes Moody Bourn lived at Filoli, a 654-acre estate from 1917 to 1936. Bourn had earned his fortune from gold, utilities, wineries and water distribution. The estate’s name is a combination of the first two letters from the key words of Bourn’s credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”

Inspired by European influences, the 16-acre garden is a series of garden rooms containing parterres, terraces, lawns and pools, arranged between the two parallel north-south walks. A variety of plants abound include camellias, rhododendrons, roses and magnolias.

In 1937, William Roth William and Lurline Roth Lurline Roth purchased Filoli. They continued to maintain and enhance the estate until 1975, when Lurline Roth donated it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.