The sprawling 16 acres of gardens at Woodside's Filoli estate have been open to the public for nearly 50 years — or at least most of them have. Starting this week, visitors will get a chance to check out a previously unseen garden that was essential back in the days when Filoli was a working estate: the vegetable garden.
Just in time for the summer harvest, Filoli is welcoming its first ever visitors to the vegetable garden on Friday, Aug. 5. The opening of the garden follows a renovation that included the addition of ADA-accessible berry cages and raised beds, garden plots celebrating the Bay Area's immigrant communities and a shaded seating area with an outdoor classroom and demonstration space.
"We've seen an increased interest in our visitors' desire to connect with nature through both gardening and food. Filoli's commitment to inclusion, horticultural expertise, and strategic focus on public engagement uniquely positions us to meet our community's needs," Kara Newport, Filoli CEO, said in a press release.
Visitors can taste the fruits of this garden in jams, spice blends and hard cider for sale at Filoli's Clock Tower Shop. And for vegetable gardeners who might be struck with produce envy on visiting the garden, take heart: the demonstration garden area will also offer growing tips.
Filoli is located at 86 Cañada Road, Woodside. It is open Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with extended hours every Thursday until 8 p.m. Visitors must purchase tickets in advance. For more information, visit filoli.org/visit.
Comments
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Aug 4, 2022 at 7:21 pm
Registered user
on Aug 4, 2022 at 7:21 pm
Nobody was interested in the vegetable garden as Kara Newport says.
Registered user
Woodside
on Aug 8, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Registered user
on Aug 8, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Public gardens across the country have been adding vegetable gardens and Filoli has discussed opening our historic vegetable garden for a number of years. When the pandemic hit, there were a number of reasons we knew that now was the time to move toward opening the historic Vegetable Garden at Filoli. We knew we were onto something by how incredibly popular and engaged guests were by the vegetables in the Sunken Garden during our 2021 Fruitful Garden exhibit. As Filoli's director of horticulture, I am so thankful to the donors who made the project possible and I look forward to future opportunities to work with community partners in the Vegetable Garden!