Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Gardens of Filoli and some detective work!

Filoli is known primarily for her gardens admittedly. Yes I love the house but most visitors are drawn there for the gardens and the Dynasty connections (more on that later in the post, stay tuned Ed!).
A few years ago I briefly blogged about the gardens HERE but you can never have enough pretty pictures, right?
The gardens encompass many outdoor 'rooms' which because of deer (and security one would imagine) are walled off.
The deer actually linger just outside of the gates, visibly!  They probably smell all of the goodies inside!
The carriage house has been turned into a lovely gift shop and garden center. Some of the produce from the garden is sold here; I bought some lovely rose tea grown on site.
The roses weren't at their peak during my visit in early June but were none-the-less lovely.
If you're curious about any of the rose names the images are entitled by the names I got off the tags.
And as always you can click on any image to enlarge it on your screen!
Most of the roses were heavily scented.
Why have a one color rose when you can have two in one?
The colors were vivid and beautiful in the California sunshine.
Areas of shade were never far away either; a blessing for my sunburn!
I loved this rose arbor over a bench; a wonderful spot to rest.
The summer or tea house remains my favorite part of the property.
See a lengthier post on the summer house from my previous visit HERE.
However the best view of all isn't of the gardens but of the adjacent mountain.
Now down to the detective work.  Filoli is known to many from the 80s tv drama "Dynasty". Both of my visits I overhead snippets of conversation about the lily pond and a cat fight.  Above you see the swimming pool with the house beyond.  To the right of the pool is the lily pond and then the carriage house.
Above is the lily pond which is off the dining room terrace and the carriage house.  However the lily pond is clearly not the one used in Dynasty. Thanks to youtube I have proof - see the video below!
After driving into the entry court of Filoli the women are seen talking in the library. I watched the video closely and it is this exact library (with different furniture and artwork). See my earlier post on the library HERE.  HOWEVER you can see that the lily pond is different - different shape, different plantings, AND A DIFFERENT HOUSE in the background! 
Does anyone know where this iconic scene from Dynasty was actually filmed?

10 comments:

Brian said...

It's always great to start my day with pictures of Filoli.

The famous lily pond is in Pasadena. Here's a link to it on Google maps. http://goo.gl/maps/26C5e

ArchitectDesign™ said...

Thanks Brian!

Karena said...

An amazing and glorious property. Stefan, I hope you will come and see some images of my weekend in Laguna Beach with Andrea, Christina, and more...

xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena

Aoife.Troxel said...

There's more info on the Pasadena Mansion (Arden Villa) here:
http://lbcolby.blogspot.ie/2010/10/dynasty-filming-locations-pasadena.html
http://www.knightindustries.50megs.com/ (this one has floor plans too, although the site itself is tedious)

Mark D. Ruffner said...

The long expanse of shaded walkways is what I would want for my back yard. The images of the summer house look what I imagine to be a brick version of a Versailles out building.

Chronica Domus said...

I never tire seeing photos of this wonderful home. I love visiting the gardens, a hive of activity throughout the year. I purchased honey produced on the property and sold in the gift shop the last time I was there - delish! Enjoy your rose tea. Thank you for another great post.

Blue said...

I never watched Dynasty so couldn't help in your quest. However the tea house seems to me a perfect size for a house. Beautiful building!

Windlost said...

How wonderful. And the Dynasty cat fight - I vaguely recall my mother watching that series but I must have missed that scene. Haha. I will ask her if she recalls it. Too funny.
Xo Terri.

Glamour Drops said...

If these roses were not in their peak, then one can only wonder how incredible they would then be - because they are splendidly abundant and verdant in your images.

An utterly glorious garden. (And how wonderful that you have captioned the names of the roses. Very thoughtful.)

home before dark said...

Love this place. I've visited in July and in October. Both "off" seasons are still extraordinary. It has a wonderful spirit.