Fall Details at Filoli

Apples, apples, apples! On the day we visited, the Gentleman's Orchard at Filoli was filled with apples on the trees and on the ground. The leaves were changing to fall colors and the beautiful afternoon light bathed them in a warm glow.

The back garden in fall

Apple tree in fall sunlight

According to signage on the grounds, Mr. Bourn considered himself a gentleman farmer, and planted 1000 fruit trees in 1918. Of the 1000 original trees, 115 survive. Over the last 20 years Filoli volunteers have planted hundreds of replacement heritage trees. The orchard contains over 400 different varieties of apples, pears, and grapes. The fruit is donated to food banks and made into butters for sale at the Clock Tower Shop.

Orchard hauling wagon

Red round harrow

A friendly scarecrow did its best to keep away scavengers, but I noticed several kids in the orchard enjoying a fallen apple and tossing the core on the ground. Several pieces of antique farm equipment were on display in the orchard, including an orchard supply wagon (with no brakes), and a rotary harrow (the round shape makes it easier to move around trees in an orchard). Recall we encountered different shaped harrows in Dairy Farming History at Heritage Park.

Fall colors in the back garden

The heirloom apples are beautiful! They are fragrant and come in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. The cabbage and kale patch was also beautiful and a reminder of the bounty of fall harvest.

Many apple varieties (and a few pears)	Friendly scarecrow
Red delicious apples	Jonathan apples
Cabbage and kale patch	More apple varieties

We purchased some apple butter at the Clock Tower Shop on the way out of the estate. It's delicious, and a wonderful reminder of our fall trip to Filoli.