My husband and a few of our friends planned a little birthday visit to Filoli Gardens over the weekend. It was a sweet surprise, with good company, pastries, tea. Under the dappled sunlight, we strolled through the gardens and admired the spring blooms. Wisteria spiraled and draped the columns in purple hues. Roses were abundantly blooming and bearded irises were beginning to make their seasonal appearance. Among the finely manicured boxwoods and flowering trees, we took in the views and settled into the calm ambiance.

It was also only our second or third time seeing Caden, Alan & Eileen’s son. Loved watching his curiosity and chubby cheeks. They brought a delicious birthday cake from one of our favorite bakeries and Jiahui & Tommy made a tasty, homemade tart covered in caramelized pine nuts.

One of my favorite bearded irises we saw:

I dream of creating manicured gardens in our home like this one day. Love the wispy flowers in between.

We passed through this incredible hedge, covered in red leaves as we left the rose garden and into the next.

We ended our afternoon looking at the giant tulips and bonsai trees. As the weather got chillier, we separated ways and headed home to warm up. Looking forward to visiting here again, perhaps with our moms who also enjoy flowers.