Living History in the Garden

Iconic evergreen plantings at Filoli frame a view of the sundial garden. Photo: Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic
Lucy Tolmach spent 35 years working at Filoli, first as a gardener starting in 1977 before being promoted to Garden Superintendent in 1979. Her title changed to Director of Horticulture in 1997. Filoli is known as one of the most exquisite gardens in California and a fine example of a Country Place-era estate, a period of affluent American landscape design. Lucy now lives with her husband Jonathan in a 1938-era cabin on an oak knoll in the Ojai Valley where they grow fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers.
Molly Barker worked at Filoli for 16 years. She then became Director at Casa del Herrero, a National Historic Landmark in Santa Barbara with Moorish gardens. She is now Director at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, enjoying a very different garden and her new home.

An old rustic wooden bench tucked into the edible garden portrays a more relaxed side of Filoli. Photo: Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic
The following conver...