A Day in the Life of
Filoli’s Vegetable Garden

Early morning light brightens the sky above the rows of plants in the Vegetable Garden. Birds chirp in greeting from the crabapple trees that flank the entrance, while a shy black cat slinks down the deserted main path.

Jia Nocon, one of the Horticulturists who cares for this area of the Garden, arrives and gets ready for the day. She’s planning to check in on the newly planted early summer vegetables before any visitors arrive. After hand watering them with a long hose, she’ll flag more mature produce that is ready to be picked for a field trip happening later in the day.

Members browse the beds, enjoying early access to the quiet Garden before general admission begins. They’re looking for inspiration for their own vegetable plots at home and stop Jia to ask for her advice about pollinator-friendly flowers to plant next to their tomatoes.

The murmur of little voices gets louder and louder as a line of preschoolers tromp through the gate, hand in hand. Danae Bravo, Filoli’s Programs Coordinator, is leading their field trip – it’s part of the program that offers adventures in nature to children from low-income households. Danae explains in Spanish how to pull up a radish from the ground. The teachers think the children won’t like the spicy taste, but surprise… they do!

The Pasifika Planting Group arrives to tend their plot in the northwest corner of the garden. Led by Tongan poet and farmer Loa Niumeitolu, these members of the Bay Area Pacific Islander community are partnering with Filoli to grow vegetables here. Today, they are weeding the rows of taro, sī plant, kava, and kumala sweet potato – crops with important cooking and ceremonial uses in Pacific Islander cultures.

With the work done, the Pasifika group comes together to sit down and share stories of their connections to these foods. They’ll be back in the summer and fall to harvest.

The last visitors of the day walk down the main path as the late afternoon light turns golden. A giggling couple takes photos inside the tunnel of yardlong beans, as another family exclaims over a Chinese vegetable, realizing it’s the same type their grandmother cooks.

Several Filoli employees detour through the Vegetable Garden on their way to the staff parking lot. They want to check on the progress of the hops that are hanging in clusters from the berry cage.

The last rays of sun disappear, and the Garden is empty again… except for the creatures who call it home when it’s dark. The black cat returns, sauntering down the main path on his way to the warm greenhouse for the night.