The flower and herb gardens were installed over a number of years. It has not been possible to replicate the original flower gardens because of the growth of large trees along the road and behind the house. There are, however, still many plants from the original gardens. The plant choices in the new gardens are those that were used, or were popular, in the mid and late 1800's. Several skilled plantsmen were among the Dudley family. Mabel Dudley, who called this farm her home at the turn of the century, excelled as a gardener. Her uncle, William Russel Dudley, was instrumental in establishing the first university program in botany at Stanford University.