While a walk around the 250 rooms of Biltmore House will thrill you with art and craftmanship and history and architecture, your visit to Biltmore Estate isn’t done until you get outside and explore the gardens and Conservatory, and the 20 miles of hiking and biking trails available. Because my brother and I were there on gift passes, we weren’t able to visit during peak bloom season, but we still got a hint of what you can expect.
On the day we were there, March 9, 2020, there were dozens of species of orchid in the Conservatory along with iris and many other exotic plants. The Italian Garden features classical statuary and water gardens. The Shrub Garden is designed for quiet moments and includes pools with water lilies (in season) and lotus.
The Spring Garden is filled with blooming shrubs like forsythia, spirea and mock orange, and is surrounded by pines and hemlocks. The Walled Garden is a four-acre formal garden that features seasonal flowering beds, including literally thousands of tulips. The Rose Garden includes heirloom roses as well as trial cuts. The Azalea Garden is 15 acres, the estate’s largest, and contains one of the United States finest selections of native azaleas.
Be sure to take the half mile loop to, and around, the Bass Pond and Boathouse. Frederick Olmstead, the landscaper, created this water feature by enlarging an old creek-fed millpond. In days gone by there were rowboats moored at the boathouse for fishing or exploring the pond.
I have created a series of photo galleries below to share my experiences at the estate. The first contains images from the Conservatory. Following that is another gallery including images from several of the gardens and the bass pond. Be sure to scroll down for the 2nd gallery after viewing the first.
If you missed my post about Biltmore House itself, you can see the inside pictures here. Please feel free to leave any comments below the photo galleries. Thanks for visiting!
This glass-roofed building nurtures orchids, ferns, and palms. During the Vanderbilt’s time, it provided flowers and plants for Biltmore House.
This would be my favorite place for future visits. I love the outdoors, and the colors, scents, and overall beauty of flowers and flowering trees and shrubs fascinate me.
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