Beyond the Biltmore House: The Estate's Grand Gardens and Historic Stables
Asheville Day 2: Part 2
If you missed last week’s post on The Biltmore Estate, here’s the link:
To design the grounds of The Biltmore, George Vanderbilt hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York’s Central Park. The 75-acre estate contains a Roman Garden, a rose garden, a bush and tulip garden, and a Conservatory.
There is huge sculpture collection.
They are everywhere.
The Roman Garden.
Grapevine-covered arbor.
The grapevines were impressive.
Formal gardens.
The fragrant flowers in the Conservatory were gorgeous.
Christmas Orchid.
Bigleaf Magnolia.
A variety of Begonia on the left and Spidorwort on the right.
Moth or Moon Orchid on the left. Unlike an arboretum, the exact genus isn’t posted. Purple Heart Spiderwort on the right.
The Chief Landscaper lived in this lovely cottage.
The Stable area has been converted into a bunch of small shops, including a toy maker’s shop, a Christmas shop, a bookstore, a toy shop, Biltmore Dairy selling delicious ice cream, and a gift shop.
We had lunch at The Stable Cafe, which still maintains the stable character with hardware intact. Paula, our server, said we were sitting in the feeding stalls, and across the room were large birthing stalls.
“We still feed straw and hay to this day!” Paula said.
The food was excellent.
Above our heads used to be the hayloft.
By the time we left The Biltmore, the weather was beautiful, the fountain was flowing, and visitors were lined up for later tours.
White chairs were being set up just beyond the fountain for a wedding after the tours ended.
With a beautiful morning at The Biltmore behind us, we looked forward to spending our afternoon taking a drive in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
Gorgeous photos and I'm a sucker for anything designed by Olmsted. Magnificent.
Last week's visit was like returning to the Loire Valley for me. That amazing facade!