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| The gardens of Biltmore, including the Italian Garden, have remained fairly unchanged for over 100 years. |
Time being perennially in short supply in May, I decided to post just a few of the many images I shot at Biltmore during the
fifth Garden Bloggers' Fling in Asheville, from which I just returned. I have long wanted to visit the grounds of Biltmore, which were laid out by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park in New York.
Biltmore was the
country house castle of the family of George Vanderbilt.
No expense was spared in the construction of the estate. When one could find a quiet corner, viewing the gardens of Biltmore was like stepping into a time machine back to the Gilded Age.
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| view down the esplanade looking back from the house with the statue of Diana on the hill |
The gardens were laid out with the mountain views in mind.
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| There's a reason they're called the Blue Ridge Mountains. |
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| Unintentional camel topiary Wisteria? |
While the formal gardens were impressive, I was drawn to the informal paths among the trees.
Curves in the paths beckoned to a view beyond.
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| Geranium hybrid |
While I had intended to post about my
Cladrastis kentukea for
Wildflower Wednesday, this post can do double duty instead, as I fell in love at first sight with the native mountain laurel,
Kalmia latifolia.
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| Who needs cherry trees or azaleas? |
What a delight to walk amongst mature, perfectly sited, well-maintained woody plants.
Kudos to the Biltmore gardening staff (all 60 of you), not a mulch volcano in sight. Thanks for graciously welcoming Fling.
13 comments:
Fab photos Barb and I totally agree...who needs cherries with those marvelous falling petals. Yes, love the topiary camel. gail
You've captured the ambiance quite well. Glad you enjoyed your time in my state...I couldn't make it due to family obligations.
Lovely compositions. I wish I had your skill with this kind of mid-range shot.... and I wish I had 60 gardeners to create this kind of beauty in my backyard!
I need to do my Biltmore photos, funny I have one of the gate...though it is open just a bit.
Love your shots of the mountain laurel....one of my favorite spring bloomers.
Enjoyed your look at Biltmore. I did not know they had 60 gardeners, big crew. Nice meeting you too!
Loved seeing Biltmore gardens through your eyes! I see the Camel! The fountain was not on the day we toured the house. We never went back up to the house the day of the garden tour. I was trying to visualize what it would look like with the fountain spraying water into the air. Thanks to you, I now know...
You captured it beautifully!
what a beautiful park! :)
Your artistic eye captured so many lovely sights at the Biltmore. Love the camel. I hope you share more when you get time.
Lovely Mountain Laurel!
Have a wonderful day!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
Beautiful photos, MMD! It's so neat to see each of these gardens from others' perspectives and to see some things I missed. This place was awesome!
So nice to meet up with you again.
Lovely garden, I like the whimsical wooden gate. There is an Olmstead garden in Portland, Bishop's Close. I might try to get by there next week.
It's great to see pictures of the gardens. I've been to Biltmore once before during Christmas time, so the gardens were pretty brown then.
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