Thursday, July 9, 2015

North Carolina: The Gardens at Biltmore Estate



Hello!

This is a continuation of my
These gardens deserve
their own blog glory!



conservatory and rose garden















they look like
they are painted



resting our feet
mother and child

Italian Garden


water lilies



This is just a tiny sample of what you will see in the gardens at Biltmore.


Other botanical gardens:
Other flower posts:


North Carolina trip posts:





    Enjoying the beauty,
    Virginia

    North Carolina: Biltmore Estate


    I loved my visit to Biltmore Estate with three of my adult daughters. One of them was flying home out of Asheville, two hours from the mountain cabin in Boone, so we decided to make a day of it! The daughter on the right is a ceramics major with a strong interest in landscape design, so she was super excited!

    Biltmore is the creation George Vanderbilt, grandson of industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt. It was started in 1889 and officially opened to family and friends with an 1895 Christmas gala. His descendants opened the home to the public as a tourist attraction in 1930 as a generous way of alleviating Asheville's economic woes during the Depression.



    Our tickets were $60+tax each, but are less if you buy on-line a week in advance. Right now, children ages 16 and under are free.

    I have saved most of the flower pictures for a separate post here: The Gardens at Biltmore Estate.

    Here we go:


    miles of wooded roads
    within the sprawling estate

    Biltmore is the
    largest home
    in the United States,
    but don't worry -
    you will only walk through
    a few dozen of the 250 rooms,
    which takes about 2 hours.
    Be prepared for stairs!
    If you want to see more rooms,
    you can take a Premium tour.



    guarding the castle

    in the planters
    near the front steps


    not supposed to
    take photos inside,
    but someone (not me!) did

    Being the philosopher and poet that I am, as I walked through the estate, I pondered about the lessons I wanted to take away from Biltmore. What did they have that I could incorporate into my home (on a much smaller scale, to the best of my penny-pinching-mother-of-10 ability)? The words that I tapped into my iPhone:

    • innovation - the latest technology available at the time for efficiency and comfort
    • hospitality - dozens of guest rooms, and every possible amenity for the well-being of their many guests, which included diplomats and other VIP's
    • variety - so many different things to see! Rooms had different themes.
    • legacy - this was built to stand the test of time, and as a historical, architectural, and artistic gift to future generations
    • fine art - paintings and sculptures by world renowned artists, 16th century tapestries - a feast for the eyes!
    • books - a 10,000 volume library!
    • gardens - colors, shapes, textures, arrangements - gorgeous!
    And that's what we saw after the house - the many gardens! 



    down to the gardens
      

    Italian Garden



    view from the terrace


    Antler Village,
    still on the estate
    but miles from the house,
    has a museum, winery tour,
    shops, petting farm,
    and more.


    driving home through
    the Blue Ridge mountains

    dusk



    This is part of my North Carolina trip photo series. The other posts are:


    Enjoying the beauty,
    Virginia

    North Carolina Trip: Watauga Lake in Tennessee


    Welcome back to my
    photo series!

    We stayed at a 
    huge and beautiful 
    owned and managed by 
    my son-in-law and daughter
    near Boone, North Carolina

    Our first **big** outing,
    the highest lake in Tennessee,
    about an hour from Boone.

    At the Lakeshore Marina
    we rented two pontoon boats 
    to fit 13 of us.


    little guy with his aunt





    intrepid here but...
    she didn't want to
    get in the water

    however,
    coaxed in by big sister

    she had a blast!



    driving for a few minutes
    just to say I did


    a beautiful little visitor
    in the middle of the lake




    a quiet cove
    for more swimming?

    down goes the anchor

    3-2-1 jump off the log!


    or not...

    Let's try that again!




    more visitors

    and their young

    a perfect end...
    ...to a lovely day
    Enjoying the beauty,
    Virginia

    P.S. Other posts in the series...

    The Cabin at Higher Ground
    Mountain Flowers
    Mountain Creek Fun
    Related Posts with Thumbnails