Orchid Show at Biltmore House 2013 Asheville North Carolina

Orchids at Biltmore House

April 2013

All photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2013 - present
All Rights Reserved
See links to article references at the end of the article.

There was not much in bloom outside on the grounds of Biltmore House in Asheville during the first week of April but the Conservatory was filled with orchids, lilies, jonquils and more.

"For the first time ever, Biltmore House is the setting for the exotic and rare orchids as part of this year's Festival of Flowers. . . for 18 days only!

~ Biltmore.com Magazine

As the weather finally turned warm, the Biltmore Conservatory was a great place to take your spring fever's longing for flowers. The conservatory was jammed with flowers, leafy plants and music and, on the Monday after Easter, visitors.

The grounds change dramatically over the course of Spring and the Festival of Flowers but, according to their website (see link below):

"Biltmore's gardens, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, are alive with color as spring arrives. Enjoy a beautiful progression of blooms from tulips to pansies, azaleas, and much more. Right now, be dazzled by over 72,000 tulips in the Walled Garden and thousands more that carpet the grounds in bright spring color.

"For the first time, guests will be able to step down into the Winter Garden to enjoy a display of exotic orchids intimately, just as George and Edith Vanderbilt's guests might have. Some of the plants will be the same species that were planned for the Biltmore Conservatory in 1894."

When George Vanderbilt began his great project in Asheville, he applied the same scale to the outside of the house as he did to the inside. The house is still known as the largest private home in America and it certainly feels as if it is on the largest lot in America.

The remaining 8,000 acres of Vanderbilt's original 125,000 acres is maintained by the staff of gardeners and landscape designers who work to carry on Frederick Law Olmsted's original ideas. In fact, the family records show that Olmsted intended to order 800 orchids in the 1890s, although it is not clear that he ever did.

The Conservatory leads to the wooded garden paths with well-marked trees and shrubs. The partially-shaded walks are a great outlet for spring fever and offer a different vantage point of the property.

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The Biltmore House is open 365 days each year. The house opens at 9:00 a.m. The reservation and ticket center opens at 8:30. You must have a reserved time for a house tour but no reservations are needed for touring the grounds. To learn more go to Biltmore website, call or or click here to learn more.