Our World: Biltmore’s Walled Garden

Tulips in the Walled Garden of the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. April 16, 2013.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Earlier this month Betsy and I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  We go several times a year, and this time we hoped to be able to see the tulips in bloom.

As you can see from the picture above, our timing was just about perfect.  There were tulips at the entrance to the estate, but we went on to the Conservatory and Walled Garden.

Tulips in the Walled Garden of the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. April 16, 2013.

The Walled Garden is a formal ornamental garden.  Part of the Walled Garden is a permanent rose garden, but plantings in the remainder of the garden are changed throughout the year.

Biltmore Estate’s Walled Garden, Asheville, North Carolina. April 16, 2013.

After walking through the tulips, Betsy and I walked to a hill where we could look down on the Walled Garden.  In this picture you can see the design of the garden.  The flower beds on the other side of the arbor are mirror images of the beds on this side.

The First Daffodil of Spring

Daffodil in bloom at the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. January 28, 2013.

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Monday Betsy and I went to Asheville, North Carolina, to the Biltmore Estate.  We went primarily to visit the Conservatory — something we do a couple of times each year — and to do some walking around the estate.

As we were walking through one of the gardens back to the car, we spotted this daffodil in bloom under a tree.  Some of our daffodils are up, but they are a long way from blooming.  It was a surprise to find this one in bloom.

Orchid in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. January 28, 2013.

As I mentioned, Betsy and I went to enjoy the flowers in the Conservatory.  We spent quite a bit of time in the Orchid Room, enjoying beautiful blossoms like the one above.

Our World: Biltmore’s Walled Garden

The Walled Garden at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. April 3, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Betsy and I paid another visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, last week.  We went specifically to see the tulips in the Walled Garden.  George Vanderbilt wanted the Walled Garden to be a ‘garden of ornament’, so the garden consists of symmetrical flower beds arranged in patterns.  The picture above shows one side of the Walled Garden as seen from a hill overlooking the garden.

Tulips in the Walled Garden at Biltmore. April 3, 2012.

There were tulips of many different colors planted in the flower beds.

Tulips in Biltmore's Walled Garden. April 3, 2012.

Even the border flower beds along the road contained beautiful tulips.

Betsy and me in the Walled Garden at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. April 3, 2012.

But the prettiest flower in the entire garden was my beautiful bride.

Our World: The Conservatory at Biltmore

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

It seems as if Betsy and I make it to the Conservatory every time we visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  No matter what the season, the conservatory always seems to have beautiful plants in bloom.

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

Things were no different the week of Thanksgiving, when we once again got carried away among all the beautiful blossoms.

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

I wish I could tell you that I knew the names of all of these beauties, but I don’t.  I only hope that you enjoy these blossoms as much as we did.

Scenic Sunday: Biltmore House

The back of Biltmore House as seen from a lagoon on the estate. October 4, 2011.

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This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

Last Tuesday Betsy and I drove to Asheville, North Carolina, to visit the Biltmore Estate (we have season passes).  Since we are beginning to see autumn colors here on the Plateau, we hoped we would see more color on the estate.

We were surprised to discover that there was even less color in Asheville than there was here.  It was not a wasted trip, however, because we found a place from which we could get a nice view of the back of the house.  The picture above was taken from that place.

It’s hard to get a good picture of the front of the house because of all the people and traffic.  But here we got a nice picture of the back of the house with the water of a lagoon in the foreground.

A closer view of the back of Biltmore House. October 4, 2011.

I was able to get a closer shot of the house by using my telephoto lens.

Watery Wednesday #155: Italian Garden

Lily pads in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

I’ve posted a couple of times about the Italian Gardens at the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina, where we celebrated Betsy’s birthday.

Koi and reflections in an Italian Garden pool, Biltmore. August 5. 2011. (Photo by Betsy).

The Italian Garden is a water garden with three pools filled with water lilies like the ones above.  The pools also contain Koi, which Betsy captured along with a reflection of the cloudy sky.

Water lily in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

The water lilies were beautiful and showed some of the most vibrant colors I have seen in water lilies.

Water lily in the Italian Garden, Biltmore. August 5, 2011.

I liked the color of this lily as well as the reflection in the water.  The bee in the blossom was a nice bonus.

Dragonflies

Dragonfly at the Italian Garden on the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

While Betsy and I were in the Italian Garden at Biltmore, I was photographing water lilies when this dragonfly started flying around the blossoms I was trying to photograph.  When I moved to a different flower, it also moved.  I didn’t have the proper lens to get macro of the dragonfly, but I liked the way the wings looked in the sunlight, so I got the picture above.

Dragonfly at the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

A little later I got him in a better pose.  I haven’t had much experience capturing critters like these, but I did like the way these pictures turned out.  I may have to try this again with the proper lens.

Watery Wednesday #154: Biltmore Reflections

Sky and clouds reflected in a pool in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

While taking pictures of some of the water lilies in Biltmore’s Italian Garden (you can see that HERE), I noticed this reflection of the sky in the water of one of the pools.  I couldn’t resist trying to capture the reflection (above).

Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

A little later I noticed a reflection of the house in the water.  It looked pretty good even if it was crowded among the lily pads and other aquatic plants.

Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

I found a spot with a little more clear water and was able to get  more of the house in the reflection.

Note:  I’ve tried to make the pictures larger when they are clicked and double-clicked.  Let me know what you think.

Scenic Sunday: Biltmore’s Italian Garden

The Italian Garden on the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

We celebrated Betsy’s birthday a couple of weeks ago by going to the Biltmore Estate.  We have season passes and try to get there every month or so to see the beautiful gardens.  There are several gardens on the estate, which change with the seasons, and each is beautiful.

We spent most of our time on this visit in the Italian Garden, which is the garden closest to the house.  The garden was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (who also designed Central Park in New York City) as an outdoor room for George Vanderbilt and his guests.

One of the pools in Biltmore's Italian Garden. August 5, 2011.

The Italian Garden contains three symmetrical pools full of aquatic plants, beautiful lawns and classical statuary.  There are benches which invite people to sit and enjoy the beauty around them.  (To see another treatment of this photo, click HERE).

Water lilies, Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

Much of the beauty of the Italian Garden comes from the gorgeous blossoms of the water lily.

My World: Birthday Sunshine

Sunflowers on the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

We went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville on Betsy’s birthday.  There is so much to see and the gardens change with each season.  We visited the Italian Garden on this trip, and I’ll have pictures from there at a later date.

But as we were leaving the estate, we came upon a field of sunflowers.  Of course we had to stop and get some pictures.  We especially liked the mountains and hills in the background.

Sunflowers for the Birthday Girl. August 5, 2011. (Photo by Betsy)

The sunflowers themselves were big, bright and beautiful, as you can see in this picture Betsy captured.

Betsy enjoying her birthday sunflowers. Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

But I personally think that the sunflowers paled in comparison to the smile of my Beautiful Bride.