During our recent trip to Asheville, NC, we toured the magnificent Biltmore Estate. This mansion was built by George W Vanderbilt II and completed in 1895. It is the largest privately owned house in the U.S., with 178,926 square feet and 250 rooms. No photography is allowed inside the house, but the gardens were lovely even though it wasn’t the peak season. I’ll share a few of my favorite images from the tour.
front view
me on the Esplanade
view of the Esplanade from the house
stone carvings on exterior
one of the many carved ‘grotesque’ figures
pool with water lilies and papyrus
cactus flowered Dahlia
mixed planting with amaranth
Lynda in front of espaliered fruit trees
orchids blooming in greenhouse
bright colored coleus
Fatshedera hybrid
Strobilanthes aka Persian Shield
walkway with grapevine covered trellis
openings in the trellis frame views of garden
garden tools as handles for garden gift shop
I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the sights at the Biltmore House and Gardens in Asheville, NC. I’ll be back soon with more local adventures here at Happy Acres!
Nice pics, Dave. I love visiting grand old estates and seeing the old craftsmanship.
Out of curiosity, how are your persimmon trees doing this year? Are you expecting a bumper crop?
Hi Thomas! Funny you should ask about the persimmon trees. I got no blooms at all this spring. I am thinking the harsh winter we had must have been the reason. We will see how they do next spring. It also froze my figs back to the ground, but they do have fruit on them, if only it will ripen in time.
Oh no! Hopefully you will have a fantastic crop of persimmons next year. I planted a Ichi persimmon this past spring but they are only marginally hardy here. Persimmons have to be one of my favorite fruits.
Regarding your figs, have you tried to coax them into ripening? I learned about oleification and tried it out for the first time this fall. It really works! After 5 days of treating, my figs began to ripen. I think I will do this in early September each year to ensure that all of my figs ripen on time.
Here’s the post I wrote regarding this:
http://www.seedingthegoodlife.com/2014/09/encouraging-homegrown-figs-to-ripen.html
I must get to Biltmore one day. Looks spectacular.
My husband and I have got to get there too! Thanks for the pictures.