Aug 7 2012: Asheville, Bear Creek Campground, Biltmore Gardens and Estate

Butterfly and zinnia

Morning began in the cool lower 70s. Today we stopped to smell the roses, the zinnias, the daisies, and so many more flora and fauna at Biltmore's Conservatory and Walled Gardens. The abundance of green plants and flowering plants in this beautiful surrounding of Biltmore is awesome.

Latticed Frame of Walled Garden

Conservatory Entrance

There are about 75 gardeners and landscapers who work year-round on Biltmore's grounds. It would be nice if we could get one to come to our house and make suggestions! The four acres in the walled gardens have over two hundred kinds of perennials and over two thousand roses and a fruit-filled grape arbor. After taking nearly a hundred photos of flowers we walked back through the pergola on the southern patio to stroll through the house one more time.

Biltmore Conservatory 

Pergola

This time it was more crowded and we sat on the portico facing the mountain range and wondered what it would have been like to live in such a home in the early part of the century.

One of the things we learned was that the wealthy were guided by what seemed to be a certain expectation level; for instance, one did not wear the same clothing all day. There were up to eight clothing changes, per day, depending on your activity, including but not limited to horseback riding, afternoon tea, formal dinner every evening at 8 o'clock, where six to eight courses would be served.

 The Vanderbilts entertained twenty to thirty guests at any given time, where the guests would stay at "the mountain cottage" for a week or two. We also learned that during the nearly twenty years of entertaining guests there was never a duplicate meal served. You might wonder, as we did, 'were they happy?' By all accounts, the Vanderbilts were a devoted and loving couple and their legacy continues.

After leaving the estate grounds we went to McDonald's for lunch at Biltmore Village.

McDonald's Baby Grand

It is the only McD's in the world that has a baby grand piano. Another fun-filled day and we headed back to camp to plan our excursion for tomorrow. Which direction will that be?