The Azalea Garden at Biltmore

My friend and I visited Biltmore on May 2. The main reason for our visit was to see the 15 acre Azalea Garden which is spectacular at this time of year.

I loved this little bridge (above). This is the largest garden at Biltmore and it contains a thousand azaleas of all sorts of varieties, including native and hybrid.

This garden was mostly planted by Chauncey Beadle, a Cornell University graduate and horticulturist who was hired "temporarily" as a very young man in 1890. He once said that he "came to Biltmore for a month but stayed for a lifetime." He worked here for 60 years. He and his azalea hunters traveled the country looking for unique and different azalea cultivars. In 1940 he donated his huge collection of azaleas to Biltmore.

This garden has a few of these precarious crossings. This serves as a bridge across this stream. :)

I didn't get the names of any of these azaleas but I thought this one was especially lovely.

I loved this bridge and stone bench beside the little stream.

A nice collection of various colors near the woods and exit drive.

When we left the Azalea Garden, we strolled down to the bass pond. It looks more like a lake to me, it's so big.

 I was so excited to get to see and photograph the Canadian geese chicks! I saw these babies for the first time a couple weeks before but didn't get a photo until this time. They are the cutest! The parents were ever watchful to make sure we didn't grab one. :)

The walk along the bass pond is nice and relaxing. It leads down to a dam and a man-made waterfall. There are benches here and there along the way so people can sit, rest and enjoy the view. Above and below are opposite views. Below you can see the top of the boat house, which looks like a big gazebo.

After leaving the Bass Pond, we again passed through the Azalea Garden, no hardship with all the beautiful flowers and other interesting sights, like this crooked tree and a stone bench.

This is the exit to the Azalea Garden, a grand finale of blooms.

I hope you enjoyed today's garden stroll! :)
Thanks!
Vonda
www.vondasinclair.com

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