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| Biltmore Estate Bass Pond and gardens, NC | | -
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| | Biltmore Estate Bass Pond and gardens, NC | | | |
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Biltmore Estate Bass Pond and gardens, NC
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| Hiking | 3.04 Miles |
384 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.04 Miles | 2 Hrs 27 Mns | | 1.57 mph |
| 384 ft AEG | 31 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This is day two of my Biltmore Estate experience. So glad I planned two days here; I could have gone for three. I had scheduled my Rooftop Tour for 1:30. After continental breakfast at a hotel in Asheville and scraping off a little coat of ice from the windshield, I made the beautiful drive through the estate and parked in a different lot that would have me come in from the upper tier this time.. It's a lovely walk to the estate and with map in hand, under an overcast sky, I got to spend my morning going thru some more of the Biltmore's gardens and the hike around all of Bass Pond and then back up through the gardens and Conservatory to the old stables area for lunch.
The top part of the garden I had been through yesterday. Today I veered left to follow the signs to Bass Pond. I snapped some more pictures of the fabulous Beautyberry bushes and of the Walled Garden in the distance. You have flora and trees all around you. It definitely would have been better to have another set of eyes to catch some more of it. I crossed under a beautiful constructed brick arch as I continued down the gardens. Some of the plants are so incredible and the trees, especially with the ivy growing up its trunks.
The next section I passed above and below was a manicured lawn accented with fall color, both new and waning including hydrangeas, one of my favorite flowers. Some bright blooms caught my eye so I detoured a little to check them out; they were actually fall blooming azaleas. And now back to my mission, but wait, what are these berries on this fall-color tree? Google lens was going to be busy today. It would be a Dogwood tree, and there were a few scattered about along with some other trees that had these huge leaves that had turned yellow. Google lens suggested a Magnolia tree. This fellow Olmsted, really did a fabulous job of landscaping this estate.
Born April 26, 1822, Olmsted is often referred to as the “Father of Landscape Architecture in America,” and is best known as the designer of Central Park in New York City. Biltmore would prove to be Olmsted’s last design. As he approached the end of his work on the estate, he said “It is a great work of peace we are engaged in and one of these days we will all be proud of our parts in it.” He said Biltmore was “the most permanently important public work” of his career. More than 120 years after his work, we continue to benefit from his vision.
I finally got to the bridge at the northeast end of Bass Pond. I was taken aback at the beauty of the pond and its autumn surroundings  . And as if the geese knew a youtuber was around, they came my direction; needless to say, "tibbermode" exploded for the rest of this hike since the geese would seemingly follow me; there were over two dozen of them. I wandered left over to the boat house that really isn't a house, per se, but a covered veranda. I thot it would be something quite grand but it was natural and simplistic. I wasn't sure if the trail continued up on the road so I reversed course and went back to the bridge. I checked out the gigantic and lush bamboo stand of trees as I hiked the west side of the pond.
I could go on and on about the details of this incredible hike around the pond but this triplog is already too long. The light was in and out for a lot of this day until later in the afternoon. There were various places you could stop along the way with benches to sit and soak in the incredible scene and color around you. Across the way was the brick bridge I had stopped at yesterday and so were the geese on this serene pond; I couldn't let either camera rest for even a moment it seemed.
I made my way to what they call the Bass Waterfall which is more like a miniature spillway. I walked below it, took some pics and then made my way through some sort of maze of bamboo and out. I walked across the natural spillway bridge and back over to the brick bridge on Winery Approach Road. The trees in this area are very tall too. The sun came in and out as I made my way back. I stopped at the wooden bridge again and guess who came to say goodbye, yep, the geese  . Didn't they know I needed to keep moving and just couldn't take anymore pictures/movies of them!
A great thing about this hike back up through the garden is they have an optional dirt trail to take with flat rocks as bridges across the flowing water. I made my way up through a different part of the garden toward the Conservatory where, like others, including elderly men, the camera was very busy. The Conservatory is simply outstanding. The beautiful Conservatory was completed in 1895 and highlights a wide variety of exotic plants. Its tall arched windows look out onto the terraced butterfly garden and the Walled Garden beyond, and the pointed glass roof lets in an abundance of natural light.
Imagine the luxury of having a house full of tropical plants to delight your senses—ranging from 40-foot palms to four-inches tall bromeliads. George and Edith Vanderbilt enjoyed that experience with Biltmore’s Conservatory, a beautifully designed greenhouse built for nurturing plants.
Beneath its expansive glass roof, the Conservatory contains hundreds of plant varieties grown in several purposefully designed spaces, including the Orchid Room, Hot House, and Cool House.
I spent as much time as I could before walking through the Walled Garden which I would come back to after the Rooftop Tour. It was hard not to constantly stop and just soak in each garden's contents but I needed to get lunch. I ended up in line at the same place I was yesterday and there was this busload of southern ladies; it was fun listening to all their accents. I sat at a table with a couple from TN who thot I had an accent. They are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this coming April. He worked on military aircraft in Germany until coming back here to do the same but on airline aircraft; not too pleased with the current workers so he retired.
I am doing a separate triplog on the Rooftop and Gardens and Lagoon Tour. And like I said, if this place isn't on your list, if you have one, it should be. I even saw old men taking lots of pictures  .
Come along with me to enjoy this fabulous place through my videos:
Part 1 [ youtube video ] the drive and gardens
Part 2 [ youtube video ] gardens to the pond and the geese
Part 3 [ youtube video ] more geese, the pond, boathouse and hike around to the southeastern point
Part 4 [ youtube video ] pond and Bass Waterfall/Spillway
Part 5 [ youtube video ] Bass Pond bridge, brick bridge, north bridge and geese
Garden to the Conservatory and Gardens [ youtube video ] |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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