Biltmore Garden Conservatory Asheville NC GRK6542_10182023
by Greg Kluempers
Title
Biltmore Garden Conservatory Asheville NC GRK6542_10182023
Artist
Greg Kluempers
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Biltmore Conservatory - Completed in 1895, the Conservatory embodies the late 19th-century passion for horticulture. It was a collaboration between George Vanderbilt, Frederick Law Olmsted, the estate’s landscape architect, and Richard Morris Hunt, who designed Biltmore House. Hunt designed the structure while Olmsted weighed in on the location.
Like other conservatories in the early 1900s, Biltmore’s glass-enclosed building sheltered exotic and tropical plants from around the world, but it was much more than a pretty place to showcase rare plants; it also fulfilled Vanderbilt’s vision of Biltmore as a self-sufficient, working estate.
“Beyond the main areas that Mr. Vanderbilt’s guests would have enjoyed, there is a large Production Room for potting and growing plants and storing tools and equipment,” Todd said. “We still use those areas today.”
For a building made primarily of glass, it’s remarkable that the Conservatory’s design and construction stood the test of time for more than a century. In 1997, the structure received an extensive two-year renovation.
“Biltmore focused on much-needed repairs while restoring most of the floor plan to the original 1893 design,” said Todd. “I believe George Vanderbilt, who was fascinated with technology and innovations, would have been excited by everything that was done to preserve this historic building.”
One of the highlights of the Conservatory is the Orchid Room that features more than 500 plants in the collection. Peak bloom time is during the winter months, bringing some much-needed warmth and color to the coldest season of the year.
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October 30th, 2023
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