Biltmore Estate in the Spring

Biltmore Estate is one of my family's favorite places to visit throughout the year, and Spring is, by far, the best time of year to see the estate in all its splendor! We are regular pass holders and go at least 4 times or more each year, since the estate is only about an hour and a half drive from our home in Northeast Tennessee. The millions of flowers, trees and shrubs in the garden and throughout the estate are so gorgeous and literally take your breath away. I never, ever tire of seeing the estate throughout all the seasons, and Spring is my favorite there.

Just one of the many tulip beds that are on display each Spring at Biltmore in their huge garden

One of the several pink dogwood trees on the grounds at Biltmore

We took the time this past Sunday to visit Biltmore and I share just a few of the MANY photos I took for you to view below. You can view the rest of the pictures on Photobucket by clicking here.

Another tulip bed in the main garden

We love eating lunch or dinner at Biltmore, and the Stable Cafe is one of our favorite lunchtime spots to eat. Their menu offers southern fare at a reasonable price and the food is absolutely devine! If you are there for dinner, try the Bistro, which is even better but more pricey, but well worth it in my opinion!

Stable Cafe's Herb Roasted Rotisserie Chicken leg quarter with mashed potatoes and fall vegetables for $9.95. It is amazing!

Preston and Gage waiting for lunch to arrive!

We have viewed the interior of the house many, many times, so on this particular visit we concentrated on the grounds and garden, as the scenery was our main focus. The springtime flowers were just exquisite and the tulips blew me away. If you have the chance, visit the estate in the Spring for a lovely show of color and again in the summer for all the wonderful roses on display.

We enjoy stopping by the Gardener's Place at Biltmore each visit, as they have a very large selection of gardening items and outside decor. My son also loves stopping by Toymaker's inside the carriage house, near the estate, which was at one time the original carriage house and stable for Biltmore. The toy shop has all sorts of unique toys, dolls, and puppets that will amaze kids and adults alike.

The Mad Hatter statue from Alice in Wonderland that is on display at the Gardener's Place

Alice in Wonderland statue display

Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland statue on display

Hot air balloons on display in the Toymaker's shop

I hope you enjoy all the beautiful shots I captured and I highly recommend you make the time to go see Biltmore Estate, (located in Asheville, North Carolina) in all its splendor any time of the year, from their springtime flower festival, to their summertime concert series each year, to their Christmastime events when the house is decorated with the most beautiful Christmas trees that you've ever seen!

Side view of house from side entrance of gardens

Side entrance to gardens area with wisteria arbor

Gage cheesin' in front of one of many huge Japanese maples in the gardens

Gage with an actual real smile (and not his usual fake camera smile). I was threatening to come over and tickle him and that finally got me a real smile to capture!

Interior side entry of one of the many hothouses in the gardens

A miniature tangerine tree on display in one of the hothouses

Some gorgeous and huge daisies on display in one of the hothouses

One of the many exotic orchids on display in the hothouses

XOXO, Crystal

Spring has sprung at The Sak!

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*Image used courtesy of The Sak

My weekend fun: Springtime planting!

This past weekend had wonderful, warm and sunny weather on Saturday and Sunday, so we made a trip to our local Lowe's home improvement store and stocked up on some beautiful plants, flowers, trees and shrubs for the back yard. Our backyard and front yard is always a constant work in progress, but I love adding to the flowers and trees each year and sprucing things up, so this year will be no exception!

We picked up some gorgeous red cedar planter boxes and a matching arbor. We also picked up some white picket fencing to put around the patio in the backyard. I planted some clematis vines at the base of the arbor which should look beautiful by next year. I was also lucky to find some dahlia bulbs, flowering almond bushes, and a dwarf bing cherry tree. You can check out the rest of the snapshots I took on Photobucket by clicking here.

A new plant that I picked up for the backyard. I can't remember the name!

My new arbor over the patio walkway adjoining the backyard. I also strung up some patio lights on it.

The cherry blossoms in our front yard

Some of our daffodils in the front yard

Happy Gardening, Crystal