Meet the New Face of the Biltmore Floral Team

With the retirement of Cathy Barnhardt, Biltmore’s Floral Displays Manager for 40 years—since the first Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration—many were left wondering: Who will fill these festive shoes?

Enter Lizzie Borchers. A Texas native, Lizzie studied floriculture at Texas A&M University with a dream of working at Biltmore.

“I actually began e-mailing the company as a freshman to show my interest,” she laughs.

After working at Dr. Delphinium Designs & Events, one of the largest florist shop in Texas (and that’s saying something!), Lizzie joined Biltmore in 2014 as the Lodging & Events Floral Manager.

And when Cathy announced her retirement earlier this year, Lizzie felt confident in fulfilling the role.

Lizzie was officially promoted July 1, and then she spent two months with Cathy, trying to soak up the knowledge gained from her four decades of experience.

“Cathy had never had to train anyone for her position before,” says Lizzie, “which resulted in a lot of really long conversations.”

One thing Lizzie couldn’t be trained on, however, is coordinating our brand new must-see holiday display of shimmering lights and décor at Antler Hill Village & Winery.

As dusk falls, the village is illuminated with almost 4,000 strands of twinkling lights. Pathways are lit with 100 lanterns hanging from poles of estate-harvested bamboo. More than 65 shrubs are decorated with nearly 200 sparkling stars, snowflakes, and spheres.

“With this much illumination, the village will be viewable from space,” Lizzie says.

Inside the Winery’s Tasting Room, more than 7,000 gold and glittery globe-shaped ornaments—reminiscent of champagne bubbles—hang from the ceiling.

“I think what I’m most impressed with in my new position so far is our floral team’s ownership of their individual design areas—especially considering the large size and scope of our work,” says Lizzie. “They really do go above and beyond to deliver an experience similar to what guests of the Vanderbilts may have enjoyed more than 100 years ago.”

Images
Feature: Lizzie Borchers, Floral Displays Manager
First image: The Inn’s Lobby at Christmas, decorated by Lizzie’s team in 2015
Second image: Antler Hill Village Christmas lights in storage
Third image: Lizzie with ornaments for the Tasting Room