Biltmore Bloom Report
July 2024
Biltmore’s Director of Horticulture tells you what’s blooming when (and where!) across the estate.
Our extensive annual and perennial displays begin to shine in July. The favorable June weather helped get them established, and now July’s warmer days will bring forth an abundance of color. In addition to the annuals and perennials, summer-blooming shrubs like Hydrangeas, Vitex, Bottlebrush Buckeye, Sweetspire, and Abelia add plenty of color to our gardens and within and around Antler Hill Village.
Be sure to visit the Conservatory to admire our talented staff’s creativity and hard work. The tropical displays they’ve assembled are outstanding and show off many plants not commonly seen. From there, a stroll along the estate’s nature trails rewards you with views of native wildflowers growing in the fields and along stream banks
The blooms of Purple Coneflower, Butterfly Weed, Tickseed, Black-Eyed Susan, Goldenrod, Joe-Pye Weed, and more create a symphony of colors and textures that is simply stunning. By month’s end, the first wave of Sunflowers along the Lagoon Trail should be approaching full bloom; the second wave is expected to bloom mid-September. In total we expect to see over 224,000 blooms between the two waves—don’t miss the guest-favorite experience of “taking selfies in the Sunflowers!”
—Bill Quade, Director of Horticulture
See July Blooms
Come walk, bike, or hike along Biltmore’s Antler Hill Village paths, where the season’s first wave of Sunflowers will be in full bloom by month’s end! Pictured here: last July’s Sunflowers.
Adorned with delicate, fiery reddish-orange blooms, Crocosmia is a summer stunner; you’ll find them in Biltmore’s Walled Garden and Antler Hill Village.
Guests enjoy a glorious summer’s morning in Biltmore’s Walled Garden as the glass-ceilinged Conservatory awaits their arrival.
From one of the Conservatory’s doorways, white Peace Lily blooms peer into a room that brims with lush tropical displays.
Guests explore the tropical displays assembled and placed outside the Conservatory by Biltmore’s talented gardening staff.
Found in Biltmore’s Shrub and Spring Gardens, as well as throughout Antler Hill Village, Oakleaf Hydrangeas are laden with large, creamy-white blooms.
A stroll along Biltmore’s nature trails rewards you with views of such native wildflowers as these red-centered purple Coneflowers.
Artfully arranged potted palms and tropical plants greet you in front of Biltmore House.
Biltmore’s Evolving Landscape
A General Guide to What Blooms When
March Blooms at Biltmore
March usually offers spring’s first pops of color. Witch hazels, with bursts of orange, red, and yellow, are striking against the evergreens. Joining them are early season Daffodils, Lenten rose (Hellebore), Snowdrop, and Hyacinth, which create a splendid lower canopy of color across the estate.
The early blooming shrubs our gardeners have worked so hard to maintain, such as Japanese pieris, Spirea, and Winter jasmine, offer bold statements. The Cornelian cherry dogwood shows off clusters of tiny star-shaped flowers, and the blossoms of white and black pussy willow in the Azalea Garden signal winter’s passing and spring’s imminent arrival. Now brimming with Tulips, Daffodils, and Grape hyacinth, our Conservatory is also home to a stunning collection of Orchids at peak bloom.
April Blooms at Biltmore
Seasonal Tulips and Daffodils steal the show in April, seen in beds at the estate’s entrance, in the Walled Garden, and in Antler Hill Village. The Redbuds, Serviceberry, and Flowering dogwoods show plenty of color throughout the estate, enhancing the drive up the Approach Road and time spent in our gardens.
Each day, new plants bloom in the gardens near Biltmore House; as Forsythia begins to fade, Quince, Viburnum, and Fothergilla step into the spotlight. Azaleas begin to flower in April, and as their blooms continue to intensify, our Azalea Garden becomes a glorious tapestry of hues.
May Blooms at Biltmore
In May, the Mountain laurels, accompanied by the Catawba hybrid rhododendrons, should be in full bloom along the Approach Road and within the gardens, offering a dazzling welcome for Biltmore’s guests. Adding to this lush, colorful display: Kousa dogwood, Sweetshrub, Mock orange, Yellowwood, and Fringe trees.
Peak bloom builds in the Rose Garden with this month’s warm weather, which will push herbaceous perennials toward making bold color statements of their own. Peony, False indigo, and Iris create a rich layer of color throughout the Walled Garden, a lovely complement to the spring annuals and the blooming American wisteria that grows along the east wall. Quite fragrant, these lovely, drooping lilac-to-bluish-purple clusters also adorn the arbor to the Winery and the trellis behind Village Hotel.
June Blooms at Biltmore
Cool mountain mornings make walks through the gardens a truly delightful experience. The annual summer install is complete and tropical plants that spent the winter months inside greenhouses are now outside for everyone to enjoy.
June is a wonderful time to see a variety of Hydrangeas in bloom throughout the gardens, in Antler Hill Village, and at The Inn. Although they offer smaller blossoms than Hydrangea, Abelia is an equally striking plant to see in bloom; it’s such a joy to watch bees dart in and out of the flowers collecting pollen. With June’s warmer days, perennials will undoubtedly add plenty of color within the Walled Garden and smaller beds across the Shrub Garden.
July Blooms at Biltmore
Biltmore is beautiful in July, offering spectacular views for guests to enjoy throughout our gardens and grounds. In Antler Hill Village, wave upon wave of Sunflowers rise skyward and share their cheerful full-bloom faces.
Hydrangeas, Crepe myrtles, Butterfly bush, Vitex, and Sourwood are blooming, adding a variety of vibrant blossoms and a valuable source of nectar for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
While strolling the gardens, be sure to stop at the Conservatory to see the incredible tropical displays our gardeners have created which feature Palms, Banana, Bromeliads, Begonia, Ginger, Plumeria, and Tropical hibiscus.
August Blooms at Biltmore
By August, the summer annuals—meticulously tended since May by the estate’s talented gardeners—are in full bloom.
The Water lily display in the Italian Garden is an absolute delight as you begin a stroll through the gardens.
The blossoms of Hydrangeas and Abelia throughout the Shrub Garden highlight the taller blooming Crepe myrtle, Vitex, and Butterfly bushes.
