nature
Biltmore Estate Part Three: Gardens
In my two previous posts, we’ve seen the glittering Upstairs and dark, work hard/play hard Downstairs, now we finally come to the Biltmore Estate gardens and conservatories! Today's post is probably the best-looking in the history of the blog, so wipe down your reading spectacles and feast your eyes on the glory of ALL THE PLANTS!
Remember when I said that George Washington Vanderbilt spared no expense? Well, he got Frederick Law Olmsted to do all the landscape design for the house and gardens. Do you vaguely remember some little places called Central Park in New York, the U.S Capitol grounds, or Golden Gate Park in San Fransisco? HE DESIGNED THEM. With friends, of course. He was an early American conservationist and helped develop the first managed forest in the U.S. at Biltmore; Gifford Pinchot, one of the first American foresters, revamped the woods for Olmsted and went on to found the U.S. Forest Service. Apparently, people had really done a number on the forests around Biltmore before the Vanderbilts bought the land, so Olmsted and others convinced the family to manage the forest responsibly so they could profit from the lumber (and retain a nice, lush forest view). The Biltmore Forest School opened in 1913 to teach forestry and conservation techniques that are still in use today. The forest at Biltmore is over 4,500 acres, which I think is pretty impressive. If you're going to have a big house in the woods, make sure you are being nice to the woods!
Naturally, I went to visit this place in the dead of winter to make sure there were hardly any tourists, so most of the garden action outside was not action at all. So I peeped into the greenhouses and NEARLY DIED from the beauty of it all (and from wearing a parka and scarf in a 100% humidity, 80-degree glass box of death).First, there was the Palm House, which immediately fogged up my camera lens but I think it made the whole experience more dramatic and I kind of felt like I was in a prehistoric jungle, except there wasn’t anything there that could eat me. JUST LOOK AT THIS PLACE:
Next came the Hot House and the Cool House, which were abolutely packed with more leafy greens, flowers, and cacti than you can possibly imagine. How do they keep track of all this?! It's astounding. So, now I am going to shut up and let you observe the beauty. BEHOLD!
Just jumping in to say JESUS that giant leaf is 100% some dinosaur plant and it is truly terrifying. Also, I want one in my house.
I'll end this unbelievable trip to Biltmore Estate with the house itself, seen from the staircase to the gardens. Hopefully another day I can come back in spring or summer when everything is blooming, but I'm so grateful that I was at least able to sneak around in the conservatories and get a much-needed dose of nature. I almost didn't go to Biltmore because I was being a snob, was tired from my road trip, and was reluctant to shell out $50 for a ticket. But it was definitely worth it! I really hope you guys have enjoyed the Biltmore series, and if you haven't seen my post on the house's Upstairs and Downstairs, now's your chance!
So what do you think of the conservatories? Over the top? Too steamy? DID I BORE YOU?? Let me know in the comments!
So what do you think of the conservatories? Over the top? Too steamy? DID I BORE YOU?? Let me know in the comments!
Angus Walk: South London Green Chain
On my MA course, we were often graced with the presence of Angus, a visiting lecturer from SOAS. At the end of the course he taught--and as often as we could politely beg him for another--he would plan a history walk around London, where you would learn more from him just talking than you had ever had learned about anything in your life. How all that information stays in one person's mind, I don't know. Anyway, Angus usually takes us on London city tours and tells us all about architecture, companies, politics, and famous people; we'd had a City of London, East London docks, and London cemetery tour already. This time, we asked him to do a South London tour of all the greenest green spaces down there. There is a path called the Green Chain that is full magnificent tree-lined and cemetery-filled walking paths to be had south of the river, and Angus walked (sprinted) with us right through it
Now, to my American friends, prepare yourself for some English pronunciations! As you can see on the sign, we were wandering through Sydenham (Sih-denum) Hill, one of many gorgeous leafy green areas of Southern London which used to be the Great North Wood before it became a trendy neighborhood in the 19th century. We also wandered through the boroughs of Southwark (Suhtherk) and Lewisham. Dulwich (Dull-itch), or Deepest Darkest Dulwich as my friend calls it, is around there as well, and that's where the Horniman Museum and Gardens are. The museum has a musical instrument collection, and I once went to a really awesome ethnomusicology conference on instruments there with my friend who spoke about mouth harps in Norway (and totally shut down some jerk who didn't understand why people liked mouth harps). Anyway, even the suburb parts are green like this, and there are tons of gorgeous cottages, a great place for 18th century paintings called Dulwich Picture Gallery, and all the wonders of English leafiness within Overground distance of all your favorite London things. Why are people so hung up about living or visiting friends 'South of the River'?? EMBRACE IT.
There were lots of hills and stairs involved and I got a good workout because I was stupid and decided to run up all the stairs, so I was sore the next day. But I digress. We passed lots of WWI cemeteries including Nunhead Cemetery, one of the Magnificent Seven of London cemeteries. It's Victorian, like almost everything around here, and was opened in 1840. It came complete with an Anglican church but it lost its roof in a fire, so now it's just open to the sky.
Bye for now, my friends. There is more Englishness to come!
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