Dahlia ‘Clearview Louise’ (maybe)
Biltmore Estate, a seven thousand acre private estate in Asheville NC, had several nice displays of Dale Chihuly’s art this summer. I have an annual pass to Biltmore as it is just fifteen minutes from home and a great place to walk. So I saw these installations many times and took plenty of pictures. I’ve also recently taken many pictures of dahlias, and sorting through all of these I noticed the similarities between Dale Chihuly glass and some of my favorite Dahlias. Do you see the similarities?
So here’s a tour of Biltmore’s Chihuly display peppered with my photos of these gorgeous blooms.
I did not get to see the big white ball lit up at night, but was told it was spectacular. I think the display in the Wintergarden below was perfect in the choice of glass color, quite elegant.
My favorite area was the Italian Garden. The central piece picks up the theme of the white stone sculptures throughout this garden and the reflective quality of both glass and water are lovely.
The green horns with the purple spikes were my favorite combination.
The boats looked very festive and were reminiscent of Venice … appropriate for the Italian Garden.
I liked the structure and placement of the tall pieces in the Walled Garden,
but I didn’t care for the color choice of plant material surrounding them. It really clashed.
I didn’t really understand the red spikes in this planting. It seemed sort of an afterthought.
The Arbor Walk below was a fun display.
Waterbirds?
Snakes?
Bacchus looks puzzled by the aliens surrounding him …
The hanging pieces in the Conservatory were nice, but easy to miss. We don’t naturally look up unless something like a noise draws our attention.
My friend and colleague Amanda gave me several Dahlia tubers to try and they are the most marvelous flowers I have ever grown. I understand how people can get addicted to this plant.
Dahlia ‘Belle of Barmera’