Mary Claire Rowe

Thoughts about the art of garden landscaping have filled my head for a couple of weeks of late, after having the opportunity to tour the famous Biltmore Estate and Gardens of Asheville, N.C.

Even at the end of summer, when many gardens are not at their best, the formal walled garden there was perfect.

It is large in scale, and the plantings are artfully arranged, of course. Visitors enter from the uphill side, nearest the home. Standing there and looking down the long, trellis-covered stairway, one can see the large, colorful flower-beds, the beautiful old brick and glass conservatory, the forests and then the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond. It was built to amaze and it certainly does that.

Displayed there in large numbers are plants of many varieties, making it possible to have grand, sweeping displays of flowers and colorful leaves. Just the formal garden area alone is four acres, and is set so that the viewer can see most of it from the entrance and get a feel for what is to come in the tour.

It also makes it possible for the gardener designers to arrange the plants to make quilt-like patterns, and seasonal displays.

The grape-clad trellis covering the downhill walkway is built with large, round portals at each landing, so the visitor can stand for a while and view the plants just outside.

Each view is a perfect little scene of color, form, and texture. For most visitors, it was an opportunity to take "yet again" another picture. Those who are not possessed by their desire to photograph, to hold that scene forever, can not really understand the urge to photograph every little view, but those of us who do, did.

Along the trellis are apple, pear, apricot, and plum trees, as well as Rose of Sharon, and Pyracantha shrubs, and wisteria vines - kept well in check. In the spring, it must be breathtaking. There was also an area at the end with really large cucumber squash growing through the trellis and hanging down like strange green lanterns.

The Conservatory at the end of the walk is filled with hundreds of plants of every kind imaginable from ferns to cacti to orchids, and more. It is used to nurture plants for the Biltmore House at different seasons, as well as to make a place that is lovely to visit.

One of the most amazing parts of the whole experience there is the 12 miles of arboretum on both sides of the drive through the 250-acre pastoral, English-style park that the visitor is allowed to drive. All the gardens and drives of the estate were planned by Frederick Law Olmstead, the Landscape Architect, who also designed New York City's Central Park.

Just driving through the incredibly beautiful forests gives the visitor a feeling for the way American must have looked to the Native Americans, before the trees were over-harvested, the land over-worked, and "weeds'' found their way into every nook and cranny. It was breath-taking in its beauty and splendor; and thought-provoking by its mere existence.

Yet, East Texans don't have to travel to North Carolina to experience such beauty, since the Smith County Master Gardeners' IDEA Garden is a little jewel of a garden, with an artfully arranged and incredibly beautiful selection of plants that will inspire more creative gardening for the viewer. Don't miss this opportunity, right here in the Tyler Rose Garden complex, to see great beauty and interesting plants.

"What's Blooming In Our Garden'' is a regular feature of the Tyler Morning Telegraph Garden Page. It is written by Mary Claire Rowe, a Master Gardener with the Texas Cooperative Extension, and focuses on flowers and plant life around East Texas. To share your comments on gardening, write her in care of the Morning Telegraph.

Mary Claire Rowe
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