With outdoor temperatures cooling off, foliage across the country taking on majestic tones and the holidays just around the corner, autumn is the favorite season of the year for many. Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens invites guests to experience the season’s splendor with vibrant shades of fall, comforting aromas and angelic sounds from live musicians now through Nov. 29.
Fall flourishes throughout the Gardens with more than 8,500 chrysanthemums in 10 color variations bedded among ivy, bird’s-nest fern, plum and magnolia trees. A symbol of the autumn harvest, the Conservatory boasts up to 2,500 pumpkins of all shapes and sizes with the largest weighing up to 1,200 pounds. Hand-sculpted maple, chestnut, birch and oak leaves along with oversized pinecones hang overhead.
A 40-foot-tall red wood cider mill takes center stage in the autumn display, churning water into a tranquil pond below. Nearby, an idle rowboat docks by a 20-foot-tall enchanted talking tree that welcomes (and sometimes surprises) its visitors. In the North Garden, a larger-than-life cornucopia made of tightly woven willow branches overflows with pumpkins, gourds and exotic fruit, creating an impeccable autumn tableau. Steps away, a mythical display awaits as a gigantic troll-like creature with a mysterious face and wild botanical “hair” rests beneath a majestic tree.
Inspired by the beautiful scenery of the East Coast, a covered bridge entangled in live vines, bark and Spanish moss makes its home in the East Garden. Nearby, a 25-foot-tall “fantasy” tree made of 450,000 feet of twisted willow branches soars to the sky as delightful harp, violin and cello players perform nightly from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. atop a bark-covered stage below. A traditional 16-foot scarecrow encircled by ears of corn and a 1870s Newton grain wagon complete this fall fantasy.
In conjunction with the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art’s exhibit “Warhol Out West,” the Conservatory has created a floral interpretation of Warhol’s iconic “Dollar Sign.” Located in the Giardini corner, the recreated painting is fitted within a 6-foot-tall elaborately carved frame.
On view through November 29, the autumn display within Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is complimentary to the public and open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
