Bellagio Conservatory Whips Out Its Impressive Autumnal Regalia

By Scott Roeben, on October 07 2015
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It’s fall, and the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens are once again resplendent with all things seasonally-appropriate and whimsical, including pumpkins, mythical and woodland creatures, ample foliage and a big-ass watermill.

Bellagio Conservatory fall 2015
Before we get too far, we should say Autumnal Regalia would not be a bad band name.

The Bellagio Conservatory will sport its fall display through Nov. 27, 2015. The annual holiday display opens Dec. 3 and runs through Jan. 2, 2016.

Bellagio Conservatory fall 2015
The bridge is much like a covered bridge you’d find in Vermont, but with fewer people in Birkenstocks.

Some of the elements of this year’s fall display will be familiar to frequent visitors to the Conservatory, but it’s a must-see nonetheless. And not just because it’s free. But in case there were any question, it’s free.

Bellagio autumn 2015
It’s getting whimsical up in here.

At the center of Bellagio’s fall display is the aforementioned 33-foot-long bridge. We love aforementioning. Somebody has to do it.

Bellagio Conservatory bridge
It’s intesting to note the bridge is 33 feet long because that number is considered mystical in Chaldean and Pythagorean numerology, whatever those might actually be.

There’s also a talking tree, which is only creepy for a minute and the kids seem to love it.

Bellagio talking tree
Feeling guilty about your cutting board right about now, aren’t you?

New additions to the autumnal display are three larger-than-life dandelions. At least we think they’re new. We were fairly tanked during our last autumnal visit.

Bellagio Gardens fall 2015
The dandelions range in height between 14 and 18 feet. The scientific name for dandelions is “Taraxacum,” which sounds dirtier than it really is.

As with all the displays at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, there’s an incredible attention to detail and an enviable amount of creativity.

There’s a wagon overflowing with pumpkins, scarecrows, bales of hay and various water features. One of the pumpkins weighs 1,000 pounds, evidence even pumpkins can’t resist a delicious Las Vegas buffet.

Bellagio Conservatory 2015
Autumn is often marked by melancholic reflection. Which confirms this blog is a band name-generating machine.

And, of course, there are lots of flowers.

Over the course of the fall exhibit, about 45,000 flowers will be used (about 7,500 a week), and let’s not forget the shrubs. The shrubs never get any of the glory, but there are 1,950 of them. Shrubs should seriously think about unionizing. As the watermill would say, “What goes around comes around.”

Bellagio Conservatory
This watermill just got aforementioned, hard.

The mythical tree creatures, called Ents, are especially indignant about the shrubs being taken for granted. You tell them, Treebeard-looking dude.

Bellagio Gardens Ent creature
Ent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “giant.” It’s annoying being forced to learn things, isn’t it?

Las Vegas visitors always look forward to seeing the latest display at the Bellagio Conservatory, and we rarely fail to miss one. While the there are signs Bellagio is starting to cut corners a bit (the polite term is “recycling”), the seasonal displays remain one of the best free things to do in Las Vegas.

Bellagio Conservatory & Gardens
If it weren’t for the Bellagio Conservatory, residents of Las Vegas would honestly not know what season it is.

While we stopped by during the evening, it’s important to remember visits during the day and at night provide two very different experiences. So, do both. And gamble while you’re there. Autumnal regalia doesn’t come cheap, you know.