Bellagio Conservatory Fall Display Is Both Impressive and Taken for Granted by All of Us

By Scott Roeben, on October 29 2014
3 min read 8 comments
Free Las Vegas Las Vegas Things to Do in Las Vegas

The Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens are so dependably impressive, it’s easy to take for granted both the freeness and the wonder of it all. And did we mention it’s still free?

Bellagio Conservatory fall
Fall is here, along with these two, who could clearly benefit from moisturizer.

The Bellagio Conservatory changes seasonally, and its “Fall Harvest Show” runs through Nov. 30, 2014.

Once again, the Bellagio’s 140 horticulturalists have created one “How’d they do that?” moment after another. It’s easy to forget most of the overs-sized objects in the Conservatory are fashioned from plants and flowers. For example, the apples below are each made from more than 1,200 red carnations.

Ballagio Conservatory
These are Rome apples. We say this with confidence mainly because nobody from Bellagio will ever read this blog post, so it’s not like they’re going to correct us or anything.

The Bellagio Conservatory’s fall display has a 40-foot tall watermill, complete with water flowing into a pond below.

Bellagio Conservatory 2104
Swimming is encouraged! Mainly because we are blog and take little to no responsibility for anything we say.

Also on display are two bears (one 10 feet tall, the other six feet tall), their fur fashioned from reindeer moss.

Bellagio Conservatory Gardens bears
Reindeer Moss would not make a terrible band name.

A popular photo op is a path beneath two pergolas. If you don’t know what a pergola is, you clearly aren’t as intelligent or sophisticated as this blog, nor do you have access to look up what a pergola is, which we definitely didn’t do just now. A pergola is an archway in a garden or park with a framework covered with plants.

Bellagio Gardens pergolas
Trust Las Vegas to deliver an amazing set of pergolas.

There’s also a 28-foot-tall talking tree, which is only a little creepy as its eyes follow you and seem to pierce your very soul.

Ballagio Conservatory
Please stop that. We’re easily spooked.

Nearby is a horse made from floral hydrangeas, yarrow and dune grass, whatever those might actually be.

Bellagio Conservatory
Our enthusiasm for the Bellagio Conservatory is unbridled.

Bellagio’s Conservatory has surprises around every turn, with pumpkins weighing as much as 1,200 pounds, a variety of woodland creatures and massive glass leaves (example below).

Bellagio Conservatory leaves
The glass leaves are hand-shaped, range from three to 10 feet in length, and are based upon the leaves of oak, birch, maple and chestnut trees. Yes, we took notes, for once.

Oh, and the fall display boasts 850 shrubs. Shrubs never get the credit they so richly deserve and are consistently underrated. In that sense, shrubs are the “Waterworld” of plants.

There’s also a floral version of Georgia O’Keeffe’s acclaimed painting we’ve never heard of, “Red Tree, Yellow Sky.”

Bellagio gardens las vegas
O’Keeffe’s breathtaking painting was done in 1952, and is considered one of her finest labia-free works.

Guests of the fall display can enjoy live music each day from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Conservatory experts (called Mr. and Mrs. Green Thumb) are available from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to answer questions about the gardens.

If you can’t make it to the Bellagio, check out their sweet Web cam.

Next up at Bellagio is the display for the holidays, one of our favorites of all the Conservatory’s offerings. The holiday display debuts Dec. 6, and runs through Jan. 4, 2015.

Do yourself a favor and stop by the Bellagio, and take time to just take it all in. Get up close and examine the amazing attention to detail, and notice the sheer numbers of flowers used in each seasonal display. The fall display features more than 51,000 seasonal flowers. Yes, we counted.

This charming tree troll was created by sculptor Kim Beaton.
Our favorite part of the fall exhibit is this charming tree troll created by sculptor Kim Beaton.

The Bellagio Conservatory is one of the wonders of Las Vegas, and one of the few free things to do that continues to wows visitors from around the world. Oh, and us. Then again, we’re big into shrubs.

Bellagio Conservatory Fall 2014