In late May, Biltmore turns its gardening attention to a friendly competition taking place in a corner of the Walled Garden.
A jury will gather in Biltmore’s historic rose garden to evaluate roses bred by professionals and beginners on fragrance, overall health and rigor and ability to repeat bloom. It’s part of the Biltmore International Rose Trials Weekend, set for May 29-30.
Roses are rooted in Biltmore’s past. The rose garden was thought to have been used to promote the estate when Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil, and her husband, John Cecil, first opened the doors of Biltmore House for public tours in 1930. At that time, Chauncey Beadle, a horticulturalist and the estate’s superintendent, worked with a post card company to produce a set of hand-colored post cards from photographs taken by George Masa, known for his documentation of and preservation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Because color photographic film was rare at the time, it was a popular practice to hand-color them.
The photo above features one of the hand-colored postcards.
Visit www.biltmore.com to view additional postcards by Mr. Masa.