This year, we’ve put together Our Favorite Things: a short list of places near the Inn on Mill Creek B&B where you can find the stuff that brings joy. Springtime around here is all about flowers and we’ve got some local outdoor spaces in our neck of the woods that will boost your mood with beautiful blooms.
Biltmore – with 8,000 acres of grounds and gardens, Biltmore doesn’t disappoint. Now through May 25, visitors have the option to return to the estate at no charge the following day: biltmore.com
Walking through the 15-acre Azalea Garden at Biltmore in April
Blue Ridge Parkway – if you’re looking for wildflowers, head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a drive to see rhododendron-covered slopes and other blooms – we recommend Craggy Gardens and the Linville Falls area in particular: blueridgeparkway.org
Rhododendron at Craggy Gardens Picnic Area
Botanical Gardens at Asheville – 10 acres of garden spaces full of native plants and a really good spot for spring birding: ashevillebotanicalgardens.org
Spring blooming shrubs at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville
Lake Lure Flowering Bridge – a gorgeous public garden on a former road bridge between Lake Lure and Chimney Rock State Park; if you’re going to be in that area, don’t miss it: lakelurefloweringbridge.org
Part of the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge in bloom
North Carolina Arboretum – on the southwest side of Asheville is this 434-acre nature oasis with extensive gardens and hiking trails: ncarboretum.org
The North Carolina Arboretum in spring