Las Vegas Weekly

September 21, 2010 · 3:04 PM

Photos: Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens welcomes autumn

By Don Chareunsy

Autumn at the Bellagio.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

Pool season at the casino resorts is on its final laps and takes a last dip. Locals and tourists start to wear long sleeves and pants during the day. Air conditioning switches to heat (well, not quite yet). And the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens has changed its scenery. It must mean summer is ending and autumn is on its way to Las Vegas.

The Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens debuted its picturesque harvest tableau yesterday with sights, colors and scents, including Asiatic lilies and chrysanthemums, celebrating the season, and contributing photographer Tom Donoghue was onsite for this gorgeous Vegas DeLuxe photo gallery.

Among the autumnal attractions: three majestic “fantasy” trees created by English artist Tom Hare weighing 3,300 pounds each; oversized oak, birch, maple and chestnut leaves; a stone-based rustic greenhouse with 20- to 30-year-old specimen orchids from around the world; California pepper and olive trees; eight to 10 colossal pumpkins from Half Moon Bay, Calif., weighing 300 to 1,000 pounds; animated Venus flytraps; an armillary sphere; a babbling brook; moss-covered steps; a scarecrow; colorful gourds; and cattails.

The exhibit in the four gardens at the Bellagio is on display through Nov. 27 and is free and open to the public 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

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