Bellagio Conservatory’s Spring Display Goes to the Far East for Inspiration

By Scott Roeben, on April 08 2015
3 min read 3 comments
Free Las Vegas Las Vegas Things to Do in Las Vegas

The Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens have, for the first time, drawn inspiration from Japan for its spring display.

Bellagio Conservatory Japan
The oil-paper umbrella originated in China. Which is pretty much the same as Japan if you look at a map, from a distance, while squinting.

The Bellagio’s new spring display showcases many aspects of Asian culture, including the fact Asian visitors drop a metric ass-ton of cash at Las Vegas casinos. Wait, sorry, that wasn’t in the news release.

This is from the release, “Pairing the soothing aesthetics of Japan’s traditional gardens with Bellagio’s striking grandeur; the new display boasts a vibrant collection of more than 82,000 flowers and larger-than-life floral creations.” Back to more pretty photos!

Bellagio
Some of the 82,000 flowers. We’d tell you which ones, but that would involve “remembering” or “note-taking,” not our favorite things.

Flowers at the Conservatory include tulips, daffodils and snapdragons. Thank you, news release!

Live musicians (our favorite kind) perform songs on a floating platform from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day.

Bellagio musicians
No dancing, please. You might crush a snapdragon.

In a pond, there are 75 live Koi fish (again, our favorite kind).

Bellagio koi
“Koi” is a Japanese word that means “carp.” Koi makes them sound more exotic, so just go with it.

Also on-hand is a 12-foot tall traditional Japanese-inspired tea house.

Bellagio tea house
The ideal floor size of a tea room is 4.5 tatami mats, whatever those might actually be. We are a Las Vegas blog, not a foreign exchange student.

Other cultural icons at the Bellagio Conservatory include the turtle, below. In Japanese culture, turtles represent longevity and good luck. Or soup. But mostly those other two things.

Bellagio turtle
The turtle on display at Bellagio is similar to Gamera, the building-crushing mutant that got its ass whipped by Godzilla. But with flowers.

There are a few elements of this year’s display that are head-scratchers. While the hotel may claim they were inspired by Japanese culture, they seem to have been inspired by, “What can we throw up there on the cheap?”

Bellagio Conservatory
Did we mention the Bellagio Conservatory is still free? All is forgiven.

While the spring display may not necessarily be the Conservatory’s most memorable, we have to keep things in perspective. It’s free, and it could be a CVS. ‘Nuff said.

Besides, flowers!

Bellagio
These are the rare, delicate “flowers we also didn’t bother to write down the name of.”

One of the highlights of the display is an 18-foot-tall cherry blossom tree with 300 acrylic blossoms and leaves.

Bellagio
Whatever happened to the Acrylic Blossoms? Loved their music.

A six-foot-tall crane stands nearby, wings outstretched as if to say, “Please, can we wrap up this blog post? I have to get busy sharing some of these amazing photos on Pinterest.” Or something.

Bellagio Japanese crane
The red-crowned crane, or Japanese crane, is among the rarest in the world and symbolizes fidelity. And in Las Vegas, it’s about the only thing that does.

Before you leave the Conservatory, make sure to check out the giant Fabergé egg fashioned from (wait for it) flowers. The egg is a clever cross-promotion for an exhibit in the Bellagio’s Gallery of Fine Art, “Fabergé Revealed.” The gallery features more than 200 objects made by a dead Russian. Although that’s probably not the description Bellagio uses in its marketing materials. They’re fancy like that. Learn more.

Faberge egg
Despite the fact this has absolutely nothing to do with Japanese culture, it’s still a great photo op, not to mention it could make 4,800 omelets.

Even after years of Bellagio displays, we still enjoy seeing what the Bellagio’s approximately 140 horticulturists have up their sod-soiled sleeves. And like we said, it remains one of the best free things to do in Las Vegas.

Please enjoy more photos in our exclusive gallery of the Japanese and dead Russian-inspired spring display at Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.

Bellagio Conservatory Spring 2015