![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190516lo.jpg)
...or meeting the ever-changing expectations of "luxury"...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190524croplo.jpg)
...the Bellagio creates immersive, botanical experiences for each season in its 14,000-square-foot Conservatory.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190535cropLO.jpg)
Located under a 50-foot glass ceiling, accented by copper that's been oxidized green (called verdigris)...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190500lo.jpg)
...this season's exhibit is "Flights of Fancy," depicting various forms of flight (like the 34-foot-tall "princess" hot air balloon) in a spring color palette...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190556cropLO.jpg)
...of pinks, greens, yellows, lavenders, and more.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190547lo.jpg)
Ed Libby, Director of Conservatories for MGM Resorts International (which owns and operates the Bellagio), works with a team of design and a horticulture staffers to try to closely follow the Tournament of Roses guidelines for using natural materials—and as a result, these creatures look reminiscent of floats from the Rose Parade.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20220502_142540lo.jpg)
Intermingling with an airship, butterflies, and other fanciful flying objects and creatures...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190510lo.jpg)
...there's an installation of 16-foot-tall handmade glass daffodils...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190527lo.jpg)
...looming over real yellow daffodils (considered one of the "first flowers of spring")...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190530lo.jpg)
...which are just some of the 8,700 potted plants used this time around...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190476lo.jpg)
...representing the most botanical variety ever used in the Conservatory's gardens.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190503lo.jpg)
It's so easy to get transported by these gardens, it seems as though the "steampunk balloon" might just take off and crash through the atrium.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190497lo.jpg)
Among the winged creatures, there are hummingbirds getting a snack...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190492lo.jpg)
...out of a giant hibiscus bloom...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190485lo.jpg)
...and other natural materials offering their tasty nectar.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190464lo.jpg)
I can't believe I didn't visit these gardens until Fall of 2019.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190488lo.jpg)
How could I have missed this in all those visits to Vegas before that?
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190480lo.jpg)
But I often find the Strip overwhelming—and at least three different trips prior to my introduction to the Bellagio Conservancy, I'd stayed in hotels off the Strip.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/20220502_141149lo.jpg)
Fortunately, the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located just off the hotel lobby, and not far from the self park elevators.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190509lo.jpg)
And self parking is free for an hour, which is plenty of time to get in and get out. (Admission to the Conservatory is also free.)
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1190550lo.jpg)
The current display opened March 12 and will run through May 14, 2022. Open 24 hours.
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