ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Springtime means something big at the Biltmore Estate — Biltmore Blooms.

It’s an annual celebration of spring’s return to the estate and the gardens are a must-see.

Biltmore Blooms has been a long-standing tradition since the 1980s. People travel from all across the country to enjoy Biltmore Gardens Railway.

The horticulture team at Biltmore is a big one. Different teams are in charge of the gardens, the grounds, the entrance, etc. Jordana Chalnik is a part of the horticulture team working hard to make the gardens what they are. She’s the entry crew supervisor.

Chalnik had dreams of working for the estate long before ever getting a job. One time she was actually denied a job, but she didn’t let that stop her from making her dream a reality. She fell in love with the estate when she first toured the gardens and found how unique they were.

Now, she’s been working at Biltmore for 14 years.

She said they start planning for Biltmore Blooms a year out. Tulips are the flower of the estate, and they get those from Holland.

“It’s definitely a labor of love,” Chalnik said. “Even when it’s hard or tedious or hot, ya know there’s always that knowledge that we are presenting a beautiful show for our guests.”

Chalnik is in charge of planning designs and, if approved, seeing them to fruition.

When she was hired in 2006, she said she knew she was home.

“To see people, ya know, they’re making memories out here,” Chalnik said. “Easter weekend there’s kids out here in their fancy clothes and you’re thinking ‘oh that person, I’m creating a backdrop for their story’ and that feels really good.”

A big part of Biltmore Blooms is also what’s going on inside the estate. Art in Bloom is an expansion of George Vanderbilt’s art collection, and a lot of research and planning goes into making the interior floral designs inviting and vibrant.

Lizzie Whitcher is in charge of the team of floral designers in charge of the arrangements inside.

“I feel like I’m at the pinnacle,” said Whitcher about working at Biltmore. It was a lifelong dream of hers. She first reached out to the estate when she was a freshman in college, just to let them know she was coming for them. She never actually heard back from them.

Whitcher fell in love with the estate from afar being a Texan.

Floral design is a longtime love of hers.

“My mom is creative. She was an art teacher, and she’s a master gardener,” Whitcher said.

For her, falling in love with art, flowers and plants was inevitable. And she wanted to make it a career. 

“I always say I feel really lucky to do what I do, where I get to do it,” Whitcher said.

Daily, she checks on the arrangements around the estate made by her team. She calls it her dream job.

“There’s literally nothing else like Biltmore in the country,” Whitcher gushed. She loves the estate so much, she even recently got married there.

“The first spring that I was here and everything came to life and started greening up and blooming, I just was blown away,” Whitcher said.

In college, she geared her classes around her goal of working at the Biltmore. Whitcher took classes like gilded age history and horticulture.

Her persistence finally paid off in 2015.

“It never gets old driving through that gate coming up into the house,” Whitcher said.

She said every day is something new.

“I think when you're a creative you can't stand to always be doing the same thing so that’s really special,” Whitcher said.

As floral manager, she helps create extraordinary arrangements and helps her team succeed in all they do. Whitcher praises the team for the hard work they did bring Art in Bloom to life.

“All the designers have studied, researched, learned about those pieces of art and designed installations that are inspired by them and reflect them,” Whitcher said.

Love brought her to the Biltmore and love of what she does, keeps her here. 

Biltmore Blooms and Art in Bloom began April 1 and go until the end of May.