Bellagio Conservatory’s Spring Display is a Colorful Cultural Mash-Up

By Scott Roeben, on May 06 2021
3 min read 6 comments
Las Vegas Things to Do in Las Vegas

Bellagio Conservatory’s spring display for 2021 has a little something for everyone.

Yes, that’s a diplomatic way of saying it’s all over the place, but let’s take a look at what remains one of the best free attractions in Las Vegas.

The display tips its horticultural bowler to springtime in The Netherlands, England, Thailand and the U.S.

Spring has sprang at Bellagio’s Conservatory. “Sprang” is how they say it in Thailand. We’re worldly like that.

What the spring display lacks in a coherent theme, it more than makes up for in flowers, of course.

More than 30,000 flowers and plants make up “Springtime Celebrations Around the World.”

There are also koi.

Bellagio spring 2021
The koi pond is in the Netherlands section of the attraction. We told you it’s all over the place.

In a rare misstep, Bellagio’s Conservatory decided the centerpiece of the springfest (the “West Bed”) would be a greenhouse with hundreds of live butterflies, two of which are flying at any given time.

Guests must strain to actually see the butterflies, and the greenhouse itself isn’t visually interesting. Even the butterflies seem a little bored.

Great idea, in theory. How about a way to walk through next time? The butterflies won’t care. They have a lifespan of two weeks or something, they might as well stay awake the whole time. Just spitballing here.

The England section “pays homage to the famed Chelsea Flower Show.”

It’s safe to say they’re using “famed” a little loosely here.

Anyway, there are some awesome over-sized hummingbirds. We are an unabashed fan of hummingbirds of any size, so this was a high point of our visit.

The blue-throated mountaingem’s heart beats 1,260 times a minute, or the same as ours when forced to walk up stairs because the escalator is broken.

The “South Bed” globe hops to Holland, complete with a windmill, tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

This area features a recreation of the Keukenhof Festival, which we assume is also “famed” among flower nerds.

There are also clogs. The Netherlands remain the only place in the world where you can wear clogs in public and not be mercilessly taunted and pelted with stones.

We got jet lagged just strolling from one part of the Conservatory to another.

The U.S. part of the attraction seems a tad random and tacked on, but is intended to make reference to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.

There are a ton of roses, which is apparently our National Flower. Did everyone know this but us? President Ronald Reagan made the rose the national floral symbol in 1986, proving conclusively Presidents have way too much time on their hands.

Butterflies replacing stars? There’s a chance the horticulturalists at Bellagio have been smoking some of the 30,000 plants. Just saying.

Here are more stats from the Bellagio Conservatory’s spring display for 2021:

googie 75: Team members involved in the display’s assembly
googie 11: Number of hanging butterfly sculptures
googie 18 feet by 28 feet: Height and length of the butterfly greenhouse
googie More than 100: Live butterflies in the greenhouse
googie 12: Cherry blossom trees
googie 3: Number of hanging seven-tiered Thai regal umbrellas
googie 20 feet: Height of the highest point of the windmill
googie 9,000: Gallons of recirculated water used throughout the display
googie 2: Over-sized jewel-toned hummingbirds made of botanical materials
googie 8: American flags
googie 2,000: Dusty Miller plants lining each of the four beds
googie 4: Hours of music specially curated for the exhibit
googie 4: Calling birds
googie 3: French hens
googie 2: Turtle doves
googie 1: Smartass blogger trying to see if you were paying attention

If you haven’t seen Dusty Miller in concert, you’re missing out!

Fleek flora for flower fans.

There are still some weird pandemic procedures going on at the Conservatory. Guests must now walk along a specific path through the attraction.

You can still hang out and meander, though, and it’s a great way to spend some time taking in an astonishing collection of flowers while appreciating the talent and ingenuity of the Conservatory’s horticultural team.

While we may nitpick about the Conservatory’s springtime extravaganza, we enjoy every display and no visit to Las Vegas is complete without a pilgrimage to the popular attraction.

Also, did we mention how free it is?

The “North Bed” features an homage to Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival, which is more a New Year thing than a spring thing, but just play along.

Bellagio’s Conservatory is free and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Eight days a week if you’re a whale. High rollers do whatever the hell they want in Vegas.

Bellagio’s springtime display ends May 22, 2021.

Here are more photos of the Conservatory’s spring display at Bellagio. Yes, you’re cheating on the fountains, but they’ll get over it.