Cheekwood in Bloom

Cheekwood Estate was the next stop on my list.  I knew there were flowers and gardens, and not much more.  On the drive over, my uber driver was a slender, silver haired gentleman in a suit who looked an awful lot like Jeff Sessions.  A Nashville native, he said that if I thought Belle Meade was large, it would soon look like the guest house compared to Cheekwood.  Right he was.  Here is a view from the lawn of what I imagine was the breakfast nook or morning room at Cheekwood.

The view the lawn overlooks truly gives a hint of what the view was like back then...the trees still dominate the landscape.

Cheekwood is opulence and excess in 55 acres.  A couple, the Cheeks (her maiden name being Wood), built to mansion to accommodate a gilt mirror that was too large for their other house.  Sitting atop 55 acres, the Mansion is a 1930's estate home -- so this was a different feel than visiting the 1806 Plantation just a few hours earlier.  Construction began in 1929, the family moved in to the home in 1932.  Mr. Cheek died suddenly in 1935, Mrs. Cheek in 1945.  Their daughter and her family moved in and remained until 1957, when the property was offered the property up to be a horticultural center and art gallery.  This massive home, reminiscent of estate of Europe which are coveted for hundreds of years, was only used for 25 years.  Something about that is just stunning to me.

Entering the lobby is a spiral wooden staircase to the upper levels, and branching hallways to the left and right on both floors, adorned with tapestries and artwork.

The LED chandelier was apparently added as art feature in the 1990's.  It's quite beautiful.

This sun room was too large to get in a photo, but it was large, bright, and had it's own fountain.  So how do people make enough money to build a home like this on a whim?  Well, Mr. Cheeks' father basically invented wholesale grocery distribution.  The family also invested early in a cousin's coffee business, named after a famous Nashville Hotel, the Maxwell House.  It was President Theordore Roosevelt who tasted it and declared that it was "Good til the last drop!"  As for that grocery business, it was later bought out by a company called General Foods for about $40 million dollars.  So, I guess that's the kind of story that means you can build mansions around mirrors.

Family portraits and furnishings still remain.

I presume this to be Mabel and Huldah Cheek.

True to the era before TV, generous sitting rooms and libraries and entertaining rooms are throughout the house, with seating for dozens, centered around conversations.  Finer than the average hotel lobby.

The library immediately caught my eye.  I wasn't allowed to touch to check the editions, but it did make me check later to see when these classic stories were written.  Alice in Wonderland dates back to 1867, and Peter Pan was written in 1902.

Thousands of old books lined the shelves, but I suspect most were printed  around 1910-1940, a collection of modern work at the time.

The most fascinating thing about Cheekwood is the gardens.  I realized that I don't know a lot about gardens, but the design of the garden was an integral part of the estate's design.  More recently, a modern art sculpture walk has been created around the estate.  But the original design of the gardens is quite well defined.

The crowds were drawn to the vibrant colors of this stand of flowers.

The grounds are sloped and terraced to give views of the grounds from the mansion and views of the mansion from the grounds.

There were more weeping ruby trees ...

And an extensive Boxwood Garden as the primary style of garden around the mansion.  Boxwoods are a dense, evergreen shrub.  They can be styled in hedges and toparies, and be modeled to create and elegant landscape.

The pool and fountains were central to one section of the boxwood garden.

Running water and water features were thoughtfully added to provide balance and harmony to the gardens.  The boxwoods also provide shade for the perennial gardens; the hardy and colorful plants that help transition the grounds to the natural landscape below.

The horticultural society added gardens, and built on existing gardens on the property to create a gardener's delight.

There has been the addition of a Japanese garden, surrounded by stands of bamboo.  I learned that a Japanese garden is each unique and designed to be contemplated in from one precise, singular viewing point.

Larger trees surround the 3 ponds on the property that made up the water gardens.

These, of course, were part of the Color Gardens.

This garden was dedicated to Sigourney Cheek, the previous CEO of Cheekwood gardens and estate.

The gardens continued, through stands of tulips and sculptures.  The tulips were of every color and type available.  Shades of pink, purple, red, yellow, orange, white, hybrids, each with a name. I never knew there were so many types of tulips.

 Quite literally, it was nice to get a chance to be out smelling flowers instead of working.

Over in the Howe gardens, just beyond the Dogwood trees, I found a plethora of purples.

The white and purple together were absolutely stunning.

The rows of cornflower blues made me smile too.

These smelled absolutely delightful.

And as a feature for the kiddos, numerous trains (including a Thomas) cruised around buildings and bridges and mountain passes.  There was a strange predominance of dads and grandpas hanging out in this area too!

And complete with a thatched roof, this little cabin in the Howe Gardens offers shelter if the rain catches you out.  Cheekwood estates, definitely a gorgeous layout and view into a world few of us would ever know.