EXPRESS WAY: Gardens, Galleries, and a Holiday Gift from Cheekwood

Even as spring’s hot pink hyacinths make room for summer’s bright begonias, and the Cheekwood in Bloom festival turns to special outdoor exhibitions, the team at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, Tenn., is preparing for an exciting new holiday offering for groups this winter.

Beginning Nov. 22, 2024, and lasting through Jan. 5, 2025, Cheekwood’s 10th annual Holiday LIGHTS will treat guests to the work of former Chief Floral Designer for the White House, Laura Dowling. From 2009Ð2015, Dowling managed the floral design for private and official White House parties, receptions, state dinners, and large-scale installations such as the Fourth of July and Christmas at the White House. Inspired by the 13 distinct gardens at Cheekwood, her “Gifts of the GardenÓ will showcase imaginative and elegant decorations custom-made to complement the classic architectural details of the historic Cheek mansion, while also bringing the outdoors in.

Guests will be filled with holiday spirit as they stroll through restored period rooms, each featuring a different themeÑranging from opulent plum, gold, and cranberry Italian-inspired decor in the entrance foyer, to a classic hunt-country display in the library. Outside in the gar.dens, Nashville’s brightest holiday tradi.tion continues with a mile-long walking path aglow with over 1 million lights, s’mores stations, seasonal libations, and a holiday marketplace.

“Our seasonal festivals are some of the most popular events for groups visiting Cheekwood,” says Jessica Walls, Cheekwood’s directorÊofÊguestÊopera.tions. “From Orchids in the Mansion, Cheekwood in Bloom, Summertime at Cheekwood, Cheekwood Harvest, and Holiday LIGHTS, there is something here for both adult and student groups year-round.”

Once the family home of Leslie Cheek Sr. and Mabel Wood, Cheekwood (the name of the estate is derived from the combi.nation of Leslie and Mabel’s respective surnames) was completed in 1932 and today serves the public as a botanical garden, arboretum, and museum. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the 55-acre estate was inspired, in part, by the family’s trip to England in 1929 and includes architectural elements from English manors, gardens, and natural landscape.

Learn about the Cheek family, the mansion’s restoration, and the collection of art, furniture, textiles, silver, books, and rotating exhibits on a guided House and History Tour; see 13 contemporary sculptures along the 1.5-mile Ann and Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail;Êand delight in the beautiful land.scape filled with diverse plant life both native and from afar on a Garden Tour.

After being inspired by the wild.flowers in the beloved Howe Garden, the views from the Martin Boxwood Garden, the idyllic peace of the meditative Blevins Japanese Garden, and more, groups will enjoy perusing two unique gift shops for garden-themed and Cheekwood merchandise. Shop jewelry, books, home dŽcor, garden tools, puzzles, apparel, and more.

“The Cheeks’ hospitality, once meant for their immediate family and friends, now extends to you and your group,” says Cheekwood President and CEO Jane MacLeod. “Leave the world behind and indulge yourselves in the beauty and magnificence of Cheekwood!”

For help planning your group’s Cheekwood experience, including gour.met boxed lunches from on-site Cafe 29, as well as information about upcoming events, exhibits, and programming, visit cheekwood.org or call (615) 353-6971 or email grouptours@cheekwood.org.