By Jeanni Ritchie
From the Statue of Liberty to the Great Smoky Mountains, I traveled across America without leaving a Nashville garden.
As the country celebrates its 250th birthday, Cheekwood joined the celebration with America the Beautiful: National Parks & Landmarks by Rail, a limited-time exhibition that turned part of the estate into a miniature journey across the United States.
It was Cheekwood’s largest train installation yet, featuring 10 running trains, more than 850 feet of track, and 25 iconic landmarks. Each miniature structure was crafted from natural materials such as willow branches, cedar, acorn caps, moss, pinecones, and bark, making the exhibit feel right at home among the surrounding gardens.
The exhibit was created as part of Cheekwood’s America 250 celebration and complemented the estate’s permanent TRAINS! display, which remains open year-round.
I loved the movement of the trains, but I was just as captivated by everything around them.
The flowers and herbs throughout the grounds were not only beautiful, their intoxicating scent wafted through the air as I explored. After wandering the gardens, I spent a fragrant hour beneath a pergola while the wind blew and birds sang.
Cheekwood is one of those places that encourages you to slow down.
The 55-acre historic estate was once the family home of Mabel and Leslie Cheek. Today it serves as a botanical garden, arboretum, and museum, with 13 distinct gardens, a historic mansion, art exhibitions, and a 1.5-mile woodland sculpture trail.
Visitors can explore formal gardens, seasonal displays, the historic Cheek Mansion, the children’s garden, the sculpture trail, and the year-round train exhibit. The estate also hosts cultural festivals, concerts, exhibitions, and educational programming throughout the year.
Cheekwood changes with the seasons, which makes it the kind of place you could visit more than once and have a completely different experience each time.
This summer, though, the America 250 display gave visitors an especially memorable reason to go.
There was something uniquely fitting about seeing the country celebrated in miniature while standing amid one of Nashville’s most beautiful historic properties.
Cheekwood is located at 1200 Forrest Park Drive in Nashville, Tennessee. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with later hours for select special events.
For more information, visit Cheekwood.org.
