CHEEKWOOD

C O N TE N TS

12

Forewords Charles Birnbaum Ridley Wills ii

16

Introduction Jane O. MacLeod

21

chapter 1 The Era Leslie B. Jones

57

chapter 2 The Landscape and Gardens Shanna T. Jones

93

chapter 3 The Collection Leslie B. Jones

103

chapter 4 Cheekwood Today Leslie B. Jones

120 125

Index Photographic credits

C O N TE N TS

12

Forewords Charles Birnbaum Ridley Wills ii

16

Introduction Jane O. MacLeod

21

chapter 1 The Era Leslie B. Jones

57

chapter 2 The Landscape and Gardens Shanna T. Jones

93

chapter 3 The Collection Leslie B. Jones

103

chapter 4 Cheekwood Today Leslie B. Jones

120 125

Index Photographic credits

FOREWORDS

Cheekwood

was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 23, 2000, with its areas of significance noted as architecture, landscape architecture, and art. In more recent years, Cheekwood has made a deep commitment to researching its history, gaining a much better understanding of the evolution of the landscape over time. Suzanne Turner, a landscape architect and landscape historian, was engaged to write a Cultural Landscape Report to provide a deeper knowledge, valuation, and historic context for Bryant Fleming’s work at the estate, with the ultimate goal of elevating Cheek­ wood from a National Register–listed property to a National Historic Landmark. It is perhaps too easy to forget the importance of the Country Place Era to the profession of landscape architecture. Between 1900 and 1930, an estimated 90 percent of all landscape architecture projects were residences of varying size, many of which were termed “estates.” Of these, Turner notes that “Cheekwood embodies the distinctive characteristics of a Country Place Era landscape; additionally, its design represents a remarkable degree of continuity between its architecture, its landscape, and its interior design. This elevates the stature of this property to a level equivalent to that of many other estates of the era” (Suzanne Turner Associates, “Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art Cultural Landscape Report,” November 2013, 258). Turner goes on to write that “While Fleming is not as well known as many other Country Place designers, his body of work is as extensive and as important to the profession of landscape architecture.” She also contends that some of Fleming’s most significant work can be found in the American South, which may be one reason he is less well known. Turner concludes, however, that it “is only a matter of time” before Fleming and his work will receive the recognition they deserve. Let’s hope that Cheekwood will lift the veil even further on Bryant Fleming’s vision for this truly remarkable landscape, helping to inspire future generations of visitors and to secure Cheekwood’s place in the pantheon of celebrated Country Place Era landmarks.

C harles A. Birnbaum , FASLA, FAAR President and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Editor’s note: This foreword was adapted from a longer introduction that can be found online at The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s website: https://tclf.org/cheekwood-essay

Cheekwood,

possibly the most expensive mansion ever constructed in Nashville when it was completed in 1932, was also likely the most imposing. It was built by Leslie Cheek, who with his brother and father ran a wholesale grocery business, C.T. Cheek and Sons, which distributed Maxwell House Coffee. In 1929, the Cheeks purchased almost 100 acres between the Red House Field, previously part of Belle Meade Plantation, and Warner Park from Walter Parmer. Clearing the hilltop took a year. While that was underway, the Cheeks toured England looking for ideas and purchasing furniture, iron work, Georgian doors, carvings, mantels, rugs, stair rails, and tapestries. The Cheeks, along with Bryant Fleming, the architect of Cheekwood, had already decided that the stone mansion would be of eighteenth-century Georgian design. The Cheeks named their house Cheekwood, which was a combination of Leslie’s last name, Cheek, and Wood, his wife Mabel’s maiden name. Leslie scoured the Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia backwoods to find the specimen boxwoods for his garden at Cheekwood. According to his daughter, Huldah Cheek Sharp, in the summer, during weekends at his cabin on Sycamore Creek in Cheatham County, he walked the property marking young hardwood trees that his workmen would transplant to Cheekwood the following winter. He also found much of the statuary that graces the Cheekwood grounds. Mabel divided her interest between the house and the garden. After repeated delays, the Cheeks arrived at their new home in time for Thanksgiving in November 1932. The mansion was hard to heat, but that problem was solved by installing four furnaces. Nevertheless, Leslie enjoyed Cheekwood but only briefly, as he died in 1935. Mabel Cheek gave Cheekwood to their daughter, Huldah, in 1944, two years before her death. Huldah and her husband, Walter Sharp, lived there until they gave the house and grounds to the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center, known today as Cheekwood. As this book so beautifully illustrates, Cheekwood is one of Middle Tennessee’s Crown Jewels. R idley Wills ii Nashville historian

Following pages: The arches of the Bradford Robertson Color Garden

12  C H E E K W O O D

FOREWORDS 13

FOREWORDS

Cheekwood

was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 23, 2000, with its areas of significance noted as architecture, landscape architecture, and art. In more recent years, Cheekwood has made a deep commitment to researching its history, gaining a much better understanding of the evolution of the landscape over time. Suzanne Turner, a landscape architect and landscape historian, was engaged to write a Cultural Landscape Report to provide a deeper knowledge, valuation, and historic context for Bryant Fleming’s work at the estate, with the ultimate goal of elevating Cheek­ wood from a National Register–listed property to a National Historic Landmark. It is perhaps too easy to forget the importance of the Country Place Era to the profession of landscape architecture. Between 1900 and 1930, an estimated 90 percent of all landscape architecture projects were residences of varying size, many of which were termed “estates.” Of these, Turner notes that “Cheekwood embodies the distinctive characteristics of a Country Place Era landscape; additionally, its design represents a remarkable degree of continuity between its architecture, its landscape, and its interior design. This elevates the stature of this property to a level equivalent to that of many other estates of the era” (Suzanne Turner Associates, “Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art Cultural Landscape Report,” November 2013, 258). Turner goes on to write that “While Fleming is not as well known as many other Country Place designers, his body of work is as extensive and as important to the profession of landscape architecture.” She also contends that some of Fleming’s most significant work can be found in the American South, which may be one reason he is less well known. Turner concludes, however, that it “is only a matter of time” before Fleming and his work will receive the recognition they deserve. Let’s hope that Cheekwood will lift the veil even further on Bryant Fleming’s vision for this truly remarkable landscape, helping to inspire future generations of visitors and to secure Cheekwood’s place in the pantheon of celebrated Country Place Era landmarks.

C harles A. Birnbaum , FASLA, FAAR President and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Editor’s note: This foreword was adapted from a longer introduction that can be found online at The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s website: https://tclf.org/cheekwood-essay

Cheekwood,

possibly the most expensive mansion ever constructed in Nashville when it was completed in 1932, was also likely the most imposing. It was built by Leslie Cheek, who with his brother and father ran a wholesale grocery business, C.T. Cheek and Sons, which distributed Maxwell House Coffee. In 1929, the Cheeks purchased almost 100 acres between the Red House Field, previously part of Belle Meade Plantation, and Warner Park from Walter Parmer. Clearing the hilltop took a year. While that was underway, the Cheeks toured England looking for ideas and purchasing furniture, iron work, Georgian doors, carvings, mantels, rugs, stair rails, and tapestries. The Cheeks, along with Bryant Fleming, the architect of Cheekwood, had already decided that the stone mansion would be of eighteenth-century Georgian design. The Cheeks named their house Cheekwood, which was a combination of Leslie’s last name, Cheek, and Wood, his wife Mabel’s maiden name. Leslie scoured the Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia backwoods to find the specimen boxwoods for his garden at Cheekwood. According to his daughter, Huldah Cheek Sharp, in the summer, during weekends at his cabin on Sycamore Creek in Cheatham County, he walked the property marking young hardwood trees that his workmen would transplant to Cheekwood the following winter. He also found much of the statuary that graces the Cheekwood grounds. Mabel divided her interest between the house and the garden. After repeated delays, the Cheeks arrived at their new home in time for Thanksgiving in November 1932. The mansion was hard to heat, but that problem was solved by installing four furnaces. Nevertheless, Leslie enjoyed Cheekwood but only briefly, as he died in 1935. Mabel Cheek gave Cheekwood to their daughter, Huldah, in 1944, two years before her death. Huldah and her husband, Walter Sharp, lived there until they gave the house and grounds to the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center, known today as Cheekwood. As this book so beautifully illustrates, Cheekwood is one of Middle Tennessee’s Crown Jewels. R idley Wills ii Nashville historian

Following pages: The arches of the Bradford Robertson Color Garden

12  C H E E K W O O D

FOREWORDS 13

I N TR O D U C TI O N

This book is dedicated to Katherine and William T. DeLay in honor of their long-standing support of Cheekwood

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Cheekwood, originally the family estate of Mabel and Leslie Cheek, which today serves the public as Nashville’s own national treasure. A multifaceted institution, Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden, arboretum, historic home, and museum, where the visual and, on occasion, performing arts are enjoyed both within the walls of the 1929 Mansion that sits atop a tree-laden hill, and across the landscape of ornate gardens and sweeping vistas. Hidden from that view awaits for discovery a woodland walking trail comprising the work of renowned sculptors, juxtaposing the contemporary with the historic for a truly awe-inspiring experience. Were there just one word to describe Cheekwood, it would be magnificent, as the estate is surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and intact, historical viewsheds, earning its acclaim as one of the finest remaining American Country Place Era estates in the nation. Truly, Cheekwood’s beauty is incomparable, and its importance as a place for serenity and rejuvenation is unquestionable. With this book, I invite you to experience Cheekwood. As you turn these pages, you will soon appreciate the attributes that have propelled Cheekwood to its distinction as a listed site on the National Register of Historic Places, a three-time designee as a USA Today Top Ten Botanical Garden, and an accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums, among many other accolades. Having had the great honor and privilege of leading this institution for ten years, I am so very pleased to offer this comprehensive publication for your enjoyment. Whether you visit in person or through these pages only, I am confident you will find your experience at Cheekwood to be an exhilarating one, as we remain committed to fulfilling our mission to stimulate the mind and nurture the spirit of everyone who enters our auspicious and welcoming gates. This book was made possible through the generosity of Katherine and Pete DeLay, who are deserving of my heartfelt thanks, and whose service as Board Trustees, donors, volunteers, and community advocates led them to share their appreciation of Cheek­ wood with others through this publication. I also want to acknowledge the support of our Board of Trustees and especially Joan Cheek, who has devoted so many hours to 16  C H E E K W O O D

researching Cheekwood’s history as a family estate, and without whom this book would not be possible. I want to thank our authors, Leslie Jones, Cheekwood’s former vice president of museum affairs and curator of decorative arts, and Shanna Jones, Cheekwood’s plant collections manager, whose passion for Cheekwood’s history, horticulture, and art far exceed their vocational interests. Like me, they share a love for this venerable institution. My appreciation extends to Nashville historian Ridley Wills II and Charles A. Birnbaum, president and CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, who wrote the forewords, offering a local and national perspective on Cheekwood, respectively. Special thanks to the entire team at Scala Publishing, and Susan Higman Larsen, editor and project manager, and Patricia Inglis, designer. I especially want to acknowl­­edge Cheekwood’s director of special projects, Kristin Paine, who served as Cheek­wood’s liaison with Scala, overseeing and orchestrating this complex project with her trademark excellence. I am grateful also to the following Cheekwood team members, each of whom played an important role: Nathalie Lavine, vice president of education and outreach; Chanel McDaniel, director of marketing; Katelyn Bennett, curator of furniture, decorative arts, and architecture; Campbell Mobley, curator of paintings and works on paper; James Tottis, vice president of museum affairs; Elizabeth Epley Sheets, chief advancement officer; and Beth Murdock, chief operating officer. Finally, it is with profound appreciation that I acknowledge the philanthropic spirit of generations of the Cheek family, those who created the estate, gifted the estate, and who, still today, contribute in so many ways, including their support and guidance in producing this book and the promise it offers so many more to immerse themselves in the bold and steeped story that is Cheekwood.

J ane O . M acLeod President and CEO Cheekwood

Following pages: The Cheekwood Mansion

I N TR O D U C TI O N   1 7

I N TR O D U C TI O N

This book is dedicated to Katherine and William T. DeLay in honor of their long-standing support of Cheekwood

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Cheekwood, originally the family estate of Mabel and Leslie Cheek, which today serves the public as Nashville’s own national treasure. A multifaceted institution, Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden, arboretum, historic home, and museum, where the visual and, on occasion, performing arts are enjoyed both within the walls of the 1929 Mansion that sits atop a tree-laden hill, and across the landscape of ornate gardens and sweeping vistas. Hidden from that view awaits for discovery a woodland walking trail comprising the work of renowned sculptors, juxtaposing the contemporary with the historic for a truly awe-inspiring experience. Were there just one word to describe Cheekwood, it would be magnificent, as the estate is surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and intact, historical viewsheds, earning its acclaim as one of the finest remaining American Country Place Era estates in the nation. Truly, Cheekwood’s beauty is incomparable, and its importance as a place for serenity and rejuvenation is unquestionable. With this book, I invite you to experience Cheekwood. As you turn these pages, you will soon appreciate the attributes that have propelled Cheekwood to its distinction as a listed site on the National Register of Historic Places, a three-time designee as a USA Today Top Ten Botanical Garden, and an accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums, among many other accolades. Having had the great honor and privilege of leading this institution for ten years, I am so very pleased to offer this comprehensive publication for your enjoyment. Whether you visit in person or through these pages only, I am confident you will find your experience at Cheekwood to be an exhilarating one, as we remain committed to fulfilling our mission to stimulate the mind and nurture the spirit of everyone who enters our auspicious and welcoming gates. This book was made possible through the generosity of Katherine and Pete DeLay, who are deserving of my heartfelt thanks, and whose service as Board Trustees, donors, volunteers, and community advocates led them to share their appreciation of Cheek­ wood with others through this publication. I also want to acknowledge the support of our Board of Trustees and especially Joan Cheek, who has devoted so many hours to 16  C H E E K W O O D

researching Cheekwood’s history as a family estate, and without whom this book would not be possible. I want to thank our authors, Leslie Jones, Cheekwood’s former vice president of museum affairs and curator of decorative arts, and Shanna Jones, Cheekwood’s plant collections manager, whose passion for Cheekwood’s history, horticulture, and art far exceed their vocational interests. Like me, they share a love for this venerable institution. My appreciation extends to Nashville historian Ridley Wills II and Charles A. Birnbaum, president and CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, who wrote the forewords, offering a local and national perspective on Cheekwood, respectively. Special thanks to the entire team at Scala Publishing, and Susan Higman Larsen, editor and project manager, and Patricia Inglis, designer. I especially want to acknowl­­edge Cheekwood’s director of special projects, Kristin Paine, who served as Cheek­wood’s liaison with Scala, overseeing and orchestrating this complex project with her trademark excellence. I am grateful also to the following Cheekwood team members, each of whom played an important role: Nathalie Lavine, vice president of education and outreach; Chanel McDaniel, director of marketing; Katelyn Bennett, curator of furniture, decorative arts, and architecture; Campbell Mobley, curator of paintings and works on paper; James Tottis, vice president of museum affairs; Elizabeth Epley Sheets, chief advancement officer; and Beth Murdock, chief operating officer. Finally, it is with profound appreciation that I acknowledge the philanthropic spirit of generations of the Cheek family, those who created the estate, gifted the estate, and who, still today, contribute in so many ways, including their support and guidance in producing this book and the promise it offers so many more to immerse themselves in the bold and steeped story that is Cheekwood.

J ane O . M acLeod President and CEO Cheekwood

Following pages: The Cheekwood Mansion

I N TR O D U C TI O N   1 7

REPRO: LESS ORANGE MORE SEPIA LIKE AT LEFT From the height of Wisteria Arbor, the eye naturally moves down to the Reflecting Pool and into the hills of the Warner Parks

Wisteria Arbor presents a tunneled transition from the interior to the exterior

60  C H E E K W O O D

In placing the structures, Fleming juxtaposed his strong use of axes with a lack of symmetry, as in the off-centered orientation of the Swan Lawn fountain. Asymmetrical garden rooms create more intimate experiences than those built on principal axes. Fleming took lines of vision and clarity of spatial structure into account when connecting elements. Examples of this design logic can be seen in the way one’s eye is led from the entrance gate to the front of the Mansion, the rear Loggia to the Swan Lawn fountain, and from the Swan Lawn fountain to the distant hills. Fleming’s goal was to direct attention to the grand vistas beyond the property. Fleming’s uses of axes to direct an individual’s line of sight was fully mastered at Cheekwood. In taking advantage of the rolling landscape, which produced various elevations, he was able to elegantly frame multiple vistas. The hilltop home addresses the surrounding landscape directly with its many windows. Every room offers a portal to the grounds. If one steps out from the Loggia onto Swan Lawn and walks toward the fountain, the beholder is greeted with views of the undulating hills in the distance. Vistas framed by outdoor structures, such as the Wisteria Arbor, serve as tunneled transitions from the interior to the exterior, where the eye is naturally guided from the height of the arbor down to the Reflecting Pool before moving into the hills beyond. Fleming considered the family’s pastimes in his design. The Cheeks loved horses, and the animals played an essential part of their daily life. From the horse-mounting block in the courtyard, riders would traverse through the gate and steps up to the Swan Lawn and rear of the house to the left. From there, they would enter the boxwood walk,

The horse-mounting block, once located in the north courtyard Equestrian culture defined Belle Meade, Tennessee

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 1

REPRO: LESS ORANGE MORE SEPIA LIKE AT LEFT From the height of Wisteria Arbor, the eye naturally moves down to the Reflecting Pool and into the hills of the Warner Parks

Wisteria Arbor presents a tunneled transition from the interior to the exterior

60  C H E E K W O O D

In placing the structures, Fleming juxtaposed his strong use of axes with a lack of symmetry, as in the off-centered orientation of the Swan Lawn fountain. Asymmetrical garden rooms create more intimate experiences than those built on principal axes. Fleming took lines of vision and clarity of spatial structure into account when connecting elements. Examples of this design logic can be seen in the way one’s eye is led from the entrance gate to the front of the Mansion, the rear Loggia to the Swan Lawn fountain, and from the Swan Lawn fountain to the distant hills. Fleming’s goal was to direct attention to the grand vistas beyond the property. Fleming’s uses of axes to direct an individual’s line of sight was fully mastered at Cheekwood. In taking advantage of the rolling landscape, which produced various elevations, he was able to elegantly frame multiple vistas. The hilltop home addresses the surrounding landscape directly with its many windows. Every room offers a portal to the grounds. If one steps out from the Loggia onto Swan Lawn and walks toward the fountain, the beholder is greeted with views of the undulating hills in the distance. Vistas framed by outdoor structures, such as the Wisteria Arbor, serve as tunneled transitions from the interior to the exterior, where the eye is naturally guided from the height of the arbor down to the Reflecting Pool before moving into the hills beyond. Fleming considered the family’s pastimes in his design. The Cheeks loved horses, and the animals played an essential part of their daily life. From the horse-mounting block in the courtyard, riders would traverse through the gate and steps up to the Swan Lawn and rear of the house to the left. From there, they would enter the boxwood walk,

The horse-mounting block, once located in the north courtyard Equestrian culture defined Belle Meade, Tennessee

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 1

Leslie Sr.’s boxwood collection, installed during construction

which encircles the back lawn and leads to Percy Warner Park, which the family treated as an extension of their property. This path was lined with aged boxwood that the Cheeks had collected over a long period of time. The mature shrubs created a sense of separation from the back lawn, while encouraging one to move beyond the landscape, where the horse trails awaited the family. Parterre Garden Claude Molleta, a French garden designer, developed the concept of the parterre garden in the sixteenth century, and this was later adopted by English cottage garden designers. A Country Place Era estate would not be complete without a garden designated for cultivating and cutting flowers. Fleming designed a cutting garden behind the garage and horse stable complex, which also provided seasonal color. Historic photographs depict Cheekwood with clipped boxwoods bordering ten symmetrically placed rectangular beds. The stone paths between the garden segments were likely made of the property’s limestone. In the 1970s, the Cheekwood estate began to take shape as a botanical garden and the Parterre Garden underwent a renovation. In 1998, the hardscapes and beds of the garden were removed. Boxwoods Leslie Cheek Sr. had been acquiring specimen boxwood throughout the South for years, and the extensive planting became central to the development of the landscape, A gardener tends to the Parterre Garden. Each bed is outlined with miniature boxwood.

62  C H E E K W O O D

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 3

Leslie Sr.’s boxwood collection, installed during construction

which encircles the back lawn and leads to Percy Warner Park, which the family treated as an extension of their property. This path was lined with aged boxwood that the Cheeks had collected over a long period of time. The mature shrubs created a sense of separation from the back lawn, while encouraging one to move beyond the landscape, where the horse trails awaited the family. Parterre Garden Claude Molleta, a French garden designer, developed the concept of the parterre garden in the sixteenth century, and this was later adopted by English cottage garden designers. A Country Place Era estate would not be complete without a garden designated for cultivating and cutting flowers. Fleming designed a cutting garden behind the garage and horse stable complex, which also provided seasonal color. Historic photographs depict Cheekwood with clipped boxwoods bordering ten symmetrically placed rectangular beds. The stone paths between the garden segments were likely made of the property’s limestone. In the 1970s, the Cheekwood estate began to take shape as a botanical garden and the Parterre Garden underwent a renovation. In 1998, the hardscapes and beds of the garden were removed. Boxwoods Leslie Cheek Sr. had been acquiring specimen boxwood throughout the South for years, and the extensive planting became central to the development of the landscape, A gardener tends to the Parterre Garden. Each bed is outlined with miniature boxwood.

62  C H E E K W O O D

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 3

establishing Cheekwood’s first horticultural plant collection. In 1951, the “Great Blizzard” brought eight inches of ice and snow, resulting in the worst recorded ice storm in the history of Nashville and killing many of the shrubs in the circular boxwood walk that Leslie Cheek had collected. Huldah Cheek Sharpe promptly had the treasured boxwoods replaced. In the following decades, a renovation of the Boxwood Garden, including the Reflecting Pool, was completed by Page/Duke Landscape Architects, and thereafter was called the Martin Boxwood Gardens, in honor of the donors who funded the renovation. C O N TE M P O R A R Y G A R D E N S A N D P U R P O S E Howe Garden

Mrs. Howe’s tool house after the thatched roof was installed in 2012. Native azaleas bloom in the foreground.

64  C H E E K W O O D

In the winter of 1968, decades after the original landscape was installed on the estate, the Howe Garden was introduced. With this first modern garden on the site, the scope of Cheekwood was expanded and enriched, most notably with the addition of native wildflowers. The installation of quality horticultural displays marked another milestone in Cheekwood’s history, initiating Huldah Cheek and Walter Sharp’s mandate to develop a world-class botanical garden. In the early 1900s, Cora and Harry Howe had purchased an 8-acre parcel of land in East Nashville, selected for its century-old oak trees and rich, rock-free soil. In 1922, Mrs. Howe began planting the garden that she would eventually name Wildings with native wildflowers, ferns, azaleas, and dogwoods. Mrs. Howe officially opened her garden to the public in 1929, the same year ground broke for the Cheekwood estate. Considered the first public garden in Nashville, Wildings hosted thousands of visitors each spring when the wildflowers were most abundant. Mr. Harry Howe passed away in 1966 and, sadly, Mrs. Howe followed just one year later. The estate was eventually sold. Members of The Garden Club of Nashville (GCN), of which Mrs. Howe was a founding member, approached Cheekwood as the potential new home for the Howe Garden. After a tremendous amount of fundraising and negotiation, a plan was enacted to devote a portion of the Cheekwood estate as a living tribute to Mrs. Howe, showcasing her love of wildflowers and garden visitors. In December 1968, the Howe Garden was relocated. Plants, soil, a stone wall, several garden ornaments, and even the tool shed were moved from East Nashville to Cheek­wood. The thatched roof did not make the trip, but in 2012, Scotsman Colin McGhee of McGhee & Co. reconstructed it with traditional reed, making the structure a favorite with visitors and staff. As the first garden installation at Cheekwood, the Howe Garden has rich historical significance. A longstanding relationship with the GCN continues to this time. In 1983, the GCN received the Gar-

den Club of America’s prestigious Founders Fund Award supporting propagation of endangered species. In 2011, the GCN led the fundraising campaign to support the garden renovation. In 2012, fifteen new trees, including redbud, black tupelo, sourwood, and four different species of magnolia, were added to the already abundant collection of native species. Oakleaf hydrangeas, native azaleas, and winterberry shrubs provide examples of Southern flora. The design by Page/Duke Landscape Architects reimagined the garden’s role as a destination and gathering space with distinct focal points. For the garden’s fiftieth anniversary, the GCN celebrated with a gift of native azaleas and a new bluebird sanctuary. Above the retaining wall is Wildings, the namesake of the original garden in East Nashville. Mulched pathways meander through this enchanted wooded area, where dappled light penetrates a canopy of mature white ash, maples, and oaks, highlighting fertile green rivers of maidenhair, sword, and wood fern. In the truest Cora Howe style, the garden is appropriately painted to color each season, evoking imagery of Mrs. Howe’s own planting scheme. Her playful use of tone and surprise is present with each spotted trout lily, elusive trillium, and bright blue Virginia bluebell in the spring. Page/Duke Landscape Architects also designed a rain garden, which is not only an attractive landscape feature with textural native grasses, iris, and Joe Pye weed, but it is also functional. The large depression supports the natural water cycle, managing onsite storm water, preventing polluted runoff, and recharging ground­ water systems in the most earth-friendly way. The rain garden is an example of environmental stewardship and serves as an excellent public education tool. Great care was taken to ensure that the existing water elevation was intact to preserve the endangered Torreya taxifolia (stinking cedar), which is conserved in the pond. Conservation of endangered plant species is an integral function of many botanical gardens. By working with plants in severe states of decline, horticulturists can conserve, research, and safeguard plants while ensuring the most genetic diversity is achieved. In May of 1986, Cheekwood received three two-year-old seedlings from Susan Frost Martin, curator of the Conifer Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. In 2009, twenty-four years after the stinking cedar’s arrival to Cheek­wood, fruit was produced for the first time, confirming that there is both a male and a female in the group of three. Today, these two very healthy and robust specimens are thriving in the Howe Garden pond, along with the big leaf magnolias and plenty of ferns in a setting that could easily be mistaken for a prehistoric one; this species of Torreya dates to the Jurassic period, 175–200 million years ago.

The Wemyss gates hold a special place in Cheekwood’s Howe Garden

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 5

establishing Cheekwood’s first horticultural plant collection. In 1951, the “Great Blizzard” brought eight inches of ice and snow, resulting in the worst recorded ice storm in the history of Nashville and killing many of the shrubs in the circular boxwood walk that Leslie Cheek had collected. Huldah Cheek Sharpe promptly had the treasured boxwoods replaced. In the following decades, a renovation of the Boxwood Garden, including the Reflecting Pool, was completed by Page/Duke Landscape Architects, and thereafter was called the Martin Boxwood Gardens, in honor of the donors who funded the renovation. C O N TE M P O R A R Y G A R D E N S A N D P U R P O S E Howe Garden

Mrs. Howe’s tool house after the thatched roof was installed in 2012. Native azaleas bloom in the foreground.

64  C H E E K W O O D

In the winter of 1968, decades after the original landscape was installed on the estate, the Howe Garden was introduced. With this first modern garden on the site, the scope of Cheekwood was expanded and enriched, most notably with the addition of native wildflowers. The installation of quality horticultural displays marked another milestone in Cheekwood’s history, initiating Huldah Cheek and Walter Sharp’s mandate to develop a world-class botanical garden. In the early 1900s, Cora and Harry Howe had purchased an 8-acre parcel of land in East Nashville, selected for its century-old oak trees and rich, rock-free soil. In 1922, Mrs. Howe began planting the garden that she would eventually name Wildings with native wildflowers, ferns, azaleas, and dogwoods. Mrs. Howe officially opened her garden to the public in 1929, the same year ground broke for the Cheekwood estate. Considered the first public garden in Nashville, Wildings hosted thousands of visitors each spring when the wildflowers were most abundant. Mr. Harry Howe passed away in 1966 and, sadly, Mrs. Howe followed just one year later. The estate was eventually sold. Members of The Garden Club of Nashville (GCN), of which Mrs. Howe was a founding member, approached Cheekwood as the potential new home for the Howe Garden. After a tremendous amount of fundraising and negotiation, a plan was enacted to devote a portion of the Cheekwood estate as a living tribute to Mrs. Howe, showcasing her love of wildflowers and garden visitors. In December 1968, the Howe Garden was relocated. Plants, soil, a stone wall, several garden ornaments, and even the tool shed were moved from East Nashville to Cheek­wood. The thatched roof did not make the trip, but in 2012, Scotsman Colin McGhee of McGhee & Co. reconstructed it with traditional reed, making the structure a favorite with visitors and staff. As the first garden installation at Cheekwood, the Howe Garden has rich historical significance. A longstanding relationship with the GCN continues to this time. In 1983, the GCN received the Gar-

den Club of America’s prestigious Founders Fund Award supporting propagation of endangered species. In 2011, the GCN led the fundraising campaign to support the garden renovation. In 2012, fifteen new trees, including redbud, black tupelo, sourwood, and four different species of magnolia, were added to the already abundant collection of native species. Oakleaf hydrangeas, native azaleas, and winterberry shrubs provide examples of Southern flora. The design by Page/Duke Landscape Architects reimagined the garden’s role as a destination and gathering space with distinct focal points. For the garden’s fiftieth anniversary, the GCN celebrated with a gift of native azaleas and a new bluebird sanctuary. Above the retaining wall is Wildings, the namesake of the original garden in East Nashville. Mulched pathways meander through this enchanted wooded area, where dappled light penetrates a canopy of mature white ash, maples, and oaks, highlighting fertile green rivers of maidenhair, sword, and wood fern. In the truest Cora Howe style, the garden is appropriately painted to color each season, evoking imagery of Mrs. Howe’s own planting scheme. Her playful use of tone and surprise is present with each spotted trout lily, elusive trillium, and bright blue Virginia bluebell in the spring. Page/Duke Landscape Architects also designed a rain garden, which is not only an attractive landscape feature with textural native grasses, iris, and Joe Pye weed, but it is also functional. The large depression supports the natural water cycle, managing onsite storm water, preventing polluted runoff, and recharging ground­ water systems in the most earth-friendly way. The rain garden is an example of environmental stewardship and serves as an excellent public education tool. Great care was taken to ensure that the existing water elevation was intact to preserve the endangered Torreya taxifolia (stinking cedar), which is conserved in the pond. Conservation of endangered plant species is an integral function of many botanical gardens. By working with plants in severe states of decline, horticulturists can conserve, research, and safeguard plants while ensuring the most genetic diversity is achieved. In May of 1986, Cheekwood received three two-year-old seedlings from Susan Frost Martin, curator of the Conifer Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. In 2009, twenty-four years after the stinking cedar’s arrival to Cheek­wood, fruit was produced for the first time, confirming that there is both a male and a female in the group of three. Today, these two very healthy and robust specimens are thriving in the Howe Garden pond, along with the big leaf magnolias and plenty of ferns in a setting that could easily be mistaken for a prehistoric one; this species of Torreya dates to the Jurassic period, 175–200 million years ago.

The Wemyss gates hold a special place in Cheekwood’s Howe Garden

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 5

The east and west entrances of the Howe Garden feature the Wemyss gates, named in honor of the Nashville woman who conceived the idea for these elegant objects of art. Helen Peters Wemyss commissioned the Italian sculptor Guliano Destefano for the design, which represents forty-eight botanical subjects. In 1931, Phillip Kerrigan Jr., a prominent Nashville metalsmith, crafted the intricate bronze panels, inlaid with images of shooting star, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Queen Anne’s lace, columbine, and many other native beauties. Kerrigan is also responsible for several ornamental ironwork pieces at Cheek­wood, including Wisteria Arbor. In 2002, the gates from the Wemyss estate Fairvue, in Gallatin, Tennessee, were donated to Cheekwood by Mrs. Wemyss’s children. Framed by columns of Tennessee fieldstone, the Wemyss gates create a grand sense of arrival along with the heartfelt words of Mrs. Howe, engraved in each entrance’s threshold. Burr Terrace Garden A bird’s-eye view of the Burr Terrace Garden’s fountain and knot garden The traditional knot garden’s colorful plant displays change with the season

66  C H E E K W O O D

On Sunday, October 15, 1972, the public celebrated the opening of the Elizabeth Burr Memorial Garden. Elizabeth Burr was an enthusiastic gardener and an active member of the Belmont Garden Club, whose own garden, brimming with iris, herbs, and roses, was a source of great enjoyment to friends and family. When her daughter, Ruth Puryear, expressed ideas for her mother’s memorial garden to W. James Coile, a notable local landscape architect, she emphasized two main concepts for a design: to stimulate the senses and to provide accessibility to all. Coile put these ideas to work in a concept based on Orto Botanico di Padova (The Botanical Garden of Padua, Italy). Built in 1545, it is the oldest surviving botanical garden. The round plot surrounded by water was designed to represent the world. The Burr Terrace Garden, sited within the Cheek­wood landscape like a jewel box, resembles the Orto Botanico di Padova in its rounded, hardscaped garden outlines, organic shapes of the beds, central water feature, and use of focal points to direct one’s eye The second level of the Burr Terrace features a small, traditional knot garden, which is a nod to the intricate designs in gardens of the Italian Renaissance and, later, Tudor periods. Knot gardens were meant to be seen from above, as is the one at Burr Terrace. The petite knot, as well as the surrounding beds, originally contained culinary, medicinal, and other household herbs. For a time, this area, maintained in conjunction with the Herb Society of Nashville, was important for the visually impaired community. Both the principal and superintendent of the Tennessee School of the Blind were consulted about the design, and they

encouraged Coile to incorporate plants to stimulate multiple senses. In addition to the aromatic and textural plant material, raised beds, water, and braille labels were added to assist the visually impaired. A few steps down from the second tier is an intimate space planted with elegant oakleaf hydrangeas, big-leaf hostas, textural plum yew, and Italianesque columnar boxwoods. This subdued, shaded area, complemented by the sound of the running fountain, provides a setting for stillness and relaxation. Figure on a Box, a sculpture by Olen Bryant of Clarksville, Tennessee, adds serenity. With an arbor framed in the summer months by fringed passionflower and languid black-eyed Susan vines, this area serves as a viewing platform for the Howe Garden and the Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden.

The Burr Terrace Garden’s fountain is accompanied by Figure on a Box by Olen Bryant

Wills Perennial Garden In the summer of 1977, Mrs. Ellen Wills donated an iris collection to Cheekwood that she dedicated to her late husband, Jesse Ely Wills, a famed iris hybridizer. He was former president of the American Iris Society and a recipient of the Dykes Medal Award for the

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 7

The east and west entrances of the Howe Garden feature the Wemyss gates, named in honor of the Nashville woman who conceived the idea for these elegant objects of art. Helen Peters Wemyss commissioned the Italian sculptor Guliano Destefano for the design, which represents forty-eight botanical subjects. In 1931, Phillip Kerrigan Jr., a prominent Nashville metalsmith, crafted the intricate bronze panels, inlaid with images of shooting star, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Queen Anne’s lace, columbine, and many other native beauties. Kerrigan is also responsible for several ornamental ironwork pieces at Cheek­wood, including Wisteria Arbor. In 2002, the gates from the Wemyss estate Fairvue, in Gallatin, Tennessee, were donated to Cheekwood by Mrs. Wemyss’s children. Framed by columns of Tennessee fieldstone, the Wemyss gates create a grand sense of arrival along with the heartfelt words of Mrs. Howe, engraved in each entrance’s threshold. Burr Terrace Garden A bird’s-eye view of the Burr Terrace Garden’s fountain and knot garden The traditional knot garden’s colorful plant displays change with the season

66  C H E E K W O O D

On Sunday, October 15, 1972, the public celebrated the opening of the Elizabeth Burr Memorial Garden. Elizabeth Burr was an enthusiastic gardener and an active member of the Belmont Garden Club, whose own garden, brimming with iris, herbs, and roses, was a source of great enjoyment to friends and family. When her daughter, Ruth Puryear, expressed ideas for her mother’s memorial garden to W. James Coile, a notable local landscape architect, she emphasized two main concepts for a design: to stimulate the senses and to provide accessibility to all. Coile put these ideas to work in a concept based on Orto Botanico di Padova (The Botanical Garden of Padua, Italy). Built in 1545, it is the oldest surviving botanical garden. The round plot surrounded by water was designed to represent the world. The Burr Terrace Garden, sited within the Cheek­wood landscape like a jewel box, resembles the Orto Botanico di Padova in its rounded, hardscaped garden outlines, organic shapes of the beds, central water feature, and use of focal points to direct one’s eye The second level of the Burr Terrace features a small, traditional knot garden, which is a nod to the intricate designs in gardens of the Italian Renaissance and, later, Tudor periods. Knot gardens were meant to be seen from above, as is the one at Burr Terrace. The petite knot, as well as the surrounding beds, originally contained culinary, medicinal, and other household herbs. For a time, this area, maintained in conjunction with the Herb Society of Nashville, was important for the visually impaired community. Both the principal and superintendent of the Tennessee School of the Blind were consulted about the design, and they

encouraged Coile to incorporate plants to stimulate multiple senses. In addition to the aromatic and textural plant material, raised beds, water, and braille labels were added to assist the visually impaired. A few steps down from the second tier is an intimate space planted with elegant oakleaf hydrangeas, big-leaf hostas, textural plum yew, and Italianesque columnar boxwoods. This subdued, shaded area, complemented by the sound of the running fountain, provides a setting for stillness and relaxation. Figure on a Box, a sculpture by Olen Bryant of Clarksville, Tennessee, adds serenity. With an arbor framed in the summer months by fringed passionflower and languid black-eyed Susan vines, this area serves as a viewing platform for the Howe Garden and the Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden.

The Burr Terrace Garden’s fountain is accompanied by Figure on a Box by Olen Bryant

Wills Perennial Garden In the summer of 1977, Mrs. Ellen Wills donated an iris collection to Cheekwood that she dedicated to her late husband, Jesse Ely Wills, a famed iris hybridizer. He was former president of the American Iris Society and a recipient of the Dykes Medal Award for the

TH E L A N D S C A P E A N D G A R D E N S   6 7

128  C H E E K W O O D