Orchids in the Cheekwood Mansion

BY BRENDA BATEY PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEEKWOOD

The fifth annual Orchids in the Mansion celebration will be available for viewing from January 28 to March 5 this year at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens.

The show-stopping floral displays will be presented in conjunction with several noteworthy art exhibitions, music performances, adult education workshops, and tours.

Guests will escape the chilly winter temperatures by visiting Cheekwood and immersing themselves in an abundance of tropical orchid arrangements.

The celebration takes over the historic home, where white and purple Phalaenopsis prevail throughout the displays and emerge from rich layers of tropical foliage. Orchids sweep up the grand staircase in the foyer and lead visitors to the central experience on the loggia, where the florals rise off the floor and suspend from the ceiling in an immersive cloud of blooming orchids.

A variety of gorgeous orchids, including Dendrobiums, Oncidiums, and Cymbidiums, add a diversity of form and texture to the arrangements.

“We are most excited to celebrate some of the architectural features in the mansion by directly engaging the stairs in the foyer with orchid displays,” said Vice President of Gardens and Facilities Peter Grimaldi. “We explore art interventions through museum exhibitions and the orchid show is truly a botanical intervention in the historic home.”

The show will be accompanied by musical performances and special informative tours about the orchids, and there will be classes on orchid painting, needle felting, repotting, and more.

Orchids in the Mansion tours will be led on February 5 and 19 by Cheekwood Garden Supervisor Shannon Pruitt. She will take visitors through the display and explain how the event came to life from designing the display to putting it together, and the types of orchids chosen to create this year’s “Orchid Takeover.”

“Orchids 101,” will be presented on February 11, and participants will learn about six common types of orchids and the cultural requirements for growing healthy, blooming orchids in the home. Instruction will focus on selecting the right orchid for the right place and cover basic care and maintenance for new and inexperienced orchid growers.

“Painted Still Life: Orchids” is set for February 11. Members of the art class will examine the delicate curves of orchids, from stem to blooms and buds, and create their own still-life compositions.

An orchid re-potting workshop will be held on February 25 for participants who will learn to properly re-pot orchid plants. They will hear about the most common components of potting media and follow a step-by-step process for repotting orchids in the hands-on workshop. Participants will be provided with one Phalaenopsis to re-pot themselves during the class and take home.

“Needle-Felted Phalaenopsis” will be presented by local textile artist Jennifer Fleischer on February 25 for an afternoon of needle-felting to create an everlasting orchid. Those on hand will learn the basics of needle felting and use the components created to make their own felted Phalaenopsis.

In addition, each Saturday during Orchids in the Mansion, piano performances by Kaylina Madison Crawley and Chris Walters will take place in the drawing room from noon to 2 p.m., bringing the historic period room to life.

Also opening on January 28 will be two art exhibitions in the galleries in the Cheekwood Mansion.

“Spanning the Atlantic: The Arts and Crafts Movement in America” examines the international arts and crafts movement, and features more than 100 objects of fine art, furniture, decorative arts, and textiles by some of the most talented American craftspeople of the early 20th century.

The second art exhibition is “The Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Ruralism and Regionalism in American Art.”

In early 20th-century America, regionalist art celebrated the land with emotion-laden landscape scenes while advocating for ruralism (country living and values) over urbanism and city living. Prints by Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry are featured among 20 works that examine the compositions and contexts of agrarian imagery produced in America between 1920 and 1950.

The Cheekwood Winter Concert Series also begins on January 28 and Grammywinning players will perform big band jazz, Brazilian grooves and classical music in Botanic Hall.

A trio of concerts, all beginning at 7 p.m., will include: Nashville Jazz Orchestra’s Big Band on Jan. 28; Tudo Bem, which showcases interpretations of Brazilian music will be on Feb. 10; and on Feb. 23 contemporary classical music ensemble “Intersection” will perform with choreography by the Ensworth School of Dance.

Visit cheekwood.org for more information about all these programs.