Nashville's Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art is a Great Place to Visit

Nestled on a secluded hillside which is surrounded by the Warner Parks of the greater Nashville, Tennessee area, the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art is a peaceful retreat for nature and art lovers alike. Almost 200,000 people visit these majestic grounds each year.

The centerpiece of the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art is the old family 30,000 square foot mansion of the Cheek family, who are responsible for the Maxwell House coffee fortune. The mansion houses the art museum, which was renowned as the best art museum in Nashville up until the Frist Center for Visual Arts opened up a few years ago in downtown Nashville. The museum of art showcases a permanent collection of American and contemporary paintings, silver, Worcester porcelain and rotating exhibits. Each Christmas, there is a special exhibit titled 'Christmas Trees of the World,' where numerous Christmas trees are exhibited in the museum and are decorated according to what country they are supposed to be representing.

The botanical garden actually consists of several gardens which are on the 55 acre property surrounding the mansion. There is a beautiful Japanese garden, a wildflower garden, two perennial gardens, an herb garden, a water garden, a color garden and a seasons garden. Visitors will also see many pools, fountains and statues as they roam the gardens.

In addition to offering tours of the museum and the gardens, the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art also offers up special events and classes for the public. All classes and seminars are in some way related to Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, with painting classes and gardening classes being offered to the community.

Special exhibits rotate throughout the year at the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. Currently there are exhibits lined up for American Pottery, artist William Edmondson, and Hydrangeas for the spring and summer of 2007.

There is also a popular tea room and restaurant, called The Pineapple Room, on the grounds of the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. The Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art admission fee must be paid in order to gain entrance to The Pineapple Room. The restaurant is noted for its Sunday brunch buffet. The dining room offers a glass-enclosed view of the scenic gardens outside. As an alternative, the Pineapple Room offers box lunches for visitors that want to take their lunch on one of the many benches in the gardens or at the picnic tables by the water garden.

The Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art is also available for private events. Many people have been married in the beautiful gardens. Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art is also a great location for private portraits, with many local couples taking advantage of the beautiful landscape for wedding and engagement photographs. If this is of interest to you, remember that prime months are usually booked a year in advance! Fees are listed on the official website.

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Sunday. Admission prices are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for children and students. It is located at 1200 Forrest Park Drive in Nashville, Tennessee and provides plenty of free parking for visitors.