Cheekwood Estate & Gardens was born of the American Country Place Era, a period when manipulation and celebration of the landscape began a legacy that is now a century old. The property is effectively conserved and surrounded by thousands of acres of park land just west of Nashville. The institution has developed an increasingly refined collecting interest as twelve distinct gardens and numerous plant collections have been established over the sixty-year period that it has served as a public destination. Cheekwood endeavors to present a compelling blend of history, art and horticulture and the property is organized in a way to seamlessly activate and interpret all three pillars of this mission.

The arboretum collection is one of the most comprehensive and unifying features of the Cheekwood offering, providing a logical way to explore the estate and gardens. Three primary tree collections include the Nationally Accredited Cornus Collection™, the historic collection, and trees native to the southeastern United States. The dogwoods weave together a series of distinct gardens organized along the property’s eastern ridge, which ends at the base of the Cheekwood Mansion and the foot of the property’s historic core. The historic landscape is embraced by a woodland sculpture trail, a fourteen-acre successional forest that serves as the primary venue for the native tree collection. Significant display collections include Magnolia, Hydrangea and Japanese Black Pine, all of which serve to punctuate a unique combination of discreet gardens and open, rolling landscape.