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Native plants and pollinators support resilient, ecologically sound landscapes. Can they also be beautiful? Absolutely! This class reviews why native plants are special, how to select species for different site conditions, and how to combine them into stunning, functional garden designs that benefit your whole neighborhood.
Learn the secrets of growing beautiful, healthy roses in our climate. From site selection and soil prep, to pruning and disease management, this class will set you up for success. Taught in partnership with a local rose expert.
This fan favorite, hands-on class will have you ready to grow a thriving vegetable garden with confidence. Co-taught with Tennessee Kitchen Gardens.
Sarah Ruzic, Tennessee Kitchen Gardens
Courtyard Classroom
Not Yet Members: $40
Members: $32
Waitlist
Shake off the past season, and welcome spring with confidence! This class reviews everything you need to know to start the season strong. Whether you’re planning what to plant, starting seeds indoors, preparing new beds, or rehabilitating existing garden spaces, we’ll walk through it all. Leave with a practical checklist, a tray of seed starts, and renewed confidence for a thriving, resilient season ahead.
Hilary Swaim & Meredith McGraw Bishop, Cheekwood; Bloom & Bounty
Courtyard Classroom
Not Yet Members: $40
Members: $32
Waitlist
Capture the grace and beauty of orchids in this drawing workshop focusing on composition and mark making. The class will begin with a series of quick gesture drawings and then move into longer form drawing using charcoal and various graphite tools.
Sarah Edmonds
Frist Learning Center Studios
Not Yet Members: $60
Members: $48
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Add a little sparkle to your morning as we kick off the day with Math and Mimosas. Join us in the gardens for a lively conversation on garden designs and how math concepts result in their awe-inspiring beauty. Enjoy a nature stroll while exploring the gardens on a specially designed 3.14K walking path around Cheekwood. On your way, discover interpretive hanging frames and installations highlighting optical illusions, perspective, and patterns. Don’t miss Cheekwood’s Living Wall, where math will literally come to life through a Golden Ratio photo op created from annuals.
Local mathematicians will help bring the concepts to life in the gardens. Leaning into the spirit of a grown-up math fair, interactive booths offer activities with two levels of complexity—one for adults and one for younger audiences.
Adults can also participate in mathematically inspired art workshops and garden-focused classes hosted by The Cheekwood Gardening School. Topics include flower-pressed mosaics, floral design, and garden planting design.
The Math in Bloom celebration invites everyone to Cheekwood to experience nature and art through a new lens.
9:30 – 11:30 AM | Math & Mimosas | Massey Auditorium
10 AM – 2 PM | Math Fair | Arboretum Lawn
10 AM – 2 PM | 3.14-kilometer Pi Path | Cheekwood Grounds
10 AM – 2 PM | Fibonacci Frames | Triangle in front of Mansion, Color Garden, Howe Garden
10 AM – 2 PM | Golden Ratio Living Wall
10 AM – 3 PM | Food Vendors Open | Lot B
12 – 2 PM | Performance by John England | Herb Garden Amphitheater
Enjoy a mimosa and a lively conversation with Todd Lasseigne, Executive Director of Bellingrath Gardens & Home as he discusses math behind plants, covering topics ranging from the golden ratio to plant metabolic rates. Math needn’t be boring and theoretical, but rather an intrinsic science that is interlinked to virtually all aspects of plant growth and development.
Uncover mathematical concepts hidden in the world around you! Enjoy an outdoor adventure on Arboretum Lawn and visit five stations featuring hands-on activities based on pi, symmetry, infinity, graph theory, and the golden ratio.
Take a stroll through Cheekwood’s gardens on the perfectly calculated 3.14-kilometer nature walk and celebrate Pi Day with every step.
Discover three special Golden Ratio hanging frames placed in the gardens spotlighting the mathematical concepts, infinity, tiling, symmetry, and pattern.
Don’t miss Cheekwood’s Golden Ratio Living Wall, where math literally comes to life through a Golden Ratio photo op created from succulents.
The Nashville Number System is > X, where X represents the sum of its parts. The parts are guitarist/singer John England, and keyboardist/singer Jim Hayden. John has been in Nashville for 22+7 years, while Jim didn’t get here until MMIV. They’ll be playing & singing popular numbers in the garden from 12 until 2 on Pi Day, 3.14.26.
In mathematics, a tiling is a collection of subsets of the plane, covering a flat surface with non-overlapping shapes with no gaps between them. This is also called tessellation.
Tessellation specifically implies a repeating, predictable pattern of polygons, where tiling is a broader term for any arrangement of shapes covering a surface, which may or may not be repeating.
Tiling can be found abundantly in the world around us: stone walls, honeycomb, the patterns on a turtle’s shell. Even our bodies can be thought of tilings in which the ‘tiles’ are cells!
These repeating, gapless patterns of shapes are important in real life for optimizing structural stability and maximizing space efficiency while also being aesthetically pleasing. For example, the hexagonal geometry of honeycomb maximizes strength while minimizing material usage. By sharing walls, the cells distribute stress evenly to prevent weak points and support heavy loads. This pattern found in nature serves as a model for engineering materials in aerospace, construction, and packaging.
A large part of mathematics is the identification and exploration of patterns, and symmetry is a pattern that appears repeatedly in many places.
For two-dimensional geometric shapes, there are four fundamental types of symmetry: reflection symmetry, rotation symmetry, translation symmetry, and glide symmetry.
Symmetry is frequently used in garden design to create balance and uniformity. Symmetry when planting can make the space feel more formal. Think of a row of hedges lining a pathway. Asymmetry in garden design creates a more organic and relaxed feel. Imagine a naturalistic cottage garden featuring a single off-center tree.
What types of symmetry can you spot in the garden bed designs around you?
In mathematics, infinity is a concept that represents boundlessness and is unmeasurable because it has no endpoint.
Some examples of infinity in math include:
The water cycle is an example of a natural, infinite, closed-loop system. It is an “endless loop” or continuous process driven by the sun, where water is perpetually evaporated, condensed, and precipitated, rather than an infinite supply.
While water on Earth is recycled, it is a finite resource, with 97% being saltwater and only a fraction of fresh water available for human use.
Rain gardens restore the natural water cycle by capturing polluted stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces like roofs or sidewalks into a shallow depression. They filter contaminants through soil and plant roots, promoting groundwater recharge, reducing erosion, and preventing flooding. The native plants planted in this rain garden absorb water through their roots and release it back into the atmosphere as vapor.
Celebrate history in full bloom! This spring, Cheekwood’s annual festival of flowers honors America’s 250th anniversary with a spectacular sea of 250,000 red and white tulips, purple-blue violas, and hyacinths. Our growing collection of daffodils adds to the palette, draping the estate in cheerful bright yellows and pure whites, creating a vibrant display of color and renewal.
It’s the perfect setting for families, friends, and nature enthusiasts to gather and welcome a new season as winter fades. On select weekends, enjoy live jazz as talented student musicians from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music perform in the gardens. Stroll through breathtaking scenery, visit food trucks, and enjoy American art on display in the Historic Mansion. Experience beauty, history, and community at Cheekwood in Bloom!
On select weekends during Cheekwood in Bloom, enjoy live jazz performances as talented student musicians from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music perform in the gardens. Grab a picnic table or bring a blanket for a gorgeous day amidst the sights and sounds of spring.
