Monday, July 18, 2022

Visiting Opryland; a conservatory (and hotel) in Nashville

When planning a trip to Nashville what does one put on their "must do" list—especially with just two full days on the ground? Well, our priority was time with family. Beyond that one could try to take in some music, but we're not really country music fans and COVID still has us not real excited about crowds. 
Marty Robbin's hummingbird suit—as close as we got to doing country music

Thanks to Karl Gercens—garden traveler extraordinaire—I knew Gaylord's Opryland was something of a plant person's Mecca and my easy-going in-laws were up for the experience. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but was quickly blown away by it all.

Here's a bit of history I found online, from an article published in 2013: Fueled by supply and demand and the desire to offer the best guest experience possible, the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center has grown its gardens over the years in size and scope, and the world has taken notice. In the 39 years Hollis Malone has worked as a horticulturist at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, he has never once gotten tired of the compliments from guests on the nine acres of interiorscapes winding through the complex... 

...The resort didn’t start with nine acres, however. The indoor garden concept started in 1982 when architect Earl Swensson convinced hotel management to build a garden and put terrace rooms around it so people could have a spectacular view. Thus, the Garden Conservatory was born, a one-and-a-half acre spread of tropical plants that accommodated the addition of 500 rooms to the original 600 built in 1977. 

Again, here's a link to that article, it's a good read. This Hollis Malone sounds like someone I would enjoy talking with. In case you're interested here's a link to another story I found online about Hollis and his work at Opryland, also interesting.

Since Hollis retired in 2014 the garden I saw has been under the care of others for years, I wonder who? They're doing a great job...



As I scurried around looking at plants and taking photos I could almost forget this was all under glass, with hotel rooms looking down upon it all.

I easily became completely lost in the plants.










All the photos I've shared up until now were taken in the newer Cascades area, now we've entered the older Garden Conservatory. I spotted a couple of agaves below, variegated Agave attenuata ("there's always an agave, if you look hard enough")...




Zombie palm! Zombia antillarum; oil from the palm is said to be used to "awaken" zombies back to life, needles from the trunk are used in voodoo

Now we've walked into the third garden, known as the Delta. These interesting palm trunks became home to several other plants the further we wandered—I'll share photos of the plants growing on plants, as well as various mounted plants I saw throughout Opryland, on Wednesday.

Trevesia palmata!

With all of the amazing plants growing everywhere throughout this facility I was somewhat stunned to see these window boxes were filled with plastic plants. LAME!


There's actually a "boat" that takes you through the Delta gardens. It had me thinking back to an evening river boat dinner a friend and I enjoyed in San Antonio years ago. That was outdoors however, on a real river.

Epiphyllum, jungle cactus.


I know some folks would look at these gardens under glass and quickly dismiss them, but I thoroughly enjoyed the display. The plants are well cared for, people who might not otherwise engage with plants at, say a botanical garden, are surrounded by them. What's not to love?

All material © 2009-2022 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 18, 2022

    "Whats not to love" is spot on: a wonderful idea, beautifully executed. I don't even mind the artificial plants: it would be a nightmare to care for real plants and irrigation could leave dark streaks on those pristine white walls.
    Fun fact about the Zombie palm... how did you even know about that?
    Chavli

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    1. Zombie palm... there was an informative sign.

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  2. The last thing I would have expected to see in Nashville.

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  3. That's pretty amazing - and completely unexpected. I love the idea of a hotel garden/conservatory.

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    1. I imagine spouses accompanying their significant others on business trips and never leaving the complex.

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  4. Will have to keep that in mind next visit to NashVegas. I had no idea!

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  5. Without a glass cover, these gardens wouldn't be possible. And that would be a huge loss to Nashville.

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  6. My kind of hotel. Most of the time you can't wait to get out of them. This one I would hate to leave. Some gorgeous plants. The care team is doing a great job.

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  7. I'll back you up on the coolness of these gardens Loree-I've stayed at this hotel a few times on business-and I've even been on the boat ride ! After a day in meeting rooms, trade show floors etc . it was great to be able to sit out on your little balcony overlooking the jungle.

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    1. How wonderful, glad you've experienced it from the inside.

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  8. Wow that is quite amazing - I never knew such a place existed. Those garden crew are so lucky to have this place as their ‘office’! One thing I do wonder about though is mozzies. You’d think they’d be in heaven there.

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    1. Mozzies! OMG... that's a new one for me, I had to look it up. I love it! You raise a good point though, I don't remember seeing a single one, they must employ some pretty serious controls.

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  9. Never heard of "mozzies" but first thought at the start of this post was: mosquito control! BT application weekly to all standing water, including bromeliad cups, is effective not-toxic-to-humans control. Moving water not a problem.

    To have a tropical conservatory at a facility catering to country music fans rather than plantaholics is a nice thing. It must have been a nice family outing on a summer vacation.

    I found the Ken Burns series on country music quite informative and enjoyable. It made the appeal of the genre more understandable to the non-fan.

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  10. I think your last thought is so important: "... people who might not otherwise engage with plants at, say a botanical garden, are surrounded by them." I thought the same thing when I visited there. Love your last backlit photo! Heavenly place!

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  11. My mom used to listen to Marty Robbins all of the time when I was little, so I find older country music very nostalgic. Seeing his hummingbird suit makes me love his music even more. I want a suit like that. I wish more men felt comfortable enough to wear something interesting.

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    1. It was such a work of art that suit! I knew a girl in college who loved Marty Robbins, he had style that man.

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  12. AnonymousJuly 30, 2022

    Wait until you see it decorated for Christmas!

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    1. I doubt we'll be back at Christmas, but I bet it's quite the sight!

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