Gardening road trip to the Gaylord Opryland Resort

By Pam Baytos

OSU Ext. master gardener volunteer

If you’re looking for a winter getaway that includes a wonderful light display along with a tropical oasis, head to the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville.

Stan and I just enjoyed a four-day getaway there. I made arrangements to meet with Megan, the head horticulturist, and she gave me a little background of the resort and some behind-the-scenes information about the gardens.

Opryland opened in 1977, and with three expansions, now has 2,882 guest rooms, convention space, restaurants and shops to complete your stay. The original resort was designed to resemble a southern mansion known as The Magnolia, with a grand staircase and Tiffany-design chandelier.

In 1982, architect Earl Swensson convinced hotel management to build a garden and put terrace balconies around it so guests could enjoy garden views. Thus the Garden Conservatory was born with its atrium designed to resemble a Victorian garden.

With a 1-acre skylight, and a constant 71-degree temperature, it houses more than 10,000 plants.

In 1988, the Cascades Atrium opened as the second phase and was named for its water features. The wow factor is the double waterfall cascading down a 40 foot tall mountain, with tropical plants and trees where you can find oranges, limes and grapefruit, to name a few.

Ten years later, the Delta Atrium designed with a New Orleans French Quarter theme was added. Highlights include more than 8,000 plants, a quarter-mile-long delta river into which water samples from more than 1,700 rivers throughout the world were “blended.”

A flatboat tour takes you past gardens and waterfalls, where you’ll see the high-water mark from the 2010 flood and a 100-year-old bonsai tree.

There is a fountain show synchronized to music.

Throughout the atria you’ll find more than 1,500 palms, 60 species of trees and too many plants to count.

Most of the gardens are maintained by drip irrigation. I wonder just how many miles of hose snake through that place.

The garden crews not only take care of the 9 acres of inside gardens, but also manage a plethora of outside grounds.

The inside crew consists of 14; the outside crew, 13. There are six greenhouses. The floral department consists of four staff and the resort has its own pest-control force of five who not only take care of the gardens but the whole complex.

There are two outside display changes, spring and fall, and five to six inside display changes mostly consisting of annuals.

The installation of the outside holiday light display starts in July. The Magnolia lobby poinsettia tree has 400 plants, while the Delta Atrium’s has 700.

If you’re ever in the Nashville area, spend some time at The Gaylord and explore the surrounding area. The resort shuttle is a wonderful way to head downtown for a day of history and entertainment.