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Hear Staci L. Catron discuss historic Southern gardens, then walk Belmont Mansion’s planted grounds and enjoy a reception in the Grand Salon. This three‑hour Spring Garden Event blends scholarship, hands-on landscape observation, and a book signing in Nashville.
Hear Staci L. Catron discuss historic Southern gardens, then walk Belmont Mansion’s planted grounds and enjoy a reception in the Grand Salon. This three‑hour Spring Garden Event blends scholarship, hands-on landscape observation, and a book signing in Nashville.
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Operated by Belmont Mansion · Nashville, Tennessee
Spring in Nashville unfurls at Belmont Mansion’s historic gardens, and Seeking Eden — the Spring Garden Event — is the best way to experience them. Held on the Belmont University campus at the Belmont Univesrity's Leu Center for the Visual Arts (1907 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212, USA), this three‑hour afternoon folds a museum lecture, a guided walk through cultivated beds, and a reception into a single elegant pause in the city’s rhythm. Staci L. Catron, Senior Director of the Cherokee Garden Library at the Atlanta History Center, reads from her award‑winning book "Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia's Historic Gardens" and brings professional perspective on garden preservation and design. The program begins at 3:30 p.m. with Catron’s talk, followed by a walk led by the Director of the University Gardens and Grounds Department through formal parterres, winding paths, and specimen trees that anchor Belmont’s landscape. Key features include the Belmont Mansion’s Grand Salon and the estate’s layered plantings — mature oaks, azaleas, camellias, and heritage magnolias — that create microhabitats for urban songbirds and pollinators. The event closes with light hors d’oeuvres in the Grand Salon and a book‑signing where guests can meet the author. What makes this gathering special is the intersection of scholarship and place: Catron’s work on Southern garden history reframes what many take for granted about cultivated landscapes, and Belmont’s grounds provide a living classroom. For visitors to Nashville who want more than a concert or a restaurant crawl, this event offers a slow, observational way to read the city’s horticultural history and support preservation — the Spring Garden Event is Belmont Mansion’s largest fundraising event of the year. Practical details matter: wear comfortable shoes for garden paths; the walk is gentle but may include uneven surfaces. Tickets are $60 per person or $110 per couple; admission is non‑refundable. The Leu Center check‑in point sits adjacent to the Leu Library and Gallery, making it an easy meeting spot on campus. If you plan to photograph the grounds, bring a mid‑length lens for floral studies and a wide angle for interiors like the Grand Salon. Whether you’re a local gardener, a history buff, or a visitor looking for a quieter Nashville experience, Seeking Eden is a curated afternoon that connects botanical detail with civic stewardship — and offers the rare pleasure of a lecture that leads directly into the living landscape it describes. Bring a reusable water bottle, arrive a few minutes early to locate parking and the Leu Center entrance, and consider combining the event with a campus walk to explore nearby galleries, galleries' rotating exhibits, and the neighboring tree‑lined avenues that show another side of Belmont's public garden work today.
Check in at the Belmont Univesrity's Leu Center for the Visual Arts, adjacent to the Leu Library and Gallery on the Belmont campus.
The program lasts about three hours, beginning with the lecture at 3:30 p.m., a guided garden tour, and a reception in the Grand Salon.
Tickets are non‑refundable, as noted in the event's cancellation policy.
The walk is generally gentle but includes uneven surfaces; wear appropriate footwear and contact the organizers if you need accessibility accommodations.
Yes—Staci L. Catron will be available to sign copies of her book during the reception in the Grand Salon.
Light hors d’oeuvres are provided during the reception, but guests should plan accordingly if they have dietary restrictions and contact the organizers in advance.
Belmont Mansion in Nashville preserves and interprets the history of a 19th-century estate through a range of guided and self-paced experiences. The site offers General Admission beginning in the Grand Salon—the largest room of its kind in the Antebellum South—followed by independent exploration with guides available to answer questions. Guided Tour experiences limit groups to 12 participants and are recommended for visitors ages 8 and up, providing intimate storytelling about the mansion’s residents and architecture. Curator's Tour sessions, led by Curator Jerry Trescott, run approximately 90 minutes and highlight original artifacts and distinctive architectural features. The Civil War at Belmont Mansion is a 90-minute program presented by Executive Director Myers Brown that focuses on the mansion’s role during the Tennessee Campaign of 1864 and the Battle of Nashville. Literary visitors can join the Lasting Impression Book Tour, a 90-minute guided walkthrough tied to Tamera Alexander’s A Lasting Impression that links scenes from the novel to locations in the house. Belmont Mansion also connects to nearby historic sites: the Tour the St. Cecilia Motherhouse offers guided visits to the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Motherhouse in North Nashville, led by the Sisters and Board President Jim Thompson. Public hours and ticketing information are available through Belmont Mansion’s official channels. Special event bookings are coordinated with site staff.
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