Cheekwood announces Summer designs

Cheekwood announces designs for summer exhibition

Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art recently selected ten designs for its seventh annual 2007 summer exhibition: "Once Upon a Garden.''

Opening May 26 and running through September 9, "Once Upon a Garden'' focuses on the magical world of classic children's stories with "storybook settings" in the landscape at Cheekwood.

"The originality and adventurous spirit of this year's designs are amazing," said Jack Becker, president/CEO of Cheekwood. "Our goal is for families to come to Cheekwood to enjoy themselves through discovery and exploration."

Previous exhibitions have included Playhouses and Forts, Terrific Treehouses, and most recently, Birdhouse Bonanza. This year's designers include:

-Luke Tidwell and Barclay Dwight of Nashville for "Hansel and Gretel,'' a contemporary interpretation of the candy house the witch used to lure Hansel and Gretel into danger.

Children will be able to slide the panels and create the image and house of their desires.

-The owners of the Shops at the Loveless, Shimai Pottery, Curious Heart Emporium, Trace Bikes and Ruthie Cherry Fine Art in Nashville, for "Alice in Wonderland,'' a wonderland for a garden tea party and croquet.

-Annie Freeman, Elizabeth Garner, Ron Ames, Elder Jones, Michelle Webber, Alan Le Quire, Jammie Williams, Elaine Wood, Mervyn Enguidanos, Bob Scarlatta, and Andee Rudloff of Nashville for "The Frog Prince,'' a dazzling giant crown that children can enter and read the magical story of transformation that comes from confronting our fears and fulfilling our promises.

-Brian Parker and Scott Gubala of Nashville for "Wind in the Willows,'' featuring "pop-up book" inspired scenes gathered from moments in Kenneth Grahame's enchanting tale.

-Sandy Zeigler of Nashville for "Goldilocks and the Three Bears,'' a fantasy for children, a garden folly for adults.

-Adrienne Outlaw, Alicia Beach, Sher Fick, Lisa Bachman, Matthew Rogers, Amanda Crawford, Selena Long and Jessica Cantrell of Nashville for "Peter Rabbit,'' inviting children of all ages to experience Peter's fantastical journey by exploring above ground, child-size vegetable garden filled with colorful, woven-wire broccoli, carrots, asparagus and more.

-Babs Freeman, Harriet McHenry, and Susan Ward for "Jack and the Beanstalk,'' where a castle is suspended in the tree with a beanstalk going from Jack's House to the castle and children will be able to plant their own "magic beans" in Jack's house.

-Dryden Abernathy Architecture Design (DA|AD) including Nick Dryden, John Abernathy, James Bagwell, Kim Martin, Brad Northcutt, Crispin Mathias-Fisher and Jacklyn Abernathy for "The Secret Garden,'' an assemblage of garden delights offering a different perspective of what can be perceived as a garden.

-Gresham Smith and Partners: Healthcare Studio Team: Beryl Alder, Vanessa Paz, Bryan Tuttle, David Zegley, Adam Smith, Jerry Culp, Lara Eley and Aron Thompson for "Swiss Family Robinson,'' a conceptual tree house with platforms that represent climactic events in the book.

-Susan Jane Hall, Steve Drake, and Luke Tidwell of Nashville for "Anansi,'' depicting Anansi, a magical spider character from African mythology, as he presents the moon to Nyame, the sky God.

Cheekwood inspires and educates by making art, horticulture and nature accessible to a diverse community.