Plant ID for Home Gardeners

Plant ID for Home Gardeners is happening at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens & Estate on Saturday, October 10, starting at 1 PM. It's a workshop led by Cheekwood staff that combines a hands-on lecture with a garden walk, all centered on the basics of plant identification. The goal is to walk away knowing how to recognize what's growing in your own yard, and they've set it up to be a fun, supportive environment rather than a formal class.

The session kicks off in the Cheekwood Courtyard Classroom, where the lecture part of the day takes place. From there, you'll head out into the gardens for the walk, which is where the actual identifying happens. Instead of just hearing about plant characteristics, you'll see them in person and learn how to spot the differences between species on the fly. It's designed for home gardeners, so it's more about practical, usable knowledge than academic botany.

Cheekwood itself is a good place for this. It's a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum on the historic Cheek estate, which was built in 1929 as the home of Leslie and Mabel Cheek. These days it's considered one of the finest examples of an American Country Place Era estate, and the grounds are as much a part of the draw as the art inside. The workshop is led by the staff who work there, so you're learning from people who spend their days tending to the collection.

The workshop is at the Courtyard Classroom, 1200 Forrest Park Drive, Nashville. It runs on Saturday, October 10, starting at 1 PM. Tickets are $32 for members and $40 for non-members.