General Info:
Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center has earned an international reputation for its service and amenities but is equally well known for its nine acres of lavish indoor gardens. Boasting 50,000 tropical plants, rare international blooms and romantic Southern species, the horticultural displays at Gaylord Opryland are among the most exquisite in the world. Meticulously selected and lovingly maintained by a staff of 20 full-time interior horticulturists, the landscaping is a colorful, year-round paradise tucked inside this amazing resort. Each of the gardens is housed under one of the hotel's soaring atriums, creating a series of breathtaking horticultural wonderlands. An elaborate climate-control system keeps the temperature at 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit year round. Relative humidity stays around 55 percent most of the time. There is also an air exchange system to ensure air in the atriums does not become stale. The system exchanges air four times in a 24-hour period. The Garden Conservatory features a collection of 10,000 tropical plants, representing more than 215 species. Towering palms and banana trees rise 60 feet above the atrium floor. In all, there are 37 different families of trees represented, including ficus, banana trees, palms and a sampling of miniature orange trees. In August 1982, months before opening, a staff of 10 began landscaping the Garden Conservatory, which was at that time one of the largest facilities of its kind in a single, glass-topped room in the world. Many of the taller plants were put in place before construction was completed, in advance of installing the thousands of flowers that add color and texture to the majestic space. It took staff 3 months to install the gardens of the Garden Conservatory Atrium. A precise drip-irrigation system was developed that allows many plants to be watered slowly over the course of several hours. The soil is a special mixture of pine, peat and cypress bark solelite developed specifically for the environment. For the Cascades Atrium, dozens of Florida nurseries were visited before staff selected more than 8200 tropical ornamental plants representing 449 species. Plant varieties range from an Alexandria palm tree towering more than 40 feet high to six-foot-tall ginger bushes and jasminum vines. Sunlight levels are higher in the Cascades than in the Garden Conservatory, providing a sustainable environment for different plant varieties. Beyond the Cascades is the Delta Atrium, an amazing indoor garden with a subtropical feeling. Even though it is an indoor environment, 370 trees and palms--between 20- and 40-feet tall--share space with thousands of smaller plants. To create the appearance of the outdoors, black olive trees and West Indian mahoganies were chosen for their resemblance to oaks. Unlike oaks, they do not shed their leaves. And in true Southern tradition, Spanish moss trails from their imposing branches. Design of the Delta's gardens began two years before the Delta's opening in June 1996. Most of the plants originated in Florida. It took 32 tractor trailers to transport them to their new home in the protected environment of the Delta Atrium. The Delta is a true garden of the South with 120 sabal palms, tall lady palms, camellias, banana trees and cycads. Primary hedging plants are ever-blooming gardenia and camellias pittosporum (both green and variegated). There are 1500 plants representing 30 varieties of camellias in the Delta. Two 40-foot-tall Magnolia grandiflora (Southern magnolias) accent the front of the Delta Mansion. ABOUT GAYLORD OPRYLAND RESORT Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., is the largest non-gaming hotel facility in the continental United States and the flagship property of Gaylord Hotels. The newly-renovated resort features nearly 3,000 guest rooms and more than 700,000 square feet of meeting, convention and exhibit space.