One of the many highlights at A&G are their gardens. Cheekwood presented "Entwined Elegance" a living tapestry of azaleas, boxwood hedges and more. The "Eastward Garden" was described as evoking order, elegance and classical inspiration with a nod to tradition, symmetry and refinement. Brought to A&G courtesy of Gavin Duke, Duke Design Group + Gale Higgs, Nashville Landscape Systems. Lastly, "Montauk's Secret Garden" echoed of elegant formal gardens found in the Hamptons. It featured greenery, natural stonework and a handmade English greenhouse showcasing specimen plants. This display was designed by Jerry Trageser + Gavin Normandeau Nature's Best Nursery, Lawn & Landscape Hartley Botanic.

The A&G usually has a theme and this year's was "American Elegance" which was well represented at the entrance of the event and throughout the hall where we saw a treasure trove of antiques, fine furniture, garden tools, leather goods, old and new art, outdoor lighting, tornado seats and one-of-a-kind items.

Vintage bird-adorned walking sticks and furniture were around every corner of Exhibit Hall D.

We too like to focus on a theme. Last year we looked for cats - this year we went in search of birds which flowed into the idea of soaring which led to discovering a number of inspiring stories as we meandered through all the wonderful wares at A&G. Of course, antiques by nature are often tied to tales of the past or in the modern day how the piece was discovered and possibly brought back to life. Many of the vendors at A&G enjoy sharing their unique journeys along with the history of the items that they are stewarding.

Our first uplifting encounter was with VE Designs who specializes in Swedish Mora Clocks. Ella Benton enthusiastically shared with us why the clocks are considered "she" because of their maternal shapes which we had not thought of during past visits to one of our favorite vendors at A&G. Ella mentioned how she first took a liking to these timeless timekeepers and how she would find them for friends. Over time it evolved into VE Designs. The clocks range in age from two to hundreds of years old. They are each hand made and have special features - one even had a circle cut out for a cat to go into while another reflected oriental themes.

We weren't the only patrons on a scavenger hunt; our goal was bird watching!

Family-owned businesses are often inspiring as the love of some type of art brings generations together. We chatted with the founders of La Cigale from Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania who talked to us about how they run their shop and take annual trips to France to purchases the lovely linens that they use to craft their Provencal table clothes with matching napkins in their family sewing shop.

The folks from Stony Lonesome based out of Spring Hill, Tennessee were a mother and son team. As we were admiring Alice's shell art her son approached us to tell us more about her work, growing coral and lastly how she had a stroke not that long ago yet was back to her creations within weeks with some of her fans stating her newest pieces were even better - how inspiring!

The annual greenhouse, ancient Swedish clocks and even more birds were all part of the show.

Other highlights was the copper, silver and enamel items crafted by Ben & Lael. Also, of interest in context of our theme were the eighteenth century "A History of Uncommon Birds" (George Edwards) curated by Dinan & Chighine Fine Art. A&G is geared more towards adults since many of the items available are breakable and expensive, however we did see a number of youngsters and one family appeared to be looking for certain themes like we were which we though was a great way to introduced children to antiques. Either way A&G is an elegant annual tradition for Nashvillians and we are already looking forward to next year's showcase!

Alice from Stony Lonesome based out of Spring Hill was our inspirational story of the day.

Related Links: For more information on the ANTIQUES & GARDEN SHOW NASHVILLE and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links - Antiques & Garden Show Nashville | Cheekwood Estate & Gardens | Music City Center | The 35th Annual Antiques & Garden Show Cultivates a Big Crowd at Music City Center in Nashville The Antique & Garden Show of Nashville Was a Beautiful Sight to Behold at Music City Center