The Tulips at the Dixon
If you’ve lived in Memphis for twelve months or more, you know the city really outdoes itself in the Springtime. Summer is sweltering, Fall comes late, and Winter is...well, let’s just skip Winter altogether. Spring is when the Mid-South comes alive with color and blooms and kind temperatures that beckon for a picnic or a riverside stroll. North and East Parkways become a cathedral of blooming trees and the Shelby Farms Greenline gets shady with foliage again. It’s good to be at home in Memphis in the Spring. Especially this Spring, when life hints at becoming more the way it used to be.
The Perfect Place to Celebrate Spring
As the days get longer and warmer, we certainly find ourselves longing to be outside more and one of our favorite places to go is the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Located just off of Park Avenue in East Memphis, the Dixon offers 17 acres of gorgeously maintained public gardens and an intimate gallery of fine art that carries both a prestigious permanent collection and hosts numerous other visiting exhibitions throughout the year. It’s the perfect destination for a pleasant Spring day...English gardens through which to romp and a gallery that boasts paintings by Degas, Monet, Morisot, and Renoir just to name a few. The Dixon can feel casual or fancy; a place to roam after church or the perfect way to spend a late afternoon with the children. And any time of year, it offers a variety of attractions...gardening or painting classes, exhibition tours, homeschool days, and outdoor concerts. But it’s tulips in March and April that bring our family back faithfully year after year.
A Seasonal Tradition of Beauty
Since 2009, the Dixon has planted thousands of tulip bulbs every year in anticipation of their Spring “Dixon Blooms” event. The affect is breathtaking. As soon as you enter the property from the entrance, you turn right to see the first English garden crammed with tulips of all colors and varieties. Seemingly every bit of soil has been planted with a bulb and you find yourself fascinated by all of the hues and frilly petals and shapes and sizes of the tulips...all uniform in their species but so different in their styles. If you can watch a season peak, you can watch Spring peak at the Dixon. Thousands of blooms right at your feet and all around you give you a sense of new life and you’ll find yourself never wanting to leave.
If you do manage to continue your stroll, you’ll find yourself either in a small wooded area alive with ferns and ponds or a large manicured lawn trimmed with more tulips and green grass that begs to be run through, skipped across, or laid upon. The magic of the Dixon will start to seep in deep. Around each turn is another pathway carefully curated with a surprising garden or a beautiful statue.
The scale of it all is one of the most attractive features of the Dixon. The gardens are not overwhelming large. There is an intimacy to the space that draws you in, allows you to let the kids run ahead just a bit, and gives you a sense of where you are on the property. You may move easily from the gardens to the museum and back again or go in for a latte at the indoor cafe and return right to your spot in the tulips in a matter of moments. The areas have been created in a warm, inviting manner and as you leave, you’ll undoubtedly be asking yourself when you can return.
In order to invite the community back again safely, the Dixon Gallery and Garden is offering online reservations and while they’re not required to visit, they’re highly encouraged. You can contact the museum at 901.761.5250 or visit www.dixon.org for more information. Follow their social media pages for up to date details on the tulips and the best times to plan your visit. Whatever plans you make for this Spring, don’t let the season slip away before you see the tulips!