Gardens

The Sunshine Hollow Gardens are closed for the season. Please check back in early spring 2024 for new information.

--------------------------------------------

The Sunshine Hollow Gardens are the largest private gardens in Tennessee! Over thirty acres of sun and shade landscaping in a 150-acre natural area that also includes a three-acre sparkling lake.

At Sunshine Hollow Gardens you can tour row after row of daylilies, roses, dahlias, hydrangeas, cannas, hibiscus, rhododendrons, peonies, crepe myrtle, butterfly bushes, and other perennials and annuals.

If you like hiking, you can walk our eight miles of trails and see native dogwoods, hostas, azaleas, iris, ferns, and much more.

  • Hollow Ridge Trail This trail traverses the ridges of the entire Hollow for a two and one half miles. Many types of native hardwoods, shrubs, and wild flowers can be seen along the trail plus lots of native Muscadines. The trails summits and follows the ridges that form the Hollow and at one point, in the winter, the visitor can see the foothills of the Appalachians and the many ridges of the Great Valley plus beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
  • Azalea Trail The two-mile Azalea Trail circles the interior of the Hollow pretty much on the contour to give the visitor a chance to see the literally thousands of native Azaleas that have found the Hollow an ideal place to live. Many native shrubs, wildflowers, and ferns can also be seen. The interior of the Hollow has many large trees, especially Tulip Poplars and White Oaks, many of which are over one hundred feet tall and growing taller all the time.
  • Big Cedar Trail This one-half mile trail travels from the main garden around a very steep hillside above Moonshine Creek and by a very tall Eastern Red Cedar that's around 80 feet tall.  Native Azaleas, ferns, and other wildflowers are found along its route.
  • Fern Gulley Trail The Fern Gulley trail traverses through the upper part of Moonshine Creek to intersect with the Azalea Trail. It is one-quarter of a mile one-way. Plans are to make it a one-half mile loop through more of the extensive fern area in the Hollow. Many types of native ferns occur here such as Cinnamon fern, Royal Fern, Lady Fern, Maidenhair Fern, Sensitive Fern, and others. A huge Beech tree grows about halfway up the trail and is over one hundred feet tall and probably very old.
  • Fred Lee Rhyne Nature Trail This trail traverses the Creek area from near the center of the Gardens to the end of the Hollow for about one-half mile one way. Many wildflowers are found along its path, including red trillium, yellow trillium, foam flowers, wild geraniums, spring beauties, bluets, violet wood sorrel, wild ginger, cardinal flower, obedient plant, jewel weed, red buckeye, yellow buckeye, ground cedar, and many others.
  • Margaret Tipton Rhyne Shade Garden Trail A one-quarter mile loop trail near the center of the Gardens that circles a wooded area filled with giant Tulip Poplars and showcases Hosta, Hydrangeas, Lily of the Valley, Dwarf Buckeye, a giant Sourwood, Annuals, and other plants.
  • Vicki Lynn Trail About 5,000 feet of contoured flower beds and trails surround the home area and lake. The Vicki Lynn Trail starts at the center of the Gardens and makes a half-mile loop through the main Gardens and around the Lake back to the center of the main Garden. This trail allows the visitor to see almost all of the Sun Gardens of about ten acres. Five hundred Daylily cultivars, one hundred varieties of Tall Bearded Iris, Hydrangeas, Azaleas, Crepe Myrtles, Peonies, Butterfly Bushes, Rhododendrons, Roses, Weigela, perennials, and annuals are displayed along terraced trails.
  • Juanita Breneman Trail A loop trail on the north side of the lake that leaves the Vicki Lynn trail. It has large Poplars and Oaks, Royal Ferns, Christmas Ferns, Native Azaleas and other wildflowers. It is about one-quarter mile in length.
  • Sammeg Trail One of four trails that tie the main Gardens to the Hollow Ridge trail. It leaves the Gardens near the southeastern end near the Kyker Garden. It crosses the Fred Lee Rhyne Nature Trail and joins the Hollow Ridge trail near the southeast end. It is about one-tenth mile in length.
  • Rajodi Trail The Rajodi trail leaves the Main Garden area on the south side and traverses up a hollow to intersect with the Hollow Ridge trail at a saddle in the ridge on the south side of the Hollow. It is about one-quarter mile in length.
  • AnnaMelissa Trail Another one-third mile trail traversing from the Gardens to intersect with the Hollow Ridge Trail on the western side near the middle of its two-and-a-half mile length.
  • JessKamonty Trail This trail leaves the main road on the north side of the lake and gains elevation to the top of the ridge intersecting the Hollow Ridge Trail on the northwest side of the Hollow It crosses the Azalea trail near the midpoint of its length. About one-quarter mile in length.

You can also purchase plants on-site at our Nursery.