Lilying the Gilded Age: Fleurs de Ville Returns to Cheekwood
In 2016, Fleurs de Ville [FdV] inaugurated their extraordinary version of “floral storytelling.” In 2026, this Vancouver-based artistic tour de force was honored as the cinema category’s “Best Integrated Partnership” at the Global Entertainment Awards held in Marbella, Spain. Their retelling of Downton Abbey through flower-laden mannequins earned this recognition.
In just under ten years, the duo of Karen Marshall and Tina Barkley moved from clever local presenters of “city flowers” exhibitions to globe-trotting designers of thought-provoking displays. FdV’s connection with the Music City began with “Nashville North,” created for the 2024’s Calgary Stampede, a ten-day series of Wild West events with a history over 100 years old. In that exhibit, flamboyant icons like Dolly Parton and relative newcomers like Canada’s own Shania Twain were featured. This Nashville connection pre-dates “Artistes,” FdV’s first exhibition at Cheekwood.This year, they follow Downton Abbey with another historical drama, this time set in the USA—The Gilded Age, inspired by the hit HBO series. Marshall, a specialist in digital publishing, took time to guide me through the unique process and results for FdV “themes.” Some themes, like “Artistes” are based on a collection in the venue itself, like Cheekwood’s porcelain. Others, like this year’s Gilded Age event, are replicated in varied locales.
In each locale, the fleuristes, local floral designers, are given photos of characters, then represent their character in flower-decorated mannequins, free to design what Marshall refers to the accoutrements, or surrounding elements, as they see fit. Because local floristers are used, each manifestation of the theme will be materially different in each locale
For those unaware: The Gilded Age is set in New York City in the two decades after the US Civil War; the same era, by the way, as Little House on the Prairie. Loosely based on real-life figures in upper class Manhattan, the series chronicles class conflicts between those families with massive amounts of inherited wealth, the transportation and industrial “robber barons” of vast new wealth in an age of unfettered capitalism, and those of the educated and servant classes striving to move ahead in a time of exciting societal, artistic, and technological innovation. The series is known especially for its attention to historical detail through lavish sets and costuming.
In the mansion lobby, Cheekwood visitors are greeted by Mr. Bannister, the wealthy Van Rhijn family’s most prestigious acquisition, an English butler. He’s wearing lush slippers fashioned from ranunculus, as if opening the door for a late unexpected visitor.
In the loggia, the designer for Bertha Russell, of the nouveau riche Russells, places the savvy social-climbing matriarch on a staircase, lifting her above all her family members in the display. Subtle, effective metaphor.
In the nearby Frist Learning Center, Olivia Fortune of Gossamer Floral Design, was tasked with representing Peggy Scott, a character trying to find balance as a young black woman seeking financial independence through her writing and journalism, keeping a loving relationship with her upper middle class family, maintaining her status as a well-educated young lady, and acting as secretary-companion to one of the wealthiest women in New York. The photograph shows Peggy beside the suitable young man with whom she falls in love. Fortune uses dark green mosses and ferns as the natural background of lovers walking in the forest, while the light-colored dress is infused with bridal flowers—roses and gypsophila (baby’s breath), with the unusual touch of some orchids, symbolic of Peggy’s unusual position in society. She uses preserved plants for Peggy’s well-disciplined hair.
One important, but lesser known, aspect of Fleurs de Ville’s mission is to help preserve the historic mansions that serve as their venues and to contribute to international charities. Once they leave Nashville, FdV will open an exhibit entitled “Diana” in London. Tracing the life and generosity of Princess Diana, proceeds will support the Diana Award. Meanwhile, Nashville’s Gilded Age event runs through August 9, 2026. Six displays are in the mansion; six in the Frist Learning Center. Tickets are available through the Cheekwood website.
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Y Kendall is a Stanford-educated musicologist, specializing in dance history who recently earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Columbia University, studying nonfiction writing with Ben Ratliff and Margo Jefferson. Kendall’s diverse works have been published in Alchemy: Journal of Translation, Columbia Journal, Mitos Magazín, The Hunger Mountain Review, and The Salt Collective, among others. Born and raised in Tennessee, Kendall now lives near Nashville, freelancing as a flutist and writer, while caregiving for relatives.
