GATOP Arboretum

GATOP (God's Answer To Our Prayers), the home of Dr. Alan Solomon, is a 22-acre garden of great historical, botanical, and geologic interest that overlooks the Tennessee River and the Great Smoky Mountains. It is located in Knoxville, TN, close to land originally settled by the City's forebears James White and George McNutt. The road used by the stagecoach that carried passengers and their possessions from Norfolk to New Orleans passed through the property that also is the site of a late 19th century marble quarry. Its grounds are graced with myriad numbers of wildflowers, ferns,  intermixed with large native trees including American elm, walnut, ash, sweetgum, hackberry, persimmon, beech, mulberry, birch, pine, and cedar, as well as various species of oaks, hickories, and magnolias. Additionally, there are over 300 varieties of conifers, as well as numerous hollies and Japanese maples. The plantings are complimented by prominently sited stainless steel, bronze, stone sculptures, ponds, as well as walls, patios, and steps constructed from locally sourced limestone. GATOP, given its horticultural, and historic features is one of over 6500 gardens listed in the Smithsonian Institute’s Archives of American Gardens and has provided its dwellers and many visitors a place to enjoy and appreciate nature. It has served as an enduring source of serenity and spiritual renewal and it will endure as the University of Tennessee GATOP Arboretum & Education Center and as part of the State of Tennessee Botanical Garden.