So, this was a surprise. I was not expecting to include Graceland on my garden tour of Memphis but a midnight text from a Perth friend and her husband letting me know that they had booked tickets for the next day and that they were picking me up at 10am meant that it was now very much part of my plans.
Visiting Graceland is like stepping into a time capsule wrapped in sequins and southern charm and lots of plush piled carpet. But beyond the rhinestone jumpsuits, gold records and the incredibly well catalogued more than a million pieces of memorabilia, for me, there’s another star quietly stealing the show, and you wont be surprised when I say that it is— the garden.
Graceland is more than a mansion; it’s a sanctuary. And the landscape surrounding it hums with as much soul as the music Elvis left behind. It was a very warm Memphis June day that we visited but the Graceland garden embracing the home and surrounding the mansion is lush green and provides welcome shade.
The magnificent magnolias are the first to greet you. They’re HUGE! Towering, regal, and impossibly Southern, their glossy green leaves and creamy white blooms seem to hold the stories of decades past. I have never seem magnolias that big before so I did bang on about them a bit. Their sweet scent is soft but unmistakable — a perfume of the old South, elegant and enduring. At this point my friends were probably wondering if I was going to be gardensplaining for the duration of the tour…poor Laura and Brian!
Nearby, Largerstroemia Natchez white crepe myrtles in full bloom, sparkled in the sunlight. These trees are generous in bloom, with branches cascading in clouds of delicate petals. I love them but they don’t grow this big and this beautifully in Perth, so I was very much in awe of their beauty. Their bark is smooth and cinnamon-hued, a stunning contrast to the snow-like flowers. They line the pathways and frame the house. I could imagine Elvis strolling here, perhaps in quiet moments away from the screaming fans and the pressures of stardom.
Then there’s the unexpected delight: mass plantings of Caladiums at the front door . This bold choice adds a lush, almost tropical contrast to the more traditional Southern palette.
Sprawling lawns and white fenced horse paddocks makes you feel like this is very much still a family home. The video footage of Elvis driving around the gardens with Priscilla and Lisa-Marie in golf carts brings the garden into play.
The garden is the living soul of Graceland. It takes some of the sadness that you can’t help but feel, away. Folks walk through Graceland and the gardens quietly and respectfully. It’s such an interesting contrast to the noise of the incredible life lived by Elvis.
As you walk back toward the gates, past coloured foliage and lawns and garden beds filled with plants, it’s impossible not to feel a kind of peace here at Graceland. As I stood beside the swimming pool in the line to visit the family grave sites, I will admit that I was moved to tears and didn’t think I would be.
We came for the music, the memorabilia and the legend that is Elvis and the Presley family, but frankly it was the quiet of the garden, the magnolias, the crepe myrtles, and those lush beds of caladiums that left me unexpectedly moved.
Graceland may be the home of a King, but it’s the garden that provides that sense of peace for visitors in 2025 that may have eluded Elvis during his lifetime.
If you’ve read something within this memory that inspires you next garden journey contact me here. I’d love to chat!
