Nashville Monthly gets an exclusive preview of Fiddlehead Farmhouse with owner Bonnie Bird**, just weeks before her July opening.
Paint edges Bonnie Bird’s fingernails as she leads us through her labor of love, Fiddlehead Farmhouse, which sits on ten acres of rolling farmland, a short thirty miles southeast of Nashville. The scents of varnish and roses mingle as we tour her remodeled 150-year-old home, Bird looking more like a construction worker than the Grammy-nominated violinist she once was, her hair pulled back, her overalls coated with drywall dust.
“I walked away from the Nashville Symphony to become a farmer who doesn’t know the first thing about farming,” Bird says.
Her decision to leave the symphony, just two years after earning a Grammy nomination, shocked Nashville’s classical music community. But for Bird, standing in this haven is the culmination of a lifelong dream.
“One Christmas, a family of five got snowed in at my grandmother’s bed-and-breakfast,” she recalls, pausing by a window that overlooks her backyard chicken coop. “They were supposed to be in Florida by Christmas Day, and they were devastated. So Grandma and I spent the morning making hot chocolate and building gingerbread houses with the kids. By afternoon, the mom was crying happy tears. She said it was the most magical Christmas her family had ever had.”
Moments like these seeded Bird’s hospitality dreams. While her peers were playing video games, she was learning how to make guests feel like family.
“An elderly gentleman returned to the Bluebird Inn every year on his wedding anniversary. He and his late wife had spent their last anniversary at Grandma’s inn. Over homemade biscuits and gravy, he told us stories about his late wife, his tears replaced by smiles as the years wore on. He showed me that sometimes people don’t just need a place to sleep. They need a place to heal.”
She leads us into what will become her kitchen. Commercial-grade appliances await installation, and sample tiles for the backsplash are arranged on makeshift counters. “When I joined the symphony, I still had bed-and-breakfasts on my mind. Don’t get me wrong—I loved the music. But it was a means to an end. I saved much of my salary for this place.”
Sadly, during Bird’s tenure at the symphony, her grandmother passed away. When Bird inherited half of the estate, she knew she wanted to honor her family’s matriarch by creating a country oasis away from the lights and noise of the city.
Fiddlehead Farmhouse is a mix of old and new, Grandma Bird’s rich legacy combined with Bird’s fresh vision. Her grandmother’s personal touches are everywhere, from the decorative porcelain elephants in the foyer to the fine china and sterling silver utensils, all of it paired with crisp white walls and understated crown molding.
Through the dining room windows, Bird points to the far pasture where her mini Highland cows graze next to her goats. Every morning at five o’clock sharp, Bird heads down to the barn to make sure they are watered, fed, and milked. Farm life is proving harder than she imagined, but she’s convinced the payoff—young and old interacting with nature and enjoying the simple life, if only for a weekend—will be more than worth it.
“I may have given up my shot at a Grammy,” she says, “but I’m creating something that will feed people’s souls in a way my music never could. You can’t put a price on that.”
In three weeks, we’ll discover whether Bird’s entrepreneurial vision is as sharp as her musical ear.
Fiddlehead Farmhouse opens July 7th, 30 minutes outside Nashville. Room rates start at $185/night and include farm breakfast and access to all farm activities. Advance reservations recommended.
** Bonnie Bird is the fictional romantic lead in my rockstar sweet romance, Undone. Alas, Fiddlehead Farmhouse isn’t a real place, but you’ll feel like you stayed there yourself after reading Bonnie Bird and Seph Cook’s journey to happily ever after. Click here to grab your copy now!