October 15, 2026
At Southall Farm & Inn, guests can walk through an orchard that supplies the kitchens, enjoy a meal featuring ingredients grown on the property, and paddle across a lake that stores water for irrigation. These experiences bring visitors closer to how the farm works, making agriculture part of their stay.
That connection is central to the 400+ acre farm-centric resort in Franklin, Tennessee, recently named No. 1 among the Top Resorts in the South in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards. Announced October 6, the recognition, with a score of 99.37, celebrates an experience shaped by the land and the people who care for it.
Since 2015, CSDG has provided master planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture services for Southall, working alongside the client and various project teams. Bringing agriculture and hospitality together meant considering how the farm would operate, how guests would move through the property, and how infrastructure could support both.
For owners and architects planning a hospitality destination, Southall illustrates how addressing operational needs early can enrich the guest experience. Considering agriculture, infrastructure, and outdoor spaces together creates opportunities for features such as an orchard or irrigation lake to become places guests want to explore.
Southall’s hillside orchard offers guests a place to explore among approximately 1,300 apple trees. Representing 43 varieties, the branches are trained along espalier trellises, which improve airflow and sunlight exposure while creating an inviting setting for tours and picnics. The farm pumps collected rainwater uphill for irrigation, connecting the orchard to the water system that helps sustain it.
During a tour, guests can learn how these growing methods support the harvest, then experience that connection firsthand over a meal. Beyond the orchard, dozens of vegetable types grow across over several acres of production fields, and hydroponic greenhouses produce several hundred pounds of lettuce each week. These growing spaces help supply the resort’s kitchens, bringing the farm into the dining experience.
At January, seasonal, multi-course dining unfolds with views across the property, while Sojourner incorporates farm-sourced ingredients into its dishes and cocktails. Farm tours, Bees & Honey Walks, and guided apiary experiences offer a closer look at the cultivation and pollination behind those ingredients, giving guests a fuller understanding of what reaches the table.
“Southall was never planned as a resort with a farm added to it. The land, water, agriculture, and guest experience were conceived as one interconnected system. The orchard, lake, native meadows, and preserved woodlands each needed to perform ecologically and operationally while also inviting guests into the life of the property. That integration is what makes the experience feel authentic rather than staged.” — Josh Bethea, Director of Landscape Architecture at CSDG
The seven-acre Lake Mishkin offers guests a place to fish, paddle, and enjoy the view while serving as an irrigation reservoir for Southall’s working farm. The site’s grading and drainage systems slow runoff from the land and building roofs and direct it into the lake. The collected water is then pumped back to irrigate the terraced orchard and other growing areas, linking the lake’s recreational use to its role in food production.
This water cycle connects grading, drainage, and agriculture across the property. By coordinating water movement across the site with the placement of planting and outdoor spaces, the project team created a reservoir that supports farm operations, wildlife, recreation, and gatherings.
Guests experience the water from the shoreline, from gathering spaces along its edge, and from the spa’s outdoor mineral pool overlooking the lake. Each offers a different way to enjoy a landscape feature that also helps sustain the property's growing areas elsewhere.
More than 30 acres of Southall’s meadows were seeded with over 35 species of native grasses and pollinator forbs (flowering plants), selected for the property’s varied site conditions. As part of a large, multidisciplinary project team, CSDG helped guide the removal of invasive species and the establishment of these plant communities. These efforts reduce long-term mowing and maintenance while providing food and habitat for wildlife and pollinators, including monarch butterflies.
The native meadows, apiaries, orchard, and production gardens work together. Flowering plants provide forage for bees and other pollinators, which help pollinate the farm’s fruit and vegetable crops. Restoring habitat therefore supports both biodiversity and food production, connecting landscape care to the ingredients served in Southall’s restaurants.
At Southall, dining, recreation, and celebration spaces sit alongside the daily activity of a working farm, giving guests opportunities to explore, gather, or retreat in quiet. The resort’s 62 guestrooms and suites are complemented by 16 cottages, including hillside accommodations nestled among mature trees along a hardwood ridge. The cottages' careful placement works with the existing terrain and preserves mature trees, minimizing disturbance to the hardwood ridge while providing privacy and keeping guests close to the surrounding woodland.
Around the hospitality spaces, natural stone, weathered steel, locally sourced aggregates, and board-formed concrete establish a durable material palette. Native grasses and organized tree plantings help define terraces and gathering areas while connecting them to the broader landscape.
The placement of these spaces is equally important. Gathering areas fit into the existing topography, preserving tree canopy and key views toward creeks and hillsides. Terraces extend dining and event spaces outdoors, allowing guests to move between interior spaces and the surrounding landscape.
That connection continues into Southall’s event venues. The Orchard Event Center welcomes indoor and outdoor gatherings beside Lake Mishkin, while the Hilltop Pavilion opens onto a lawn and deck with valley views. The Conservatory Terrace and Covered Bridge offer additional settings, allowing a wedding weekend or private celebration to unfold across different parts of the property.
Working alongside Southall’s owner and a large, multidisciplinary project team, CSDG helped bring the working farm and resort together through master planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture. Coordinating circulation, grading, water management, planting, and outdoor amenities meant considering both the people who care for the property and those who come to experience it.
That work reflects our mission to design people-centered spaces where real life happens. At Southall, those spaces welcome guests into the life of the farm, from exploring the orchard to sharing a meal made with its harvest or gathering beside a lake that helps sustain it.
Southall’s farmers, gardeners, culinary teams, and hospitality staff carry that vision forward every day. Their care for the land and the people they welcome makes these connections part of each guest’s stay.
Congratulations to everyone behind Southall Farm & Inn on this recognition. We’re grateful to have worked alongside so many dedicated partners to help bring the owner’s vision to life.
About CSDG
CSDG is a planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture firm that delivers resilient design solutions across diverse project types. Backed by decades of experience and trusted relationships with municipalities, contractors, and stakeholders, we help clients navigate complexity with confidence. Our integrated team combines strategy, creativity, and local expertise to protect client vision, improve efficiency, and design experiences that balance community needs with an evolving environment. Learn more at www.csdgtn.com.
