Poppilicious

Poppies abound in Chanticleer this past weekend. From frilly ones with jagged edges to dainty ones in all lovely shades of pink, purple, and red. In some flower beds, it feels like a Monet or Van Gogh painting! Come enjoy these beauties soon.

Chanticleer Butterflies

These beautiful butterflies were spotted as they were busy gathering their nourishment from the summer blooms in the always lush Chanticleer Gardens. Enjoy!

 

Chanticleer Lilies

The summer beauties at Chanticleer are out in their full glory and plentiful lilies are teeming in exuberant colors of pink, yellow, and orange and poised in different habits over the different sections of this pleasure garden. There are beautiful day lilies, Asiatics, and more delicate hybrids to admire. And in the central pond, water lilies, symbols of rebirth in some parts of the world, are just peeking through shyly, soon to be gracing the heat with their gigantic petals and eventually, showy pods.

Book Review - Chanticleer: A Pleasure Garden

Adrian Higgins and Rob Cardillo has put together a colorful volume to try to encapsulate all of the beauty of Chanticleer Garden in 176 pages. What a valiant effort in futility! I say this not because Chanticleer - A Pleasure Garden was not an enjoyable book in and of itself that depicted snapshots of the garden in all its glory through the spring, summer, and fall seasons with words and pictures. On the contrary, the book was in more ways than one, a window into the minds, hearts, and souls that went into creating, maintaining, and reinventing the pleasure garden that Chanticleer truly is today. I learnt about the deep affection of the Rosengarten family in cultivating Chanticleer and the decades of tender care from a cadre of talented horticulturists, gardeners, and landscape designers who have helped to shape and nurture this prized jewel in the Philadelphia suburbs into its present state.

Within the ten slim chapters, Higgins and Cardillo bring us on a virtual guided tour, starting from the Teacup and Entry Gardens, winding through the Tennis Court and Chanticleer House, and onto the Asian Woods and other parts of this pleasure garden. Stunning pictures of the garden accompany the rich if, at times, overly scientific descriptions of the multitude of unusual plant species hosted within the moderately sized 35-acres of the garden grounds. Included too are the thoughtful design elements that define each space within the grounds uniquely and yet manage to fuse all the individual parts into a cohesive experiential whole at the same time.

Although I have visited Chanticleer on many occasions in the past two years, I have yet to encounter the history of how this charming and verdant estate came to be. This book has definitely enriched how I see and relate to Chanticleer when I visit now. Which brings me back to my earlier remark about Higgins and Cardillo's labor in futility. I stand by this comment because it is my strong belief - as it would undoubtedly be for many who have visited including the authors themselves - that the only way to truly experience the magic and beauty of Chanticleer is to take a leisurely stroll through this pleasure garden in person. And what a pleasure it is!

Chanticleer in Spring

Heading out from the city to Chanticleer Garden is always an enjoyable treat. This weekend was Chanticleer's first weekend of the season and I was really eager to stroll through the garden after the long winter and the cool spring that we have so far. And the state of the grounds reflect the naggingly cold weather that seem to be reluctant to unleash the spring from doing its magic. While some of the spring color is emerging, it feels that the season has arrived rather late this year in Chanticleer. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time viewing the early spring/late winter usual suspects (crocuses, snowdrops, hellebores) and the massive plantings of sunny-yellow daffodils that will no doubt be stunning in a couple of weeks. Over in the ruin and gravel garden, color is overflowing from the potted Sedum, Sempervivum and other succulents. And not to forget the low-growing early Ancilla tulips too making a lovely appearance against the otherwise stark grey of gravel. Make plans to visit in a few more weeks - there will definitely be much more color then.  

  

Crocus tommasinianus

Ranunculus asiaticus 

‘Bloomingdale Mix’

Helleborus hybrid (Winter Jewels Painted Doubles)

Succulents

Tulipa ‘Ancilla’

Chanticleer opens today!

My favorite garden in the Philadelphia area, Chanticleer opens for the season today! The admission fee has increased quite significantly from last year's $5 to $10, so getting a season pass may well be worth it for this lovely estate garden. Kids under 12 get in for free and if the weather holds this weekend, we'll be out there picnicking for sure! The picture below is from a visit last summer.

October blooms at Chanticleer

Here are some of the gorgeous blooms still gracing the beds in Chanticleer. Enjoy!

Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki'

Praying mantis on a canna lily

Dahlia

Chanticleer Garden fall blooms

It never ceases to amaze me that Chanticleer always looks and feels so naturalistic and beautiful year round:)

View of the mansion

There's so much color today and the woodlands walk is just wonderful with the shadows cast by the deciduous and coniferous trees. I was surprised to see crocuses this time of the year though. The garden's season ends October 31 so head out there if you get the chance.

Fall crocuses

Woodlands path