"We were once a private estate, and we like to keep the feeling of a private garden ... a place of beauty, pleasure, escape .... ultimately, we want our guests to leave in a better mood than when they arrived." R. William Thomas, head gardener and executive director at Chanticleer.
*These words perfectly sum up the mood of
Chanticleer. Tucked away in a quiet suburban street, 30 miles north-west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chanticleer with its slow-paced, welcoming atmosphere was the loveliest garden we visited.
Chanticleer's founder, Adolph Rosengarten Jr. (1905-1990) described the garden as a 'pleasure garden' - an
old fashioned phrase I remember my mother using to describe a park which once existed on the banks of the Lane Cove River not far from where David and I now live in Sydney. She talked of Sunday afternoon picnics with groups of friends in their early twenties. It was the 1940s and they would arrive by ferry to a world filled with music, laughter and young romance. I imagine that Adolph Rosengarten,Jr had something like this in mind when he created Chanticleer as a place for visitors not just to visit, but most of all to enjoy.
Unless you live near Philadelphia you have probably never heard of Chanticleer? I hadn't! It was a complete unknown - an attraction we stumbled across on the internet and we were so glad we did. With only 35 acres open to the public, Chanticleer is a world away from the larger, busier public gardens we visited at
Longwood and
Winterthur.
Rather than a purpose built visitors' complex with cafes, ticket windows, information booths and other facilities, Chanticleer's entrance consists of a single table, hand-crafted by one of the gardeners, a couple of chairs and two delightful ladies who went out of their way to welcome us. Armed with maps, directions and advice on where the prettiest corners were, we set off along the main path. In its relatively compact size, Chanticleer has delights and surprises at every turn. It is easy to miss things though. If you ever find yourself at Chanticleer here is a list of things to look out for: -
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| Chanticleer had flowers everywhere. |
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| Can you see the yellow chairs under the tree? Chanticleer has lots of places to just sit and take in the view. |
The RuinThe most fun part of the garden, Chanticleer's 'ruin,' is not a ruin at all - just built to look like one. The story goes that late last century the garden's director declared
'no garden is complete without a ruin,' and since ruins were conspicuously absent in the area, he had one built. Although Chanticleer's ruin is on the same site as an old house almost nothing remains of the original building. Stand back and the ruin looks like an ancient castle with vines stretching up the abandoned stonework as if nature is reclaiming its own. Look more closely however and you will see clues to the ruin's modern origin - books in the library sculptured from stone, ornaments in the shape of human skulls peering out from the walls and a sarcophagus shaped fountain in the great hall.
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| The Ruin |
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| The Ruin, again |
The Teacup GardenThe Teacup Garden is easy to miss. Look for it tucked away near the Tennis Court Garden. Don't expect actual teacups. The only nod to its name is in the occasional teacup shaped pot. I naively thought we might get afternoon tea there but rather than refreshments, the Teacup Garden's drawcard is the tranquility of a secluded courtyard brimming with eruptions of colour.
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| A local artist capturing the scene in a quiet corner. |
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| The Teacup Garden |
Chanticleer HouseWe were lucky enough to be given an unscheduled tour of Chanticleer House - one of the small advantages of being bloggers. After our exhausting tour of the mansion at
Winterthur we were reluctant to commit ourselves to another house tour, even an unscheduled private one, but Chanticleer House turned out to be entirely different. Small by comparison with the other historic houses we have visited in the U.S, this was a house we could imagine living in - comfortable and practical, while still managing to invoke the grandeur of a bye-gone era.
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| More flowers. |
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| Chanticleer has lots of quiet spots to just sit and enjoy the surroundings. |
The Wollemi PineThe Wollemi Pine is one of the world's oldest and rarest trees. Discovered in 1994 not far from Sydney, by a National Parks and Wildlife Officer bushwalking on his day off, the pine belongs to a plant family 200 million years old. Less than 100 trees are known to exist in the bush.
Not long into our visit we got chatting to one of the gardeners. When he heard we were from Australia (actually he worked it out pretty quickly from our accents) he announced that one of Chanticleer's newest acquisitions was a Wollemi Pine, and he offered to show us his prize. The problem was, the Wollemi was discovered only a couple of hours away from where we live. Pine trees are pretty boring at the best of times, and all the media fuss over the discovery of the Wollemi had turned us off the plant completely. Besides, while the location of the original trees is kept secret to protect them from vandals, there are endless opportunities to see their progeny growing in botanic gardens at home.
We politely declined his offer to see the tree, assuring the gardener we had seen Wollemis at home. Now, back in Australia, I am not so sure. Have we seen a Wollemi Pine or have we just seen signs leading to them? Finding one, even in a botanic garden, always seems to involve a lot of hiking uphill on hot days without enough water. I don't think we have
actually seen a Wollemi. Oh well, we will just have to go back to Chanticleer - that has to be easier than hacking through the bush to see one in Australia.
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| I don't have a picture of the Wollemi Pine we didn't see, so I thought I would show you this instead. I have no idea what it is but it is lovely, don't you think! |
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| Last but not least, the ponds were beautiful. |
Tips and Tricks and Things to Know: -
- Chanticleer's GPS address is 786 Church Road, Wayne PA 19087-4713. If you think you are in the wrong place then you have probably found it. As we turned off the road, David and I were concerned we were entering a private driveway. It was only once we saw the carpark that we knew we had arrived.
- Chanticleer is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm from Wednesday to Sunday. From May until Labor Day it doesn't close on Friday evenings until 8.00 pm. It is closed from November to March. For up to date information on opening hours click - here.
- Chanticleer House is open at 11 am every Friday and Saturday for tours, or Wednesdays through Fridays for group tours by reservation.
How much does it cost to visit?
- Adult admission (13 years and over) is $10.00
- Children 12 years and under are free.
- Tours of Chanticleer House are an extra $5.00.
- For the full range of prices including concession prices and season passes click - here
- Parking can be tricky. The parking area only has 120 spaces so try to avoid peak times - weekends and Friday evenings.
- Bring a picnic. Chanticleer allows and even encourages picnics but check here for picnicking and general garden etiquette.
- The greater Philadelphia area is known as America's Garden Capital with more than 30 public gardens within 30 miles of the city. If you want to explore a few more you can find them all at this link americasgardencapital.org.
Have you ever been to a pleasure garden?
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The quote at the beginning of this post is from 'The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer' by R.William Thomas, head gardener and executive director at Chanticleer Garden.
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For all the posts so far on our north-east USA road and cycling adventure click - here
Note: David and I received complimentary entry to Chanticleer.
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