Visit to Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, PA: The Entrance

Bold container plantings at the entrance to Chanticleer Gardens.

Last spring I had the pleasure of visiting one of the most beautiful gardens in North America with some wonderful blogging friends.  Chanticleer, in Wayne, PA, is an excellent example of a public garden that still revels in being made by real gardeners.
Chanticleer Gardens reminds me of reading from Rosemary Verey that "detail is all important."  Chanticleer's attention to planting details is so well done.  Color harmonies and complements are everywhere for the taking, with many layers of planting supporting each theme whether pastel or bold. I would not say it is a perfectionists garden; there certainly were bare (or even unsightly) spots here and there. But it is an altogether charming place to visit, perhaps because it is not so uptight. Romantic is a word that describes it well.

As I sit down to work on this post from my visit, I still feel over-awed at the orchestration in planting that I saw at Chanticleer, now nearly eleven months ago. I decided that the best way through this garden visit would be a bite at a time. So, here we begin at the entrance.

Just steps from the parking lot, we were greeted by this beautiful yellow rose, Rosa hugonis. Just behind, you might be able to see the large, yellow tulips that match her perfectly.

Chanticleer's entrance pavilion for the summer months.

Pots of purple-flowered Erysimum linifolium ‘Variegatum’, white and yellow daffodils and magenta stock (Mattiola incana) on the front steps of the entrance house.

You enter the garden proper from the courtyard of the smaller house on the estate. The Rosengartens built it for their daughter, Emily, in 1935.

Osteospermum 'Whirligig' (purple form) was in many of the containers, along with variegated thyme and dark-leaved lettuce.

The yellow annuals in these pots seems to draw out the colors of the golden locust tree across the way.

This golden maple (Acer campestre 'Postulense') makes a beautiful potted tree in this tall terra cotta with Salvia officinalis ‘Aurea’.

Strawberries and colorful greens in a window box... a combination to be monitored!

A few more beautiful terra cotta inside the courtyard of the entrance house. Curly parsley was an oft used plant in many of their containers.

See more of the Chanticleer Series on WMG!