Hailed as the most romantic, imaginative and exciting public garden in America, Chanticleer is a study of texture and form, where foliage trumps flower, where the gardeners lead the design, and where even the drinking fountains are sculptural. It is a garden of pleasure and learning.
We were mesmerised from the start, seduced by the superb use of colour, form and sculpture. Extraordinary and eclectic, Chanticleer is a series of exquisite garden spaces; a public garden, open all year round. The Chanticleer estate dates from the early 20th century, when Adolph Rosengarten and his wife Christine chose to build their country retreat along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The house was completed in 1913, with a series of terraces as extensions. Adolf Rosengarten Jr. inherited the estate from his father, and on his death in 1990, left the entire property for the enjoyment and education of the public.
The entrance courtyard sets the tone. Japanese flowering cherries ( Prunus ‘Accolade’) underplanted with hydrangeas and hellebores encircle what seems to be a nondescript round panel, reminiscent of when this courtyard was paved for parking. This Gravel Circle is inspired by the Japanese karesansui (dry landscape garden) rooted in Zen ideology. Every week (or sometimes daily), gravel is raked into designs that evoke rippling water. For a few days in April, the raked gravel catches the fallen pink cherry petals and create a choreographed moment of fleeting beauty.
A playful Teacup Garden at the entrance with trickling teacup fountain is surrounded by tender plants with exotic foliage and flower. At the time of our visit, huge purple globes of Allium ‘Ambassador’ were taking the limelight. Once the temperature rises, tender subtropical exotics are released from their winter conservatory to give this garden a ‘tropical’ look! Angel trumpets dangle like Christmas ornaments, along with kaleidoscopic-coloured coleus, bananas and palms flaunting their gargantuan leaves.
The Tennis Court Garden is a masterwork; five beds of hardy herbaceous perennials present flower and foliage from spring to autumn. Curvy yew hedges partition the beds and pathways and shrubby dogwoods ( Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’ and Cornus alba ‘Bud’s Yellow’) and willows ( Salix ‘Flame’) brighten the spring garden. Each bed is chromatically choreographed, with whites and yellows setting the tone at the base of the stone steps. Hardy hibiscus ( Hibiscus ‘Midnight’s Marvel’), kniphofias, and Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ dial the heat up in the central beds. Daylilies, liliums and yellow daisies fill the outer beds that benefit from the mature backdrop of conifers, magnolias and lilacs.
At its heart is the Ruin Garden, the shell of the old house, a folly of three rooms: the Great Hall with a black granite water table that sits like a giant sarcophagus on a mosaic stone ‘rug’ and reflects the schizophragma (Japanese hydrangea vine) that adorns the walls. The ‘Library’ with books sculpted in stone, and the ‘Pool Room’ where marble faces gaze up from the depths. Granite schist walls provide the perfect stage for climbing plants and espaliered trees. These green walls animate an otherwise forbidding place. Colour is restricted; calming silvers and greens of ferns, Hakone grass and Siberian bugloss ( Brunnera ), lending a harmonious textural contrast.
Sun-baked from its southwestern exposure, the Gravel Garden creates a feeling of enchantment as you walk through the series of stone steps. Tough, resilient plants are set in a gravel mulch; silver- leaved lavender, santolina, and thyme add a Mediterranean flavour with their aromas and textures. Acid-green euphorbias writhe among species tulips and diminutive daffodils. Mexican feather grass ( Nassella tenuissima ) brings light airiness to the garden. Spires of juniper ( Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’) give a vertical accent and draw he eye to a wisteria covered pergola. Trough planters offer a viable and aesthetic alternative to conventional, water-thirsty containers. Most striking are the elegant yuccas ( Yucca rostrata ) with spiky powder-blue foliage and hula-skirted trunks, loving this sunny spot.
Back closer to the house is the terrace with tulips and rye grass (once a croquet lawn), designed to bridge the house and the garden. An ever-changing procession of containers and hanging baskets decorating this space. A meadow garden here is planted with agastache, purple verbena and scarlet tassel flower ( Emilia coccinea ) that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. To visit Chanticleer is to step into a world of beauty and creativity that few gardens can match.
COME WITH US
GARDENS OF THE EAST COAST USA
14–29 June 2023
This tour along the east coast of USA includes some of America’s finest gardens. Each day another garden pips the previous. Chanticleer is a highlight, in very good company with the Dupont Family mansions just down the road, in the Brandywine Valley; Longwood (the most famous garden in the USA) and Winterthur. Then New York, Newport Rhode Island and finishing in Boston. Elegant and sophisticated, it’s a dream ride with Sandra and Graham Ross. For details call Ross Garden Tours 1300 233 200 or visit https://www.rosstours.com/usa/.
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