TICKET TO PARADISE
Estate garden near Philadelphia boasts creative and changing designs
Garden tips from Chantecleer pros
If you’ve had the thrill of visiting Chanticleer, a public garden in a privately run estate just west of Philadelphia, you know what money, horticultural expertise, creativity, artisanship, vision and pure plant love can achieve.
But visiting this place is not at all like visiting a prim botanical garden or stuffy museum. Guests are not shuffled along tight pathways, and specimens are not studiously labelled (even though plant lists are openly available). This is a garden that you can hang out in for hours, and chances are you’ll even be able to find a solitary place to sit.
What struck me when I visited this place two years ago was that admission is free for garden professionals. This simple fact speaks directly to the book I’ve fallen in love with called, The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer.
Predominantly written by Chanticleer’s executive director, R. William Thomas, and accompanied by the luscious images taken by photographer Rob Cardillo, this book owes much to the working gardeners themselves.
Thomas says that this book “aims to be a conversation between our staff and you.” Through this conversation, you hear about Chanticleer gardeners’ trials and errors, as well as the profound successes in this garden that is now known as one of the best in the United States.
Unlike iconic historical gardens where plantings remain static (think Britain’s Sissinghurst with its White Garden) Chanticleer demonstrates no such sanctity. Permanent plantings are in the minority here (apart from mature trees) as most areas are redesigned and replanted once or twice yearly. Many of the plantings are novel, dynamic and fun, and visitors are always engaged, encouraged to connect and take home ideas for their own gardens.
The reader is included in the thought processes and design challenges faced by the Chanticleer gardeners: Dan Benarcik’s detailed description of how he incorporated hot-colour plants into the estate’s courtyard area, called the Teacup Garden, and the mechanics and design choices reflected in the containers on the patios and terraces; Joe Henderson’s dilemma about how to create more continuity in the Pond Garden; Przemek Walczak’s transformation of the forest to what is now Bell’s Woodland; Lisa Roper’s description of the Gravel Garden’s evolution; and Jonathan Wright’s seamless transitioning of the plantings in the Terraces from spring to summer — important, so garden visitors don’t feel gypped.
Through this book, we learn that at Chanticleer, there is care and consideration everywhere. For example, trees are planted with an eye to the future and shrubs are chosen either for screening or ornament. We learn about letting the eye rest, hence the value of the uninterrupted lawn, and that of climbers to bring the eye skyward.
We are introduced to the gardeners’ favourite bulbs, tropical plants and annuals, and see how they are creatively used. You’ll find all this and more in this luscious book. Oh, and by the way, you will also find no dearth of botanical plant names here; they are generously and accurately used, ensuring the reader knows exactly what to procure to achieve the same effect in their own garden. Highly recommended.