Chanticleer Gardens

[dwight]

I live within a half hour drive of the world famous Longwood Gardens. Folks come from all over the world to see the grounds and the wonderful conservatory/greenhouse. But it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I came across Chanticleer

which, to me, is far more interesting.

This 35-acre estate has been transformed into a fascinating study of varied venues and plant combinations. Open fields, forests, densely shadowed stream, water features, and flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere. The master house is a study of floral accents (its circular drive is lined with thick hydrangeas, regrettably not yet in bloom), in stark contrast to the ruins, which present a wholly different horticultural gamesmanship.

Take a walk through the estate with my new Canon 17-40mm L lens at:

- three pages of photos.

I was looking for ideas for my pine-dominated Meditation Walk, and found some interesting options. Now if only I could get Chanticleer's grounds crew out to my home for a day...

dwight

[Marilyn]

[Stephen Henning]

Hi Dwight,

You are entirely right about Chanticleer and Longwood. However, for those of us near Philadelphia, these are just of the few great gardens we have near us. Some of the best are:

Andalusia,

($10, reservations required)

Bartram's Garden,

(free)

Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve,

($5)

Bryn Athyn Cathedral Gardens,

(free)

Chanticleer Garden,

($10)

Delaware Center for Horticulture,

(free)

Gibraltar,

(free)

Grounds for Sculpture,

($10)

Hagley Museum,

($11)

Hortulus Farm Gardens,

($12)

Japanese Garden and House: Shofuso,

($6)

Jenkins Arboretum,

(free)

Longwood Gardens,

($16)

Meadowbrook Farm,

($ by appointment)

Morris Arboretum,

($10)

Mt. Cuba Center,

($5, reservations required)

Nemours Mansion and Garden,

($?)

Scott Arboretum,

(free)

Temple University Ambler Landscape Arboretum,

(free)

Tyler Arboretum,

($5)

West Laurel Hill Cemetery,

(free)

Winterthur,

(garden tram, $15)

Wyck,

($5)

The admissi> I live within a half hour drive of the world famous Longwood Gardens. Folks

[Marilyn]