A few days ago I made my first visit to Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful garden, but did it live up to all the hype that I’ve heard from other gardeners about how awesome it is?
Yes, absolutely!
Tomorrow I am going to post about all the things I saw in the garden that I’ve now decided I MUST have for myself, but in the meantime enjoy these pictures of some of the amazing containers that adorn Chanticleer Gardens. Along with every other kind of gardening, the folks at Chanticleer really raise containers to a whole new level.
Black Walnut Dispatch 
Some very impressive specimens in those containers. But I have to say, only the first one with the aquatic plants makes me say “wow”. Are those really aquatic flowers or are they just floating suflowers and other yellow daisies in the water? This is just me, but I can’t get excited about giant foliage, at least not without some more dramatic colors. But I’m eagerly looking forward to the rest of your pictures.
They were freshly picked sunflowers, just one tiny example of their incredible attention to detail.
I loooove giant foliage, especially in summer…and Chanticleer had it in spades.
The flowers are indeed picked daily to float in this container along side some more subtle aquatic plants. While a water gardener might initially think, “That’s cheating!” I think it’s actually an inspiring idea to help us loosen up and make things beautiful with what we have handy. Chanticleer’s Main House boasts a phenomenal shaded porch which includes a large black pot of water, featuring different daily combinations of floating flowers and foliage. Each visit brings new breath-taking compositions.
Not to be too critical of our host’s photography, but I agree that the first photo was the most striking. But Chanticleer truly has dozens if not hundreds of amazingly well-composed combination pots as well as “monopots” with a single specimen plant. Many change during the course of the season.
I know, my photos really did not do the containers justice. I will blame that on the harsh midday light rather than my lack of skill. Ha!
I have papayrus….but it just goes to show what a wonderful pot will do….I cant imagine how expensive….great!
I was there last weekend, so I look forward to your post.
I found some of the best container combos were out in the garden around the swimming pool about 5 years ago. But the Teacup Garden is always quite creative. Each gardener is given their own section to plant as their heart desires, and money is no object. Hence all the tender beauties. I liked the use of herbs and veggies, which is a real “take home” idea for visitors.
“money is no object”….one day I would like somebody to say those words to me….
Talk to their director, they actually have to SPEND x thousands per year to satisfy the requirements of their foundation. That is why they really go for it and don’t bother to have a huge range of glasshouses to store all the tropicals. They go to the compost heap after the first frost. All good in many ways since it saves on expensive heating and care and keeps their suppliers in business in these hard times when tropical plants are a bit of an extravagance.
I was wondering about how they stored the tropicals since I didn’t see any greenhouses around. Thought maybe they had one off site. Too bad they wind up in the compost heap…they should give them away!
Last year, Chanticleer did build a modest-sized greenhouse to house many of the tropicals. And in the past, I understand that many were pulled into the two houses to overwinter.
This year, I was wowed by a grouping of containers of graduated size near the main houses swimming pool that mixed succulents with a collection of seashells. Many of the blush pink tones of the seashells were repeated with some of the Sedum selections.
The pool area was stunning…by the time we got there, though, we were so thirsty and hungry we didn’t spend as much time as I would have liked. Mental note to bring snacks next time.