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Like many people, Erin McKeon has a hard time pinning down her favorite season at Chanticleer, a garden south of King of Prussia that opened to the public in 1993. Maybe that’s because she’s there year-round. As public programs manager, McKeon sees the garden in all of its outfits. “I think I prefer spring,” she says, “but September is very underrated.”
It’s true: while spring at Chanticleer is gorgeous, so is summer and, likewise, fall. The garden changes week by week, and admission opens the gate to many opportunities to picnic, photograph, or stroll. Some sections are composed mainly of annuals, such as the cutting flower garden (dahlias are some of its stars) and a potager (kitchen) garden.
Others feature native plants, like ironweed and white woodland aster. A few can steal the show, if you’ve never seen them: Robinia Purple Robe, a black locust tree with pinkish, wisteria-like blooms; purple gas plants, of Monticello fame, which give off a strong, not-all-that-pleasant aroma; or desert-hardy rostrate yuccas, with their palm-like trunks and spiky bluish hairdos.
A particularly wondrous sight can be found in the wetter area of the woods, where a bald cypress surrounds itself with multiple knee-like protrusions. As spring gives way to summer, mature plantings and trees leaf out. As they interrupt some of the broader views, guests catch glimpses of intimate garden spaces worth investigating.
One of 30, yet One of a Kind
Although it’s considered a younger garden in some circles, Chanticleer has found its niche among the “30+ within 30 miles” of public garden landscapes located in and around Philadelphia (#AmericasGardenCapital). Greater Philadelphia Gardens calls Chanticleer “a 35-acre pleasure garden that quickly earned a national reputation for its interpretation of horticulture as theater.” The drama comes from the creativity of its staff combined with the shape and character of the space.
Highly original are the hand-hewn pieces of its hardscape. Several garden designers at Chanticleer build bridges, railings, gates, and chairs out of wood from the property or from other materials. Even the drinking fountains are photo ops. Decorative horticultural boundaries establish “rooms,” and statues and fountains embellish niches within the gently sloping property. One of the more dramatic metal-worked pieces of art is the curvy Elevated Walk, amid a stand of quaking aspen. This accessible ramp looks more like art than a practical structure.
What’s also different at Chanticleer is that garden designers are given their own areas to develop, so styles differ across the 35 acres. Their ideas have to be approved, so an overall inviting whimsy emerges.
One area that garden designer Joe Henderson oversees includes ponds: “I love being around water. It attracts everything, from koi and water lilies to the life that surrounds it.” Along with dragonflies, frogs, and ducks, some turtles and koi have reportedly been residents for over 50 years. But Henderson also keeps an eye out for other spots where craftsmanship can fill a need.
Crafted Pieces Mirror Nature
One such area is the Teacup Garden, where some old steps needed attention. Henderson designed and crafted a metal railing with a hellebore leaf design. The railing, besides meeting practical requirements, adds flair, as does his subtle signature embellishment—a snake.
Henderson’s domain encompasses the Bulb Hillside, Rock Ledge, Asian Woods, and other areas, including “about half the creek.” Prez (his nickname for fellow gardener Przemyslaw Walczak) cares for the other half. Prez’s half inspired him to design and install a faux fallen-tree bridge as an entry into the woods.
“It’s kind of silly,” he laughs, envisioning visitors running through it like chipmunks in cartoons. The Bells Woodland Bridge was a major undertaking, entailing drawings plus a life-size mockup to get approval and then the services of an engineering company. Employing it as “a nurse log,” Prez encourages moss to grow on it and trains vines and weeping trees around it. From its top, you can peer down and watch the creek as it meanders, burbling and splashing, through the woods.
Chanticleer’s design considers the pleasure of its visitors, offering seating on hand-carved benches and guiding people subtly through the property via secondary paths lined with curved pieces of bamboo. It’s welcoming. Henderson says, “You get a special feeling, as if you’re being invited over to your wealthy grandfather’s house.” The charming 1913 pastoral stone home that gives it that feeling belonged to the family that donated the estate. It’s the perfect backdrop for some of Chanticleer’s most noted areas.
Passing through the ornamental gate into the Teacup Garden, you find the flowing, loose joy of a cottage garden with great bones. Flagstone, short stone walls and potted annuals complement the changing seasons with pleasing colors, forms, and textures. In September, the bold striped foliage of the Hawaiian Musa Aeae banana plant contrasts with delicate blooms like Trumpet Spurflower.
Adjacent to the home’s terrace, a narrow reflecting pool personifies elegance. In spring, a lawn thick with daffodils fronts stone walls, where an espaliered dogwood stretches above a statue of a small boy, one of four who symbolize each season. Since “Chanticleer” has long been associated with the word “rooster,” its shape makes cameo appearances as well.
A Relatable Scale
McKeon says, “Visitors are surprised by how they can apply what they’ve seen at Chanticleer to their own gardens or patio spaces.” Unusual plant combinations installed by Chanticleer garden designers delight, but one such pairing might not.
“People probably don’t expect to find a weed here,” suggests Henderson. He plants a few on purpose, right next to nobler species that might prefer more upscale neighbors. Case in point: Henderson’s tastes range widely, from the nobler specimens of fall-blooming colchicum bulbs and wispy pink muhly grass to weed-ish ragged robbins and orange butterfly weed.
Along with all of these sights, visitors can enjoy the shade the garden offers, the paths just the right size for two, or uncommon touches like floating seasonal flowers in water. Artists can even take part in the theater of the Chanticleer Garden by bringing an easel and painting their own versions of its beauty.
Chanticleer Garden
786 Church Road, Wayne, Pennsylvania / chanticleergarden.org
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (and Friday evenings until 8 p.m.)
*Parking is significantly limited, check website for special hours for artists
