Serving up Chanticleer’s Tennis Court Garden
Continuing my coverage of Chanticleer Garden, one of the stops on the Philadelphia Area Fling tour in September, I’m taking us today to the Tennis Court Garden. To enter, you descend a formal stone stair with planted-up handrails.
I loved a previous iteration planted with fleshy mangaves. This time, the narrow, sloping rail planter sported a vertical element, feathery dawn redwood saplings, with ‘Snow Flurry’ asters frothing around them. Yes, redwoods in the stair rail! They’re not meant to grow there longer than a season, so why not?
Snowy Japanese anemones were drawing the attention of bumblebees.
Whiskery cleomes added more white against the blushing flower clusters of hydrangeas.
The wider scene
Another pretty vignette with a wedding cake tree
The main path through the garden gets a jolt of drama from paddle-leaved bananas underplanted with golden ‘Ascot Rainbow’ euphorbia. As I mentioned in my last post, I visited Chanticleer twice on this visit: once on my own, before the Fling started, and once in late afternoon with the Fling tour. That’s why you’ll notice differences in the quality of the light in my photos. I’m using images taken during both visits.
Around the bend, variegated giant reed towers over dark-red persicaria.
Beautyberry was purpling up for fall.
Black cohosh (I think) stands out amid dark leaves and grasses in fall flower.
A side path leads to a placid lawn, where inviting Adirondack chairs under a big shade tree overlook the garden below. But for now, we’ll turn away from this pleasant scene and head uphill to the House Garden.
Up next: The meadowy House Garden at Chanticleer. For a look back at Chanticleer’s iconic Teacup Garden, click here.
To read about my past visits to Chanticleer’s Tennis Court Garden, follow these links:
- Plants hold court at Chanticleer’s Teacup and Tennis Court gardens, October 2021
- Leaves of sunshine and moonlight in Chanticleer’s Tennis Court Garden, June 2016
- Teacup & Tennis Court Gardens, July 2008
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Such a wonderful garden. I am having lots of fun viewing all the different bloggers photo impressions of Chanticleer. Though it is the same garden everyone’s photos are so different Neat to see what grabbed everyone’s attention. . Your vignette of the Japanese anemones and hydrangea is really striking. Fun to see the garden through your eyes.
Thanks, Elaine. Yes, I always enjoy seeing other visitors’ different views too.
Pam,
Once again “Thank You”. Im so glad that you connected with and allowed yourself time in the Tennis Court this season.
This will be the first public announcement , I have stepped back from the Teacup and entrance courtyards this season to help showcase some of our younger talent moving forward. I’ve had a wonderful run creating a first and last impression for our guests and don’t want to overstay my assignment. I will be retaining the creative control of the Tennis Court, and will actually be able to do more in there than I have had opportunity to in the past. I’ll also be increasing my time in the woodshop and expanding its potential and creative impact in the garden.
So here is to a new gardening season in 2024!
Dan, thanks for taking the time to comment, and for sharing your announcement here. I have gotten so much enjoyment and inspiration from the gardens at Chanticleer, and especially from the Teacup Garden, over the years. I think it’s generous of you to hand that first-impression space over to the next generation of creative gardeners and look forward to seeing how it evolves in years to come, if I am so fortunate as to make future visits. I also look forward to seeing how the Tennis Court Garden grows and evolves under your continued stewardship. Thank you to you and everyone at Chanticleer for welcoming the Fling group so warmly last fall.