Chanticleer, a forty-eight-acre garden on Philadelphia's historic Main
Line, is many things simultaneously: a lush display of verdant intensity
and variety, an irreverent and informal setting for inventive plant
combinations, a homage to the native trees and horticultural heritage of
the mid-Atlantic, a testament to one man's devotion to his family's
estate and legacy, and a good spot for a stroll and picnic amid the
blooms. In Chanticleer: A Pleasure Garden, Adrian Higgins and
photographer Rob Cardillo chronicle the garden's many charms over the
course of two growing cycles.
Built on the grounds of the Rosengarten estate in Wayne, Pennsylvania,
Chanticleer retains a domestic scale, resulting in an intimate,
welcoming atmosphere. The structure of the estate has been thoughtfully
incorporated into the garden's overall design, such that small gardens
created in the footprint of the old tennis court and on the foundation
of one of the family homes share space with more traditional landscapes
woven around streams and an orchard.
Through conversations and rambles with Chanticleer's team of gardeners
and artisans, Higgins follows the garden's development and reinvention
as it changes from season to season, rejoicing in the hundred thousand
daffodils blooming on the Orchard Lawn in spring and marveling at the
Serpentine's late summer crop of cotton, planted as a reminder of
Pennsylvania's agrarian past. Cardillo's photographs reveal further
nuances in Chanticleer's landscape: a rare and venerable black walnut
tree near the entrance, pairs of gaily painted chairs along the paths, a
backlit arbor draped in mounds of fragrant wisteria. Chanticleer fuses a
strenuous devotion to the beauty and health of its plantings with a
constant dedication to the mutability and natural energy of a living
space. And within the garden, Higgins notes, there is a thread of
perfection entwined with whimsy and continuous renewal.
