Garden Photo of the Day

GPOD on the Road: Wendy’s Spring Trip to Chanticleer

Wondering plant pairings, designs, and surprises at a nearby garden treasure

mass plantings of Camassia in the shade of a tree

Hey GPODers!

We’re hitting the road again and today’s photos come from Wendy Quereau (see her garden here A Garden Full of Favorites). In a slight twist to our typical ‘GPOD on the Road’ submissions, Wendy didn’t have to travel far to get this garden inspiration. She is lucky enough to have a fabulous garden destination right at her finger tips:

I’m fortunate to live in the same town where the marvelous public pleasure garden named Chanticleer is located. It’s a never ending source of beauty and inspiration for our own gardens. The first shot below is from my garden where I’ve lived for 45 years. The remaining photos are from a recent spring walkabout at Chanticleer.

If you’ve been a Fine Gardening reader for a while now, you’re very familiar with Chanticleer Garden. We’ve had many GPODers share photos of their visits over the years (GPOD on the Road: Chanticleer, Springtime at Chanticleer, and Water Features at Chanticleer to name a few) and we’ve had several gardeners and horticulturalists contribute to articles in print and online (Spring Garden Design Inspiration From Chanticleer, 8 Ways to Create Crowd-Pleasing Containers, and What Do Chanticleer Gardeners Do in Winter?). You’d think we’d get tired of this place, but there is always something new to see and get inspiration from. Wendy’s recent visit is no different.

orange azalea with red calycanthus

From Wendy’s home garden: Old deciduous azalea blooming with Calycanthus ‘Hartlege Wine.’ — An exquisite plant pairing, Wendy!

dark purple and orange tulips with flowering shrubs behind

Eye-catching combination of tulips backed by flowering shrubs.

wisteria blooms

Lovely use of wisteria. — Part of what makes Chanticleer endlessly inspiring are the ingenius ways they utilize plants in designs. From container displays with combinations or arrangements you’d never consider to creating plantings that some might never have imagined would be possible. When most of us think of wisteria, we think of the enchanting look of the purple flowers climbing up a wall or trailing down from large arbors. Instead of an adornment to a man-made structure, this wisteria looks to be left to it’s more natural form.

variegated agave growing out of a wall

Non-stop surprises at Chanticleer. — Another case in point: These eye-catching variegated fox tail agave (Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’, Zones 9-12) are even more eye-catching growing out of a wall!

mass plantings of Camassia in the shade of a tree

A river of meandering moisture-loving Camassia in all its glory.

various pink and white primroses growing with grass

Very happy lush primroses.

Thank you for sharing your photos with us, Wendy!

Do you have a public garden near you that you frequent? A favorite botanical garden you make a point to visit at least once a year? Let us know in the comments and feel free to send pictures to [email protected].

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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Comments

  1. User avater
    musabasjoosue 05/23/2024

    Chanticleer is one of my favorite public gardens. Last September I visited as part of the Garden Fling and it was spectacular. I wish it was closer. Thanks for sharing a sampling of the spring display. Usually I visit in the summer or early fall.

  2. btucker9675 05/23/2024

    Wendy - first of all, that azalea in your garden is amazing. Love that color! Your photos at Chanticleer are lovely - I'm envious of those glorious primroses. Have no luck at all with them here in the Charlotte, NC area but every time I see photos like this one, I think "maybe just one more try!"

  3. User avater
    simplesue 05/23/2024

    Very. nice public garden!

  4. jos29803 05/23/2024

    Super! Love Agave in the wall. Made my day😁

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