Monday, April 30, 2007

Chanticleer

Yesterday we took the kids to Chanticleer. Chanticleer is a gorgeous botanical garden very close to our house -- but it seems as though not many local people know it's there. Originally, Chanticleer was an estate owned by a wealthy pharmaceutical executive; his son left it to the public to be enjoyed as a garden.



We got there just in time for the last wave of daffodils. Chanticleer has fields and fields of them, along with tulips and other bulbs. For Liz, here are some



Virginia bluebells (I think).

There are lots of adirondack chairs all over, many of them painted whimsically, which makes the garden a great place to sit and think (or knit). The boys found this glider:



There are all sorts of vistas, little bridges running over streams, a paddle wheel, terraced beds like these along a hillside



and a lovely Ruin Garden (it was the site of a house built in the twenties, which was dismantled. Some of the original foundation was left intact but most was taken down and reassembled to create a picturesque -- and non-hazardous -- ruin).



Tom found a stone couch (complete with stone remote control, on the sofa arm at left)


while Little Miss obligingly smiled for the camera.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the lovely tour of both the botanical gardens and your family.

I'm not a big fan of children, but yours are cute as hell (and I am a big fan of husbands...he's cute too).

Anonymous said...

Chanticleer is one of my favorite places!! it's great from early spring all the way through fall, although I think I like July the best.

AEK
p.s. T-5 to Sheep and Wool Festival!!!!!

M-H said...

I miss cold-climate gardens. They're common in NZ but I have to travel for hours to see one near Sydney. We don't get four clear seasons here; the gardens are more tropical and spring bulbs aren't very successful. BTW, Chanticleer was the name of the rooster in one of Chaucer's Tales - your trivia for the day.

Carol said...

And that explains the wrought-iron roosters on the front gates!

mindy said...

Pretty! Looks like a nice way to spend a spring afternoon. Love the stone couch.
Boy, she has smiling for the camera down, doesn't she?

Anonymous said...

the only family member missing is charcoal.

thanks for sharing the pix!

Carol said...

Looks like a great place to visit. Thanks for the lovely Spring pictures.

Francesca said...

I love Chanticleer, and I agree that it seems to be still a little secret (which I also like). The children love it too.

SOmething else to miss when I move, grump grump, whine.

Puts me in mind to go as soon as I can.

Alwen said...

You *live* by Chanticleer? Oh, I'm so jealous! I've only read about it. My husband likes to travel, so we'll get there someday. Thanks for the spring tour.

Liz K. said...

It has been added to our list of places to go ASAP. And thanks for a little VA love.

Sally said...

Your daughter is the prettiest thing.

I love Chanticleer. My father and I visited last summer and took about one bazillion pictures. Literally. Have you ever visited the Jenkins Arboretum in Devon? It's free, and it's gorgeous.

Mary said...

Goodness she's adorable! Those glasses just fit her face perfectly.
aka KnittyMe

Anonymous said...

Carol, my favorite thing at Chanticleer (so far) is the Japanese-inspired bathroom. I love the whole building, especially the roof, with the chains for rain to run down. And the hand-drying blower -- well, that's a little too efficient. It blows so hard that it makes waves in my skin! Chanticleer is also the first place I ever saw a lotus in flower.