The danger of frost past, full energies devoted to the changeover from spring’s frost tolerant displays to summer’s heat loving luxuriant textures and colors. Don’t forget your vegetables! Was never directed at me at the family dining table. My siblings, yes, my father, likely, but not me. Besides being a nearly flawless child, I loved my[...]
Every year I struggle under the weight of our own precedent. “Chanticleer, the edgiest garden in the country” and other such terms applied to us are wonderful, but consider the maintenance of such a reputation. So I struggle, I obsess. While installing this year’s display, I am already considering next year’s options. This plant in[...]
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was springtime. The most difficult of times when the sun in the sky and the warm breeze said yes, but the calendar still said May 15th. Mid May is the commonly accepted frost free date here in the Delaware Valley. The date[...]
For those of you who have visitied Chanticleer in the last few years, you may remember a grand vessel, a Turkish oil jar looming in the courtyards. In a rare display of restraint, I have avoided planting this wonderful piece. For one thing, I couldn’t decide which of the many plants I work with that[...]