Positively Philadelphia: Chanticleer Garden

By Lauren Lipton

WAYNE, Pa. (CBS) — It's known around the world.

"London Financial Times describes Chanticleer as 'planted to perfection,' " said Doug Croft, horticulturist at Chanticleer Garden, in Wayne, Pa.

(Doug Croft, horticulturist at Chanticleer Garden. Photo by Lauren Lipton)

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The garden is in our area, but Croft says many people don't realize the splendor that is tucked away right there, behind busy Church Road.

"Chanticleer is a pleasure garden," Croft says.  "It's the former estate of the Rosengarten family.  They built Chanticleer as their weekend retreat from the heat of Philadelphia."

It opened to the public in 1993.   And while there are majestic trees that have been there for years, the gardens are always changing.

"Bold use of colors and textures.  At the main house and in the teacup garden, you'll see the use of tropical plant material.  So that makes Chanticleer very unique," says Croft.

(One of the planted gardens at Chanticleer. Photo by Lauren Lipton)

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And truly, it's an oasis.

"A lot of secret escapes that people can go to if they want a little bit of quiet time," Croft notes.  "Often, people will come and sit in a chair — which were made by staff members — to read a book, to meditate.  As our executive director Bill Thomas always says, he wants us to strive for our visitors to leave in a better mood than when they arrive."

Hear the expanded  interview in this CBS Philly podcast (runs 6:06)...

For more information, go to chanticleergarden.org.

And, for this week, that's "Positively Philadelphia!"

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