The Pond Garden at Chanticleer draws visitors like a magnet. Water features always do. Five ponds surrounded by blousy gardens are found at the bottom of the long hillside that begins at the garden’s entrance. This is Part 6 of my visit to Chanticleer during the Philadelphia Area Fling last September.
I explored Chanticleer twice during the Fling — well, once before the Fling began and again during the soiree that Chanticleer treated us to. Lotuses were looking otherworldly with their antennae-like seedpods and satellite-dish leaves.
Golden flowers stood tall…
…and stretched rayed petals like little suns.
Cleome offering up whiskery pink flowers
During the late afternoon of my second visit, I spotted a great blue heron stalking koi. Those koi are huge, but maybe there are smaller ones in there too?
Still as a statue, it waited at the pond’s edge. I waited and watched too.
The koi appeared to pay it no mind. Could they see it?
Slowly it leaned over…
…ready to strike…
…but after a few minutes it straightened back up. I watched for a while and then moved on. I’m afraid I’m not much of a hunter myself.
Those koi are friendly as dogs when they think dinner is forthcoming.
A wisteria arbor overlooks the ponds, offering a shady retreat with throne-like chairs at the base of the hill.
Contemporary planters in a stacked composition overflow with a sedge waterfall.
The Pond Garden path leads through an arching tree tunnel…
…and down to a spring house, where I spotted another water bowl, this one containing a yellow waterlily and duckweed.
Near the Asian Woods, a grassy path winds between the ponds and a screen of tall trees.
The wall of trees opens up to reveal a round glade, where four chairs line up for a view of the Pond Garden.
A perfect resting spot
Turning around, you have a view all the way back up to the big house.
Heading to the Gravel Garden, I spotted a broken grave marker set in the gravel path. “Faithful and True,” it reads, 1934 to 1938, and a few letters of a name, perhaps Dixie. A beloved pet of the Rosengartens, the original owners of Chanticleer, perhaps?
Up next: The beautiful Gravel Garden at Chanticleer. For a look back at the shady Asian Woods at Chanticleer, click here:
To read about my past visits to Chanticleer’s Pond Garden, follow these links:
- Every passage is a destination at Chanticleer, October 2021
- Flowers and rich foliage at Chanticleer’s Pond Garden, June 2016
- Pond Garden, July 2008
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Hey, Austin-area gardeners, come learn about making a waterwise, Texas-hardy crevice garden! Register for my next Garden Spark talk with Coleson Bruce on January 18th. He’s created one of the most interesting and beautiful xeriscape gardens I’ve seen in Austin. Learn all about it and hang out with fellow gardeners who are interested in good design. Hope to see you there!
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