First Visit of the Year to Chanticleer Garden

The delightful weather of early April has allowed me to visit several gardens in the Philadelphia area…

Morris Arboretum 

in Chestnut Hill,

Jenkins Arboretum & Garden 

in Devon,

and my all time favorite Garden…

Chanticleer in Wayne!

I have a Community Bible Study friend, Suzanne, to thank for introducing me to Chanticleer.

As our small group leader, Suzanne thought an outing might be fun for our little group and that some social time would allow us get to know one another a little better.

Thank You Suzanne for organizing that visit to Chanticleer. I can't begin to express how grateful  I am for your sharing this jewel of a garden with me.

So, last Sunday, with camera in tow, my daughter and I met up with a friend and we took in the delights of this incredible pleasure garden.

For a Sunday it was not to crowded, but then it’s still early in the season...

I don’t know how others experience their visit(s) to Chanticleer, but for me it’s the colors, texture and spaces. A walk through this pleasure garden always leaves me refreshed and restored. Even my family notices its effect on me… Now, they even tell me when I need to go visit Chanticleer.

On this first visit of the 2011 season, I learned that a new book has been published about the garden…

Chanticleer; A Pleasure Garden 

Adrian Higgins. Photographs by Rob Cardillo

176 pages | 10 x 7 | 92 color, 2 b/w illus.
Cloth Apr 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4274-4 | $29.95

The photographs and text in this book take you through the different seasons, and moods of the garden. Can I just say… Mothers Day is coming-up!

Chanticleer is open

April – October

Wednesday – Sunday

Where is Your Treasure?

“ ¹⁹ Don’t store up treasures here on earth,

where moths eat them and rust destroys them,

and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves

do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is,

there the desires of your heart will also be."  Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

In Search of Cherry Blossoms & Spring

Spring Bulbs in the Rose Garden

This past Saturday my husband and I had a "Date Day", and we visited Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill, PA. We went in search of spring... fresh air... warmer weather... cherry blossoms... and some special time together. We found all that we were seeking, except the cherry blossoms - it was still a bit to early and they hadn't yet burst out from their winter slumber.

Each spring, Morris Arboretum hosts an annual Japanese Cherry Blossom Celebration. The Festival offers a variety of activities for both children and adults, and celebrates the art, culture and gardens inspired by the 35 varieties of cherry trees that grace the Arboretum with their blossoms each spring.

Lydia's Seat - in 1910 garden steps, a wall & seat were built into the hillside at the north end of what would become the Rose Garden

The seat & stairs were a favorite garden approach from the Compton Mansion to what was the mixed flower & herb garden, today the seat provides a special & a bit more secret view of the Rose Garden

Stone wall the around the Rose Garden built in 1924 & made from Wissahickon schist

In the early 20th century, John and Lydia Morris (founders of the Morris Arboretum) established one of the finest collections of Japanese plants and gardens in the region at their home, Compton, which would later become the Morris Arboretum. The Morrises vision was to promote an understanding of the relationship between plants, people and place. The Morrises recognized that plants and people depend on each other for survival.

“The progress of the world is so rapid and the hurry of life so great that we are apt not to stop and consider the interest which old landmarks may have for future generations and old buildings are allowed to be destroyed until little remains in our city to show the difference between the past and the present ant to mark the changes that take place even in a single lifetime.” 

-Excerpt from the will of John Morris

Germination Sequence Sculpture

The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is a historic public garden and educational institution. Morris Arboretum is the official Arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Witchhazel near the Mercury Loggia (built in 1913)

Witchhazel near the Mercury Loggia - this shrub is around 100 years old!

Spring Flowers near the Log Cabin - Lydia Morrises private retreat

Close-up of spring flowers near the Log Cabin

Lenten Rose - Hellebore Orientalis

Bleeding Heart emerging near one of the Japanese Gardens

Spring House Garden

Close up of Lenten Rose near the Spring House Garden

If you live near Philadelphia, you can still catch the Japanese Cherry Blossom Celebration at Morris Arboretum this coming weekend – April 9^th.

As we celebrate the coming of spring with the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms, lets not forget to keep our Japanese brothers and sisters in our thoughts and prayers.

Making All Things New

And...

Why I Love Spring!

 

 “…The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!... This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. ”   2 Corinthians 5:16-18 MSG & NLT 

 

My days have been Over-packed

Busy

Disconnected

Fragmented

Lonely

Running from one event to the next

Is anything really happening?

A gnawing sense of being unfulfilled

Moving from many things

...to the one necessary thing

The beginning of a Spiritual life

A change of heart

  

At first barely noticeable...

A joyful

surprise

 A gift

given

A gift

accepted

 A new

focus 

Made New - Renewed!

The discipline of solitude

Living

into the active presence

of God’s Spirit

Discovering space

for God

in our innermost being

Distractions and obstacles removed

           A heart changing 

{ Centered }

Space to listen

God speaking

Day and night

In our work and play

In joy and sorrow

In solitude and community

Attentive to that small voice

Responding

Priorities changed

R

o

o

t

e

d