Chanticleer Friday: the Elevated Walkway, Serpentine and Bulb Meadow

Today's Chanticleer Friday post covers four areas of the garden that to me felt like the "in between" spaces. Everything up to this point had been a collection of stunning plants and smallish spaces within larger spaces all designed to the nines. The areas we'll walk through today—the orange ovals on the map, the orange stars represent previous posts—were a nice chance to catch my breath and gear up for the parts of the garden yet to come.

As I started the zigzag Elevated Walkway down to the lower ground level, leaving the gardens and terraces around the house, I was delighted to see this Marcia Donahue installation. I have such fond memories of pieces like these in other gardens I've visited.

The walkway ahead...

"Constructed to improve access and safety, the Elevated Walkway glides over a steep slope that stretches from the Chanticleer House to the Serpentine. Save for a grove of quaking aspens and Persian ironwoods, much of the slope is given over to herbaceous plantings that allow for unobstructed views from the walkway." (source)

Looking out over the lawn from one of the bends in the path.

Rattlesnake master, Eryngium yuccifolium.

Mossy cement podophyllum leaves.

This little A-frame was listed on the map as the "apple house," I'm assuming a place for apple storage back in the day.

It would be wrong to not investigate.

Lots of detail in the elevated walkway railing.

Inside the apple house...

Lonicera reticulata 'Kintzley's Ghost'

Another view outward...

Cryptomeria, there were many large cryptomeria around the garden.

The fallen bits were allowed to stay in place as mulch.

The Serpentine Garden...

"A Tuscan countryside inspired the Serpentine – the silver-leafed willows and junipers stand in for olives and Italian cypresses, Florentine irises under the ginkgoes scent the air in May, and the stone circle suggestive of ancient terraces. The glory of the Serpentine belongs to the rotating cast of agricultural crops planted each year in the two main curved beds – one year was artichokes, another a sea of barley. The planting is an effective way of demonstrating the beauty of agriculture." (source)

Here's where I admit I paid zero attention to the "crop" in the serpentine beds. 

Nope, I was kinda warm and just wanted to make for the shade of the ginkgos and sit for a bit.

So I did just that. Here's the view over my shoulder.

And towards my sit-spot.

The bulb meadow was dotted with many colchicums, I read that there are three major bulb displays throughout the year. In spring (April and May) there are daffodils, tulips, and Spanish bluebells. From July through October, there are first spider lilies (lycoris) and then the colchicums appear.  

I'm squeezing in one more area that just didn't make sense to put anywhere else, on the map (at the top of this post) it is the nameless oval below the gravel garden, maybe it's actually part of the gravel garden? There were more Eryngium yuccifolium, as well as multiple asters and zinnia.

Looking back up at the house.

It was a masterful color match that the center of the purple asters...

Worked so well with the colorful orange zinnia.

Next week we will explore the Asian Woods.

My previous posts on Chanticleer:

The kick-off | The Teacup Garden | The Tennis Court Garden | The House and Terrace Gardens

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