Today we continue our stroll through Chanticleer and descend the stairs into the Tennis Court Garden (TCG)...
There is however, no tennis court; "
Once the scene for matches between the Rosengarten family members and their guests, the Tennis Court Garden was the first garden to be developed after Mr. Rosengarten’s death in 1990. The garden now retains its namesake purpose in its rectangular outline and the arc-like shapes of the beds suggestive of a racket’s strokes. Curvilinear yew hedges partition the beds and pathways, prompting an inquisitive sense of adventure." (
source)
The stone walls that border both sides of the steps have built in space along the top to plant the entire length of the stairs. This was my favorite feature of the TCG...
Now that's a grand garden staircase.
In last week's
walk through the Tea Cup Garden I linked to a video, one of a weekly series on
Chanticleer's YouTube channel. As I've been working my way through all the videos I've come to the conclusion that the magic of the tennis court garden is best seen from above, a bird's-eye or drone-eye shot. They seem include them in most of the weekly videos.
I do love the anemones; A. × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' I believe.
And the BIG colorful red bananas, Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'.
They beg to have their photo taken.
*sigh*
Since the pathway led out into the lawn I wandered that way, off to explore the border along the far side (small oval in the map at the end of the post)...
There were several nice variegated comfrey, Symphytum × uplandicum 'Axminster Gold'.
But this spiky leaf is what I liked best of all, it belongs to Argemone mexicana.
Common name, Mexican prickly poppy. Evidently it's highly toxic and has escaped cultivation to become a pest in many parts of the world. Oh well.
Heading back to the TCG...
Where I decided to sit for a bit and take it all in. I vowed to do that repeatedly during my visit, I didn't sit in every chair I saw, but I managed quite a few.
The view from the sit-spot.
Those bananas again!
Here's what we covered in today's post. Next Friday we begin our exploration around the Chanticleer House.
Previous posts on Chanticleer:
— — —
All material © 2009-2023 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
I love the sun-lit banana plants. I don't think I've ever tried growing one. Maybe if El Nino comes through with bountiful rain this year, I get myself one as a present.
ReplyDeleteWater shouldn't keep you from growing one, put it in a container! I've grown them that way and they do fine.
DeleteI grew one for the first time ever this summer in a container and it grew wonderfully. I stopped fertilizing in midsummer and this seemed to cause it to remain short and squat, but the abundant leaves were huge and the plant was very broad and colorful.
DeleteLoree, or anyone else, do you have advice on overwintering in Zone 8b? I cut off almost all of the leaves except the newest 2-3 which were in perfect condition, and put it (in its container) in my unheated garage, right next to the furnace, just before we had really hard frosts. So far it has remained over 45F in there. It is always dark in there though with no windows, should I provide some artificial light?
I know a lot of people who use Lance's method (detailed in this blog post) with great success. I can't offer any advice about the light in your method. My gut would be to not worry about the light as long as you're not watering it. https://gardenriots.com/2014/11/11/wintering-over-your-red-abyssinian-banana-ensete-ventricosum-maureli/
DeleteYour sit spot was a wise choice. :) I need to review my photos and learn the various sections of the garden. What an amazing place.
ReplyDeleteIt was very comfortable there in the sun.
DeleteThe grand staircase is indeed Grand. The masonry is a beauty but also the coherent and narrow color scheme makes it very elegant.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to make time to take it all in. Favorite sit-spots of the fling could make a fun post.
Chavli
It would be a very brief post for me. Most garden stops didn't include time to sit, and then of course the second two days were so wet there was no way you'd have caught me sitting.
DeleteHardscaping pulls it all together for me. And, Argemone...., Oh how I've tried to find it during our travels to the SW and to get seedlings to survive. Toxic and prickly are the perfect combination for a plant to go out in the deer garden.
ReplyDeleteThe argemone...you've started it from seed?
DeleteI can get it to germinate, but not to survive beyond 3 months...
DeleteA lovely area to walk around and your photos are delightful!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the walk!
DeleteMy goodness, that staircase. The anemones are so cute, and the sunlight coming through the banana leaves is captivating. I'm looking forward to more - and what -a bulb meadow!
ReplyDeleteGood thing cause I've got more on the way!
Delete