purple

Japanese iris blooms later than the bearded and Siberian varieties, allowing me to enjoy this beautiful flower as spring turns to summer.

This one lives in a sea of purple.

wild roses

The entry to the greenhouse at the Stevens-Coolidge Place is draped in wild roses. The pop of pink is wonderful in late day light.

opening

The petals of a Japanese iris uncurl as it opens, decorating the landscape with bright purple and yellow.

moody

An overcast sky in early evening creates a moody reflection.

dancing

I see a dancing figure in this late-in-the-season poppy. Do you?

photos! two gardens

Last week's visit gave me the opportunity to visit flowers on several properties: Chanticleer, Jenkins Arboretum, and Stoneleigh. It was interesting to see the difference in emerging flowers when comparing northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern Pennsylvania. The warmer temperatures in the Philadelphia area promote earlier blooms.

Most of the photos that I took were from the gardens of Chanticleer. That's a place I would visit often if it was close to home.

More photos from last week's visit can be seen in the gallery two gardens :: 2018 starting with this photo and ending here.

yellow

As I was walking at Chanticleer a coneflower in bright yellow caught my eye.

magic

There was a bit of magic in the woods at Jenkins Arboretum. A space designated as a Children's Garden has a few items that jumped out at me, a wonderful birdhouse, and a tiny door in the base of a tree.

There were a few rhododendron and azalea still in bloom. The arboretum must have been bursting with color a few weeks ago.

Most of the flowers in bloom were small beauties. Bright pink flowers were climbing a fence around the pond.

a garden walk

Chanticleer Garden called to me this morning. It was a wonderful day for a garden walk, gray and misty at the start, clearing and dry by the end of my visit.

Warmer temperatures earlier in the season feeds floral bloom. Many varieties of flowers here haven't started blooming at home yet. The garden delighted my eyes with color from many flowers.

tiger lily

a first visit

This morning felt like a good time for a first visit to Stoneleigh, a natural garden in Villanova. It's a beautiful property for walking.

I'm glad I saw the sign pointing to the edge of the property where the hare sculpture lives. The sculpture was commissioned in 2002 by John and Chara Haas (the original owners of the property) to depict the Haas family as hares. This is a play on their name since Haas means “hare” in German. It's a delightful sculpture.

The restoration of the sculpture is detailed in the article Hares Under Repair.

Stoneleigh first opened to the public in May of 2018. I hope it stays intact. That is in question right now as the local school district is attempting to take the land by eminent domain. Seizure of land like this feels very wrong to me.

For information and actions to preserve the gardens, jump to Save Stoneleigh!