May 7, 2026
We had not heard of the gardens at Chanticleer until our friends Dale and Joe recently sang its praises. We are grateful that they did because they are the most beautiful gardens that we have ever visited. Located in Wayne, just outside Philadelphia, the gardens are on the estate of The Rosengarten family, whose pharmaceutical company later became part of Merck. The estate was transformed into a public garden after Adolph Rosengarten Jr. established the Chanticleer foundation and opened it to the public in 1993.
There is a large staff of gardeners many of whom are also designers and artists. Different sections of the property have distinct personalities, and many garden structures, including benches, gates, fountains and furniture are handmade by the staff. Chanticleer is derived from the old French name for rooster, so there were plenty of sculptures of roosters to be seen during our tour.
We were joined by our friend Charlet and Lauren’s sister, Marion, who lives nearby.
Lauren and Marion
We liked the mural painted on the inside of this little half buried building that showed two dog trying to reach some prey tucked safely underground in their burrows.
There are two beautiful homes on the property, a guest and a main house.
There were plenty of spots to sit and enjoy the garden on the handcrafted furniture.
Some of the wooden seats actually looked like leather.
Many of the gardens and pots had vegetables, particularly lettuce mixed in with the plants and flowers. Apparently, there is a high fence around the estate to keep out the deer. We are not sure how they kept the rabbits away.
There were also beautifully crafted bridges.
Including this one that was built to look like a fallen tree.
And if you got thirsty there were also handcrafted water fountains.
The Japanese garden had a koi pond.
And a beautiful restroom with artwork and freshly cut flowers.
There was a third home on the property that had been partially torn down to create a ruin garden.
Even the utility shed was beautiful.
There was a stunning pergola draped in white wisteria.
We came across this little guy enjoying the sunshine.
We might be breaking a record here for the most photos in one of our blog posts but there was just so much to see.
What looked to us like a manuka tree was decked in pretty pink blossoms.
There were fields of rye cut into flowing patterns.
The paths through the forests in the Japanese garden were covered in pine needles that were very pleasant to walk on.
In other parts the paths were made of cut stone.
There was not much sculpture in the garden but we liked this colorful sculpture made to look like bamboo.
We particularly liked this unusual chandelier primrose that dotted the small creeks.
And this large grouping of ferns.
There was a vegetable garden.
Mal and Lauren 