Chandler Gardens

My mother belongs to a philanthropic women's club that helps women in need get an education. They do wonderful work. It's a very small, closed sisterhood group and my mom enjoys it very much. She has made some delightful, forever friends in this club. One of her friends is opening her home as a B&B to other members and their families. There is, I learned, a network of membership B&B's across the country that are not open to the public but truly designed to help out their own sisterhood. How wonderful!


My mother's friend commissioned me to take photos of her gardens. Recently, on a hot, muggy morning I met her for a tour. These are test shots.


Her garden is very formal, but one can find all manner of cuteness nestled in corners, hunkering below globes of flowers, and sticking up amid tall greenery.


I fell in love with her pottery and terra cotta pieces, her ironwork and seating.


Flagstone steps and pebbled paths lead the visitor to places of respite. The only problem is that sometimes the chipmunks get there first and unearth the hostas or various plants.


Her sense of color and placement was a delight! There was something new at every turn, and even the second and third time through I was finding new plants and cuteness!

Although designed as a formal garden, she has planted many "unformal" plants such as lambs ears, daisies and coneflower. These Annabelle Hydrangeas were show-stoppers, and she said when the blossoms were bright white this scene was hypnotic.

Ferns and stone fences and pots of herbs cascaded down a gentle slope. Birdbaths and stone cats, pottery birds and rabbits enhanced what is already an amazing garden. There is, of course, a garden cat. What B&B would be without one? Next time...the garden cat and more shots of this gentle, hidden garden.