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Weddings at Chandor Gardens
"Your happily ever after begins here."
Reserve your special day. Dates are filling up fast for 2012 & 2013. |
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Take the Gardens Home with you.
There are postcards, notecards, prints, calendars and even t-shirts sporting The fabulous images of Chandor Gardens In our gift shop.
We feature unique handmade items by a variety of local artisans specializing in textiles, stained and fused glass, jewelry, painting, photography and much more.
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| Contact Information |
Chandor Gardens
711 W Lee Avenue
Weatherford, TX
76086
Karen Nantz
Manager
Phone:
817-613-1700
Fax: 817-598-4354
Steven Chamblee
Horticulturist
Public Hours
Monday-Friday
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturdays
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Sundays
noon to 4:00 pm
Closed all City Observed Holidays.
Admission
Adults: $5
Children 12 and under: Free
(Children must be accompanied by an adult.)
Private Tours and Events
Available year-round by appointment.
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Secrets from the Garden
Chandor Gardens Newsletter - April 2012
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Spring Bling
April is definitely the month when Chandor Gardens billows with blossoms. Don't you dare not come and see the garden laden in its floral finery!
The first blooms of Louisiana Iris foretell a future flower frenzy.
above left: Azaleas abound around the garden.
above right: Blue Carpetbugle bloom at the feet of a Hinckley's Columbine.
above: One of the garden's new yellow roses
Poppies and Bluebonnets greet garden guests just inside the Lee Avenue entrance.
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Plant of the Month
Amethyst Falls Wisteria
(Wisteria americana 'Amethyst Falls')
 Most of the wisteria folks are familiar with is Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria chinensis), which both delights us with fragrant blossoms and frustrates us with its rampant growth. Douglas Chandor once grew Chinese Wisteria on trellises and across wires to form quick shade in his sunny garden.
We have added the little known American Wisteria to the garden's plant collections. It differs from the Chinese version in several important ways. American Wisteria flowers in April and May, much later than the late February-early March bloom date of its Chinese cousin, and has a much less aggressive growth habit. This is important, as it will not climb and cover the adjacent trees. The inflorescence, or group of flowers, on the American Wisteria is smaller than the Chinese version, but is still very fragrant. The cultivar 'Amethyst Falls' has more compact flower structure, and is a darker color than the species.
Come and see!
The goose egg-sized blossoms of American Wisteria have just begun to open. |
Secret of the Month
In our quest to give you a sneak peeks of what we do when you are not looking, we present the "secret" behind a few of our projects.
The Concrete Barrel
While installing a new colony of Oakleaf Hydrangea just north of the Cave Grotto, we encountered a rather stubborn stone. A bit of hard digging exposed the stone, which we quickly realized was not a stone at all.
Further excavation uncovered the remnants of a barrel that was once filled with concrete. A 4" x 6" hole penetrated the massive concrete barrel to a depth of about 36" ...we assume it once held a wooden beam.
The site did not allow the use of a tractor to remove the barrel. Not to be outdone, we employed some good old Ancient Egyptian techniques (blocks, muscle, and sweat) to bring the 800 pound barrel to the surface.
The final push provided quite the photo op - from left: Bill Warren, Toby Mize, and Josh Davis.
The concrete barrel has found a new home along the MMVII walk.
Bubbling Urn Fountain
The acquisition of a new bubbling urn fountain for the garden brought with it the challenge of how to make it unique to Chandor Gardens.
First, we utilized some of the Leyland Cypress logs to create a round enclosure.
Next came the chain saw sculpturing.
Making the second cut match the first was the difficult part.
A few steps later, we had our new water feature!
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Chandor Memories
Bronze Returns to her Original Home
One of Chandor Garden's interesting stories is that of the bronze nude sculpture. Originally placed atop the Boxwood Garden fountain by Douglas Chandor, the sculpture disappeared sometime in the 1960's. It is presumed that the sculpture was stolen by a disgruntled employee after they were dismissed by Ina Chandor, but this theory remains unproven. What we do know is that the sculpture was returned to Chandor Gardens shortly after the City of Weatherford acquired it. The sculpture was placed atop a stone next to the Bridge Pond, and later moved to the Bridge Pond island. Recent renovations to help preserve the Boxwood Garden fountain gave us the opportunity to return the bronze to its original home.
A vintage view of the bronze nude sculpture. The bronze as she looks today.
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Name the Newsletter Contest
 Congratulations to the winner of the Name the Chandor Gardens Newsletter contest, Wendy Kelley (pictured at right). The new name of the newsletter is: "Secrets from the Garden." Thank you to all who participated in the contest.
Words from Wendy Kelley:
"Chandor Gardens is one of the greatest treasures Weatherford has, and no matter how much publicity it receives, it always seems to be one of Weatherford's best kept 'secrets.' And, who wouldn't like to believe that, just as in the book "The Secret Garden," magical things happen at Chandor Gardens."
Wendy Kelley
Truly Trendy Boutique in Weatherford, Co-Owner
Parker County Resident
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We look forward to seeing you in the Gardens.
-The Chandor Gardens Staff
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