Mr Magpie and I took the traveling tea cup away for a long weekend recently and did a bit of garden hopping in Pennsylvania…

we were delighted to visit the beautiful Chanticleer Gardens several years ago and knew we wanted to make a return visit again someday…

May and June in my view are fabulous garden months with so much blooming and temperatures that are not too hot or humid…

as it turned out this one day out of the four we were away did get a bit warm and sticky so my pretty paper parasol really came in handy for shade while strolling some of the 35 acres…

we discovered that the blooms in Pennsylvania were about two weeks behind us here in Virginia (next Tea Tuesday I have some really fabulous Wisteria pics to share from the other garden we toured as well)…

Chanticleer has been described as a “pleasure garden” that is “planted to perfection” with lots of welcoming places to sit and linger to enjoy the lush vistas along with the flora and fauna…

the arched veranda was especially lovely and cool with breezes blowing through and we were mesmerized by the ceramic pot filled with water that had fresh flowers floating in it…
there was a group of artists intently working away with pastels en plein air…

joining Elizabeth and Bleubeard for Tea on Tuesday and sending up prayers for all those affected by the tornado on 20 May in Oklahoma♥

it is difficult to try and make sense out of how beautiful AND destructive nature can be all at the same time…
♥Peace to you dear ones ♥