ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

10. ENCHANTED GARDEN

★ Leonard ★

Southwest of downtown Weatherford, our favorite garden is hidden. This is our secret garden called Chandor gardens. It isn't that secret—all the residents from Weatherford know about it. But it is so magical to Beth and me. I asked her to marry me in this garden. It didn't happen in the romantic way you are imagining. It happened so innocently and unexpectedly.

It is called Chandor Gardens after the name of a famous painter Douglas Granville Chandor. He was born in Surrey, England, in 1897. He was most known as a portrait painter. He painted well-known world figures such as the Duke of Windsor, the Prince of Wales, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt,  Winston Churchill, Herbert Hoover, Queen Elizabeth II, etc.

He met Ina Kuteman Hill of Weatherford at a dinner party in New York City. Their encounter evolved into a courtship and eventually led to their marriage in 1934. They settled in Weatherford and established their home and gardens, White Shadows, on her family property in 1936.

Chandor's most ambitious creative process began with 3.5 acres of barren land. Instead of using his regular paintbrushes, he expressed his beauty with picks, shovels, and dynamite. His motif was predominately English and Chinese. This massive garden featured water fountains, waterfalls, intricate stonework, and delightful surprises around every corner.

White Shadows flourished under the Chandors care for sixteen years until his death in 1953. Out of love for her husband, Ina changed the name to Chandor Gardens. His passion for the garden still permeates it.

When we were in sixth grade, my cousin, Johnny, decided to get married to Beth's cousin Joanne. Both of us were invited to their wedding. The reception was held at Chandor Gardens. I had never been to the gardens before.

When we entered the gardens, I was mesmerized by the strange beauty of the place. It felt so foreign and exotic to us. When we became comfortable with our surroundings, people began to gather on the luscious green lawn.

Everyone looked so dressed up. I had my crisp white shirt with a black bowtie, and Beth wore a light pink cotton dress. The weather was perfectly sunny, and the sky was so blue without any hint of clouds. Everyone seemed so happy and content. After getting our lemonades, Beth and I walked around to say hello to our relatives and friends. We walked in and out of the tables draped in stark white satin on the immaculate lawn.

When the bride's father announced the beginning of the reception, he asked everyone to be seated at their assigned table in the garden. I naturally sat right next to Beth. That was always my place to sit: right next to her.

The bride and groom came out from the stark white house used to be an atelier for Douglas Chandor. Everyone applauded for their happy moment. They sat at their table, and the wedding reception finally began.

After eating delicious meals, we decided to wander around the gardens that we had been so curious about since we arrived. When the music for dancing was getting louder, we snuck out into the enchanted garden.

Our first encounter was a four-tiered fountain right in front of our eyes. It looked like a delicious wedding cake that we saw on the bride and groom's table. Beth turned the corner of the artist's atelier and was about to cross a white wooden bridge.

I told her to look below her in the pond. Magnificently colored Japanese carps were swimming gracefully beneath her feet. She stopped at the middle of the wooden bridge and looked over the handrail. At that precise moment, a golden carp jumped out from the water to greet her.

While she was amazed by a beautiful carp, I passed her by and turned left toward another circular pond. When both of us arrived at the edge of this pond, we could see round stone flowers floating in the pond—just like the lotus flowers in blossom.