by I lured Doug into a garden tour by explaining that this wasn’t your regular garden, it was a topiary garden, and thus entirely different. Though it turned out there were way more flowers than topiary, and I was in heaven while Doug put on his audiobook.
Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Maryland, are 22 acres of over-the-top landscaping, along with a historic home. There are 15 garden “rooms”, each devoted to a single color, plant or theme (i.e. White, Yellow, Rose, Iris), and more than 100 topiary forms.
Harvey S. Ladew (1887-1976) purchased 250 acres in 1929, with the intention of building an estate. The topiary was influenced by his travels in England, where he frequently went fox hunting.
The 18th Century Manor House, built and expanded over three centuries, is also available for tours, though we arrived too late in the day to explore the grounds and the manor house, so we opted just to explore the grounds.
In addition to walking paths, the property also boasts a small butterfly house, which opened in 2014. I expected your standard “flowers with butterflies flying around”, but it was actually much more interesting.
On-hand staff provided information, but also pointed out the caterpillars and chrysalis’ we would have never found on our own!
There were several lily ponds on the property, and I just loved the texture and variety of them!
I love the stenciling or painting on the walls next to the fireplace in the picture with the framed window! Love everything about this blog!
I really like the idea of framing a window – nature is literally art!