Ladew Gardens, Maryland, Part One

A lovely rustic water feature by the Cafe

 

 

The most beautiful gardens I have seen in a while is located in Monkton, Maryland. The garden includes 22 acres of formal gardens that are divided into garden rooms.  Ladew is known for its  gorgeous, formal topiary. You can find all different kinds, from animals sprinting across the greens to more formal European clipped hedges. But it is the rooms, each with a different water feature that caught my eye.

 

The Garden of Eden

  

The property was purchased in the 1920's by Harvey Ladew who bought the Farm to peruse

his passion for fox hunting.  It was known at that time as Pleasant Valley Farms. The property included a rustic Farmhouse  that was built in the 1700's. The  property was set on 200 acres. Ladew added plumbing and electricity to the farmhouse and then designed and created 22 acres of formal gardens.

 

A large water feature that looked like a stream

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The Formal Garden Rooms  include: The Woodland Garden, Victorian Garden, Berry Garden, Pink Garden, White Garden,  Rose Garden, Garden of Eden, Keyhole Garden, Water Lily Garden, Yellow Garden, Iris Garden and many more. A nice map is included with the price of the ticket and garden seats are scattered through out the gardens if you need to rest or want to gaze longer at the beautiful view. 

The waterlily plant were flowering in many of the water features

 

 Tickets at the time of this visit was $20.00. There is a boutique cafe serving dainty  sandwiches, desserts, cold and hot drinks. They also have tables and seats outside. The garden is open  April through October 31st. Open everyday except Wednesdays. Weekdays the garden is open  9am-4pm and on weekends  9am to 5pm. No pets are allowed in the garden  and guests are welcome to take what they refer to as "casual photographs" for personal use.

   

A lovely large pond in the Rose Garden

 

   It would be a fantastic venue for any event or wedding.  For more information on having an event here you can look at their website at WWW. LadewGardens.com or call 410-557-9466 (info line) & 410-557-9570 (office). The gardens are very well kept. If you live close by, I am sure there must be lots of Volunteers needed. I hardly saw any weeds in the garden at all. There is a gift shop on the grounds near the entrance.

 

 

 

There were lots of gardens that I did not see. It defiantly is a garden that you can schedule more than a day to attend.  The gardens I missed, but will visit next time include the Cutting Garden, Wildflower Meadow, Butterfly Garden and Cottage Garden. More on the Ladew Gardens next week!