“The kiss of the sun for pardon / The song of the birds for mirth / One is nearer God’s heart in a garden / Than anywhere else on Earth.” —Dorothy Frances Gurney
It’s no surprise that many gardeners cite spring as their favorite time of year. After all, few activities can compare with the satisfaction of releasing a hearty plant from the confines of its container and carefully transplanting it in one’s own garden to nurture in anticipation of what’s yet to come.
To kick off each year’s planting season, Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Maryland, hosts a garden festival that attracts approximately 2,000 visitors. Featured are hard-to-find perennials, specialty annuals, unique small trees, unusual exotics, and a variety of statuary.
This year, the festival celebrates its 10th season on May 5th by welcoming acclaimed designer and tastemaker Bunny Williams and antiquarian John Rosselli as co-hosts. Proceeds from the event will be used for the preservation of the 22-acre historic topiary gardens, the Manor House, the Butterfly House, and the Children’s Environmental Education Program that serves more than 3,200 children per year.
Make a Day of It
You needn’t have a green thumb to enjoy a day at Ladew Topiary Gardens. In addition to the sale, visitors can learn more about Harvey Smith Ladew II by touring his house and the many gardens on site.
The Founder
An avid traveler, gardener, artist, and fox hunter, Harvey Smith Ladew II led a life of privilege by virtue of his grandfather’s successful leather business. Born in New York City in 1887, Ladew learned to speak French prior to mastering English and received drawing lessons from the curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 1929, when he was in his early 40s, Ladew purchased a more than 200-acre property in Maryland called Pleasant Valley Farm to use as a fox hunting preserve. It was reported that the main house was “in shambles, with a garden consisting of a couple of lilac bushes.” Ladew decided to make it his mission to upgrade the property, which lacked heat and electricity at the time. He succeeded in turning the ramshackle residence into a comfortable home, adding wings to enlarge the interior and renovating the outbuildings before enlisting the help of local farmers to create the lavish gardens that exist to this day.
Touring the Home
Guests who tour the home will get a glimpse into Ladew’s personality when they view his possessions and learn about his interests from on-site docents.
The confirmed bachelor’s love of hunting is evident throughout the property, from the wallpaper in the dining room depicting a fox hunt to the equestrian-themed art. Painted glass bay windows in the dining room feature fox-hunting scenes and fox tchotchkes are displayed in a case in the drawing room where Ladew entertained celebrities like Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, and W. Somerset Maugham. In the corner of the drawing room sits a Steinway piano. Once can almost picture the many notables lounging on the couches and listening to Ladew’s friend Cole Porter playing the popular songs of the day.
Of all the rooms in the mansion, the most popular is the oval library containing nearly 3,000 books and recognized by Helen Comstock in her book, The 100 Most Beautiful Rooms in America. An interesting feature is a secret door hiding in plain sight, which opens to the outside gardens.
Blooming Garden Rooms
Guests should allocate at least 90 minutes to take the self-guided garden tour, where 100 topiaries dot the landscape. They include showstoppers like a life-sized hunt scene featuring a rider jumping a hurdle with foxes and hounds in the foreground and a pair of giant swans perched atop large boxwoods.
Guests can stroll among 15 garden “rooms.” In the Garden of Eden, Ladew’s sense of humor manifests itself with a statue of Adam and Eve. Observant visitors will notice Adam hiding an apple behind his back. And what Garden of Eden is complete without apples? Both apple and pear trees grow there, and in the spring a riot of color erupts as azaleas burst into bloom.
Other fragrant and colorful “rooms” include the White Garden, the Herb Garden, the Iris Garden, the Pink Garden, and the Fragrant Rose Garden, to name just a few.
After a day of touring, visitors can wind down their visit with a bite to eat at the on-site café that serves salads, sandwiches, and desserts. The eatery is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To learn more about the nonprofit organization and the many other events that take place throughout the year, visit its website.
Ladew Topiary Gardens
10th Annual Garden Festival
Saturday, May 5, 2018 / 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton, MD / ladewgardens.com