May 18, 2022

WALK WITH ME

WALK WITH ME ~

Well, first though we must take a drive.  It is a perfect Sunday, we'll drive about a half hour north and west of Baltimore, through rolling Maryland countryside.  Farm country, hundred plus acre working farms, pristine and lush with new crop growth, miles of white washed fencing, bright barns and homes worthy of magazine covers.   
Ten miles of our drive takes us through the Loch Raven Reservoir and several times over the Big Gunpowder Falls River ~ this is a journey today as beautiful as we expect our destination to be.  It was disappointing not to be able to photograph along here, every possible spot to pause was already taken by another ~

LADEW GARDENS. Originally a 200-plus acre farm, with a farmhouse built in the late 1700s it was purchased by Harvey Ladew around 1920.  He had been drawn to this area by his love of fox hunting.  The home and the acreage were then extensively renovated and updated to include antiques and art from his worldwide travels.  He simultaneously worked on the estate grounds, creating 22-acres of formal gardens.  The gardens feature 100 life-size topiary, including a "fox hunt" and fifteen themed gardens.  The prestigious Garden Club of America later awarded Mr. Ladew its Distinguished Service Medal for his "great interest in developing and maintaining the most outstanding topiary in America, without professional help."  Ladew Gardens was established as a public garden in 1971 and is today a non profit organization in support of education and scientific endeavors.  

Some themed gardens were not in bloom or active when I visited as they are seasonal in nature ~ The Butterfly House will be active mid summer.  The Rose Garden also blooms in mid summer, and the Water Lily Garden had not yet come to life ~ yet there was enough to fill my senses for this beautiful afternoon, and I hope you will enjoy the images below.  Walk with me ~ through Ladew Gardens.













 


 

25 comments:

  1. I love it.... oh how I wish to have such fab green friends in my garden

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  2. Ooooooooooooooooo!! What a lovely place to visit!!!
    Thank you for sharing.
    Purrs, Julie

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  3. All those plant sculptures are magnificent. Just beautiful!

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  4. I shudder to think of all the work involved in keeping those sculptured
    animals looking so beautiful. it is really beautiful, flowers, trees, grass, and all those very old buildings.

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  5. Oh my, how beautiful!!! Brings back fond memories of childhood Sunday afternoon visits to a park near my home city where the gardens were so pretty. Roses galore and beautiful shrubs. What a lovely post!!!

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  6. A wonderful getaway. I love anything out of the cities, noise and hustle and bustle.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥

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  7. Wow, how beautiful. We love the topiary!

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  8. What a beautiful place to visit. Thanks for taking us along.

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  9. Those topiaries are amazingly beautiful, green is such a relaxing color! And I appreciate the birdhouses, they're quite unique!

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  10. It is just gorgeous! Thank you for the tour!

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  11. Such gorgeous hedges!!!

    I used to visit Kenwood Gardens in Deleware back in the 90s, when I lived in NJ...Nothing soothes the soul more than a walk through the flowers(except a pet of course ;-))

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  12. That is such a pretty place and that huge birdhouse is amazing.

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  13. oh em cod how cool is this !!!! :) ♥♥

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  14. The topiary is magnificent, and the gardens beautiful.

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  15. What an amazing place! I haven't seen anything like that since I was a kid growing up in Niagara Falls, NY. On weekends, we'd cross the Rainbow Bridge (yes, the real one) to Canada and visit the Horticultural Gardens.

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  16. Beautiful place! That's impressive topiary!

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  17. That was beautiful, thank you so much!

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  18. What an amazing place! Thank you for taking us along on your walk!

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  19. Wow, how verdant and lush everything is there. Those topiary are amazing! Thanks for the tour!

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  20. Thanks for including us in the beauty!

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  21. This is an amazing place to visit, wow!! Your photos are awesome.

    Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!

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