Ladew Topiary Gardens

  Inherited family money from the leather manufacturing business allowed Harvey Ladew to retire in his 30s. He perused his love of fox hunting in both the US and Europe which lead to the purchase of  22 acres in Maryland that bordered a hunt club. There he set about restoring a house that was on the property and then turned his attention to the gardens What makes the gardens unique are the many topiary figures.The most amazing are a full sized horse with rider, hounds, and poor little fox that they are chasing.

 

  The gardens brochure has a path marked to avoids steps but still visit the majority of the garden. Wheelchair users will need assistance as most of the paths are rough or grassy. The gardens closes at 3:00 and we did not have enough time to see the butterfly house, nature walk, the manor house, or the barn gallery. We did visit Harvey Ladew’s studio where he painted and sculpted.

 The entrance to the parking lot is narrow with low hanging branches. We were fine with our small class C but larger RVs may not fit. The parking lot is large enough for RVs. Gardens  39.57983, -76.51458