ladew topiary gardens

Holiday events, and summer concerts are the best. Just went to a Talking heads tribute band concert inside the gardens this past year. You bring a picnic basket, chairs and enjoy wandering around the grounds. great for the whole family.

Visited with 3 of my female friends on a lovely fall day. We toured the house first -- led by a wonderful guide named Carl (who had also been our guide at historic Hampton House.) Carl pointed out numerous interesting details about the home, and entertained us with anecdotes about its owner, Harvey S. Ladew. Mr. Ladew inherited a fortune in his 20s, and was friends with the Duke of Windsor, Lawrence of Arabia, and others. One warning: if you are a PETA member, you may want to limit your visit to the gardens. Mr. Ladew was an avid hunter, and animal trophies abound in the house.However, as the gift shop manager pointed out, the Hunt Club (fox hunters) were responsible for preserving a lot of Hartford County's land from development. I had been to Ladew gardens before, but we didn't get a chance to see all the features I remembered since we had to be home before 4.There is so much to see in the gardens, that you could spend a long time exploring them. Ladew now has food, served inside the former stables (with each stall still marked with the name of its former equine occupant), or on tables in the stable yard. The choices are few, but adequate. My chicken salad was missing some of the promised garnishes, but it was fine. One of my friends got a Cobb salad, and another got a peanut butter sandwich! We really liked the gift shop, and each of us bought something.

I was running really for an errand nearby when I spotted signs for the garden. I'm not big into plants or gardening, but figured "Why not?". I was kind of just expecting a very pretty 18th or 19th century style garden, but boy was I surprised. The garden is just breathtakingly gorgeous! I was blown away at how many plants and flowers they had. Not to mention the neat fountains and ponds in each garden. All that combined with the different themes and sections the garden made for an nice relaxing walk.

This is a beautiful laid back outdoor experience. We went recently (end of September) which is 'out of season' for most flowers, but this it was a great day. My wife and our little girl thouroughly enjoyed the sites and the few flowering items still around at this season. The ground are well kept and very serene. The staff inside where you pay admission or buy gifts was friendly and hospitable.They offer age appropriate activiies for the kids... such as a 'scavenger hunt' which included 12 items on a pice of paper, when you find one you put a sticker (they provide) on it... this kept our litttle girl active and interested .We are not local so we didn't get into this, but they offer 'membership' and also have educational programs and other events sometimes.

Have lived in Harford County for thirty eight years and never went to the gardens until now. Very nice relaxing afternoon. The gardens were so much bigger than expected. I shouldn't have waited so long! It was so interesting. Didn't know there was a polo field. There is a beautiful area where concerts are held in the summer. Would go back again in the fall or spring because it would look different at those times of the year. They have Stampedes there which I have never seen but would like to see one. If you would like a relaxing morning or afternoon, that is the place to go to!

This is a former private estate with large garden. The topiaries are famous, and are indeed worth the trip, and the rest of the garden is nice. The cafe is adequate. Be aware that the garden is not particularly handicapped-accessible. One of my companions had limited mobility (but is fortunately not completely wheel-chair bound). We found that there were many locations where deep gravel, flagstones, etc., meant that she had to get out of the wheelchair and walk for a bit. The house tour is not at all wheelchair-accessible, but they were very helpful in providing folding chairs as needed.

Ladew is a beautiful, historic garden in Monkton, Maryland in the heart of horse and fox hunting country. The rural local is beautiful drive through Baltimore and Harford Counties in Maryland. The gardens are most famous for the topiaries but also has a number of beautiful outdoor garden rooms including the Victorian garden, the pink garden, the white garden, the yellow garden and many more. The grounds are family friendly and include hiking trails and a tour of the manor house.

This is a great place to visit and make sure you bring your camera. The Topiary Gardens are amazing. They also have concerts on Sundays in the summer.

Loved it here.. A very nice stroll, seeing beautiful creations as well as must perfectly beautiful nature. Perfect for a "first date", an engagement photo shoot, or just to leasurel be amazed.

My husband and I stopped in on Saturday morning and were pleased to find a quiet place off the beaten path where we could relax and talk. The gardens are simply beautiful. We enjoyed seeing the wildlife play in water lilliys and flowers and seeing native plants that have been loved and cultivated for many years.We plan to return and have lunch at the sweet cafe that is on the premises.

Ladew is beautiful. We went on a sunny gorgeous day...not too hot. We walked the gardens and a trail. My young children loved running through the big open areas and I took some great pictures. There are quite a few water features and a pond with koi. We had lunch, which was great! The food was reasonably priced and the service was fast. You eat in a barn, which my son thought was neat. Very well maintained.

Ladew is beautiful. We went on a sunny gorgeous day...not too hot. We walked the gardens and a trail. My young children loved running through the big open areas and I took some great pictures. There are quite a few water features and a pond with koi. We had lunch, which was great! The food was reasonably priced and the service was fast. You eat in a barn, which my son thought was neat. Very well maintained.

I have visited Ladew every summer for six years with my sons, ages 8 and 12. It is a favorite place to spend a summer afternoon, and my boys ask to go back every year. I hate to give Ladew a bad review because it is a beautiful place, but the staff this year made it extremely unpleasant. We arrived with another family and were waiting outside the gift shop, located near the entrance to the gardens, for another friend. A staff member shouted at us that we could not stand there without paying. When we explained we were waiting on another friend, she curtly stated that we would have to pay the entrance fee or wait in the parking lot. I understand they are trying to make sure everyone pays the fee, but she could have handled this in a polite manner. She shouted from 20 feet away with her hands on her hips and was very rude. While in line, a mom of three (kids 6-12 range) was buying tickets and asked for the house tour. The staff person discouraged her over and over from the tour, and told her that children are often ill-behaved and ruin the tour. When she politely said she knew her children would be fine and have been on tours of other historic homes, the staffer kept insisting they would ruin it for the other guests and gave her a laundry list of reasons why she should not go on the tour with kids. She finally gave up, and didn't do the house tour. First, the staffer was extremely rude and obviously no fan of children. Second, if the house tour is off-limits for children, say so on the web site. Don't embarrass someone at the ticket counter and make her children feel unwelcome. We spoke to this woman later, and she said her daughters were very excited to see the house and this was a huge let down. While touring the gardens, the boys love to kneel next to the ponds and look for frogs. The adults in our group were standing right there to supervise. A staffer reprimanded them for getting too close to the wildlife. We were also reprimanded for getting too close to the butterflies. I found this ironic since Ladew had volunteers capturing the butterflies. Along our walk of the gardens, we caught this same staffer watching us through the bushes. Sure, there were moments when the kids had to be reminded to talk softly or not run, but considering we had a group of 6 children, they were overall very well behaved and definitely not in need of being stalked by staff. At the end of our trip, we used the picnic tables near the parking lot for a snack. A staffer came down to the lot on a golf cart and shouted at us, "Why are you still here!" She then shouted they closed at 4:00 and it was 4:20 and she had to lock the gate. We apologized over and over and said we thought they closed at 5:00. She then rudely sated, "You need to leave immediately!" and "You know we close at 4:00!" Again, shouting at us from more than 20 feet away. It was our mistake, no doubt, but this could have been handled in a totally different and civil manner. I truly believe we were treated poorly because we had children with us. On the car ride home, instead of talking like usual about our favorite part of the trip, my sons asked me why adults are often rude but expect children to always be polite. My oldest son told me he never wants to go back to Ladew. The rude, unpleasant staff has tainted one of our favorite places.

Random find and what wonderful place to take in the wonderful gardens on a beautiful day. We do not live locally but purchased a membership so we would be sure to come back in spring or fall

We had an informative and fun tour of the mansion. Not only did we see the house and furnishings but heard the history and stories as well. It was interesting and humorous at the same time. Then we strolled through the different gardens, each planted to reflect a different theme or visual feeling. It was wonderful ! I will go back again.