Intreegue Garden of the Month:
Ladew Gardens – A Springtime Delight!
Our May Garden of the Month is Ladew Gardens, known for its topiary, a real treasure anytime of the year, but I am always inclined to visit this garden around this time of year. Why might you ask?
First, they have their spectacular Garden Festival (coming up this weekend!), a perfect weekend event even if you aren’t a garden obsessive like myself! Visit the rare plant tent for some neat plant finds!
Second, the Iris’ along the stream this time of year provides a striking show against the backdrop of the dense green of the hedged topiary. I fall in love with iris’ every time they bloom. Years ago, I was given an iris from Ladew Gardens by the Executive Director, and it has proliferated itself around my property in its rhizomatic way. Soft white and small, this iris en masse looks amazing! Not to mention, the leaf type being called ‘strap’, provides a great heavy texture when the blooms fade into the seasons.
I love experiencing the walk through 22 acres of gardens! There are formal ‘rooms’ that elude different scales, some more intimate, some more alluring; take in the topiary as a wonderful mastery of skills—known as one of the “10 incredible topiary gardens around the world”! For the finale, an expansive view from a precipice down to a stream bookended by swaths of iris’. The culmination was a calm, reflecting pool filled with koi and the focal point of a sculptural Japanese maple to end the journey! Don’t miss grabbing a sandwich after at the stables and sitting in the café courtyard, surrounded by blooms and a trough fountain.
Garden Festival THIS WEEKEND!
As mentioned above, this weekend is the highly awaited (at least in my calendar!) Garden Festival! Happening this Saturday, May 4th, a timed ticketed event. Click here to purchase tickets.
As Mother’s Day approaches, I also wanted to mention that the Ladew Garden Festival is the perfect destination to find a thoughtful and unique gift for the special mothers in your life. Whether you are searching for a botanical-inspired gift or a personalized keepsake, you are sure to find something special at Ladew Gardens! After attending so many years, I’ve gotten to know some of the vendors, here are a few of my favs:
Pennoyer Newman – located in New York, I’ve been a fan ever since meeting Virginia Newman at a trade show and chatting all things formal pots with her. We’ve since used them in our projects.
Hort & Pott – two of my favorite things, Horticulture and Pottery!
Cymron Cottage – have a perennial in mind that’s hard to find, they will most likely have it!
Intreegue Design is a licensed landscape architecture firm operating in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Napa Valley, California. We offer the added value of having expert horticulturists, forest conservation planners, Chesapeake Bay Landscape Design professionals and ISA-certified arborists in house.
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