MONKTON, Md. — Ladew Gardens, one of our local treasures and one of the top five gardens in North America, is putting on the finishing touches for its annual holiday open house, ‘A Ladew Christmas.’
The 18th-century Manor House is all decked out for the holidays, and some of the gardens will be lit for a winter stroll. There will also be a Christmas marketplace.
Thousands are expected to attend the event, which begins Wednesday.
Now, it is sold out. However, there is a way you can take part right from your living room.
“We are going to post images of all the decorations on our website,” says Emily Emerick, executive director. “So people can look at the website and get ideas about how they might decorate for the holidays. We’ll also put up links for all our vendors. Several of them are local places that people can still go visit as they’re doing their holiday shopping.”
Emerick says the best way not to miss Ladew Gardens’ special events is to become a member. That way, you’ll get early access to tickets and support care of the historic property.
“We offer tickets to sell to members usually a week before we offer them to the general public,” Emerick says. “It seems to be the best way to reward their kindness and their year-round support of Ladew.”
Their next event is ‘Maple Magic’ in February. They’ll be tapping some of the maple trees on the property and showing people how to make maple syrup.
Ladew’s topiary gardens in Harford County open for the 2025 season on April 1.