MONKTON, Md — Ladew Topiary Gardens is officially reopening for the 2026 season on April 2 after a long and cold winter.
WATCH: Ladew Topiary Gardens officially reopens for the spring 2026 season.
"Every year it’s exciting, but after the winter we just had, everybody is ecstatic about getting out here," Emily Emerick, executive director at Ladew Gardens, said.
The estate includes 22 acres of topiary gardens with 15 garden rooms, each with its own theme. The gardens first allowed public access in 1971 and have found creative ways to keep bringing people back for a visit over the past 55 years.
"Because we’re a historic garden, it might be easy to think we’re keeping things the way they have always been, but you can’t do that," Emerick said.
The location offers more than just beautiful flowers and artistic shrubbery to make it unique.
"And it's really the core of the history and the design of Ladew, along with our manor house, which is a spectacular building spanning 300 years, 1747 to now, owned by three different families but really designed and made beautiful and expanded by Harvey Ladew," Emerick said.
"It's a small, accessible gem of a garden; it's not one of the vast ones you're going to see, and there is nothing wrong with those, but there is something sort of lovely, warm, and personal about a garden of this size," Emerick said.
The garden’s impact on the community goes beyond just its beauty.
"And at times of stress, people benefit from their experience with nature," Emerick said.
As of right now, there are only a few flowers in bloom, but the garden will transform as summer approaches.
"Right now because of the late winter we're just starting with the bulbs, so if you're downtown and you have already seen the bulbs, you can come out here and see our bulbs, and just remember if you visit in May, the gardens you see in July are completely different," Emerick said.
Ladew Gardens is also preparing for its Garden Festival, which takes place the first week of May.
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