The most outstanding topiary garden in America!

Sometimes I become paralyzed by all of my options when it comes to finding something to do on a free day. This was the case on Memorial Day. The night before we just couldn't decide what to do. There was the usual outdoor pancake breakfast option. But that seemed like a lot of work. Driving somewhere far seemed tiring, especially for Ben who commutes to Baltimore daily. Beaches and pools seemed potentially crowded. And there's always the risk of holiday traffic. We ended up having a pancake breakfast at home and then continued to debate our options. We decided we would regret not attempting some sort of adventure so we loaded up the car and made our way to the Ladew Topiary Gardens north of Baltimore (Ben sacrificed and made yet another drive to Baltimore).

Named "the most outstanding topiary garden in America" and with good reason. The gardens were incredible and stunning and we had an amazing afternoon there. (Yes, that's right. Incredible, stunning, AND amazing.) It was a hot day and I was worried that the heat would dampen our moods. But the kids were so distracted with exploring all of the nooks and crannies that their complaints were limited. It was so fun to watch them run and explore and discover new things.

We had the place nearly to ourselves and each turn offered something new and fun. I can't wait to go back and see what will be blooming next!

Amelia posed herself for this photo:

Amelia immediately imagined the gardens to be part of some large palace and ran with that theme the rest of the time.

Harvey Ladew designed and created the gardens in 1929. He was one of the first Americans to create garden rooms (rooms devoted to a single color, plant, or theme). Each garden room was unique and many offered the perfect place for hide and seek.

It was hard to keep up with Oliver:

So many fun entrances and "secret rooms."

It was so fun to emerge from all of the smaller gardens and come out into this massive green space (called "the great bowl"). The fountain was originally Mr. Ladew's swimming pool! Oliver was determined to get into the water.

Swan topiaries lined "the great bowl."

The kids had fun watching the fish. Again, Oliver was determined to get into the water.

There was a beautiful nature walk that took us on a 1.5 mile trail through the woods and fields. The kids had been given a treasure hunt game and they loved searching for all of the items on the list. It distracted them enough to get them to walk the whole way. Being in the shade helped.

The kids spent quite a while dancing in this gazebo. We even found a nest inside with robin eggs.

The sculpture garden had fun topiaries like Churchill's top hat, a heart with an arrow, a butterfly, and sea horses.

Oliver sees an escape to "the great bowl" and makes his move:

I loved how tiny he looked in the massive space:

He stopped briefly to see if he was being chased:

And he was.

His attempts at water were thwarted once again.

The Hunt Scene. Mr. Ladew was also a fox hunting enthusiast.

Oliver was completely intrigued by these dogs and attempted to interact with them.

We will always associate camels with Amelia.