A Maryland take on the “cottage garden” at Ladew Topiary Gardens
TIME FOR SUNDAY GARDENER. AND WE’RE ON A ROAD TRIP TODAY. WE’RE HERE AT THE LADUE TOPIARY GARDENS. I’M TALKING HERE WITH EMILY EMERICK, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND CARRIE ANGEL. HELLO. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US. THIS BEAUTIFUL LOCATION, I LOVE THIS. WE ARE IN THE COTTAGE GARDEN HERE, AND THIS IS NEWLY DESIGNED, NEWLY PLANTED. SO THIS IS SOMETHING PEOPLE MIGHT SEE EVEN IF THEY’VE BEEN TO LADUE BEFORE. EXACTLY. SO THIS GARDEN WAS JUST PLANTED. A GREAT PLANT SELECTION, A LOT OF NATIVES, A LOT OF POLLINATOR PLANTS. IT WAS PLANTED AND DESIGNED BY DAVID CULP, WHO IS A FABULOUS EAST COAST. DAVID THAT CARRIE KNOWS AND LOVES VERY WELL. BRANDYWINE COTTAGE. YEP, HE’S MY BRANDYWINE COTTAGE AND PARTNERSHIP WITH CAVANAUGHS, WHICH IS THE WHOLESALER THAT PROVIDED THE PLANTS FOR THIS GARDEN. WE’VE CREATED SORT OF A MODERN TAKE ON THE COTTAGE GARDEN. IT’S ALSO ACCESSIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME. WE’VE GOT THESE LOVELY PATHWAYS SO PEOPLE CAN GET IN WITH WHEELCHAIRS AND STROLLERS RATHER THAN THE YELLOW. EXACTLY, EXACTLY, EXACTLY, I LOVE IT. AND YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THE WAY THIS WAS PLANTED ACTUALLY MAKES THIS GARDEN EASIER TO TAKE CARE OF AND MORE RESISTANT. AND TELL ME ABOUT THAT. PART OF IT IS A SELECTION OF NATIVE PLANTS WHICH ARE JUST HARDIER AND TAKING EVERYTHING THAT MARYLAND DELIVERS, WHICH IS EXCESSIVE HEAT, EXCESSIVE COLD, LOTS OF RAIN, AND THEN DROUGHT, WHICH WE’RE AT ALL. AND WE ACTUALLY STILL ARE IN A DROUGHT. I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY RECENTLY, I THINK WE’RE FINALLY CATCHING UP. BUT YOU’RE RIGHT. I MEAN, WE GO SO QUICKLY BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WEATHER. AND SO, CARRIE, WHAT MIGHT PEOPLE BE INSPIRED BY WHEN THEY’RE VISITING THIS TO MAYBE BRING BACK TO THEIR OWN GARDEN? I THINK THEY LOOK SOME IDEAS. I MEAN, THERE’S THERE ARE THINGS BLOOMING IN HERE AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE’S SOMETHING TO BLOOM ALL THE TIME, BUT THERE’S ALSO SOME GREAT TEXTURES WITH THE SALVIA HERE IN THE FRONT. A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT GRASSES. THE YARROW IS SOMETHING THAT BLOOMS A GOOD BIT OF THE SUMMER AND JUST A LOT OF THINGS. AND THEN YOU SAID THAT WE HAD LIKE FIVE THINGS THAT ARE WAITING TO BE. YES. AS TOPIARY. WHAT IS THE IS THE DESIGN A SECRET? SORT OF. OKAY. IT’S IN DAVID CULP’S MIND AND I DON’T KNOW IT YET. YEAH. IS HE TAKING OPINIONS? AND THERE YOU GO. I WANT A CUMULUS CLOUD, A BIG THUNDERSTORM CLOUD. I DON’T KNOW. WELL, THAT WOULD WORK. THEY ARE GETTING THEIR ROOTS ESTABLISHED, AND ONCE THEY GET THEIR ROOTS ESTABLISHED, OUR KEY TOPIARY ARTIST ON STAFF WILL START TO SHAPE THEM. AND THEY ARE THE TRUE HOMAGE TO HARVEY LADEW. BECAUSE TOPIARY WAS HIS ART. VERY COOL. OKAY, SO THERE’S PLENTY TO SEE AS THIS CONTINUES TO EVOLVE OVER TIME. THANKS FOR BRINGING US HERE TO THE COTTAGE. THANKS FOR COMING. THANKS FOR HAVING HAT. I’M HERE A LOT. IT IS A GREAT HAT. AND IF YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE YOUR GARDENING QUESTIONS ANSWERED, YOU CAN NOW EMAIL OUR SUNDAY GARDENER TEAM. JUST EMA
A Maryland take on the “cottage garden” at Ladew Topiary Gardens
Updated: 1:11 PM EDT Jul 13, 2025
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Designed in the style of English “cottage gardens,” Ladew Topiary Gardens has a cottage arrangement of native species and pollinator plants to support Maryland’s ecosystem.
Designed in the style of English “cottage gardens,” Ladew Topiary Gardens has a cottage arrangement of native species and pollinator plants to support Maryland’s ecosystem.