Photo courtesy of Historic London Town
In the LIVE section of The Baltimore Sun today, I write about a pair of new tours at Anne Arundel County's Historic London Town, but visitors should also take time to see the gardens.
The Woodland Garden was created in the late 1960s and it has towering natives trees, a collection of magnolias, camellias, dogwoods, rhododendrons and viburnums, and hundreds of spring bulbs. There are paths that offer glimpses of the South River, and several gardens within the garden, which feature azaleas, hosta and winter interest plants - something for every season.
The Ornamental Gardens frame the River Deck and are often the setting for weddings and other large gatherings. Plants are in bloom from March to October and there is a wide view of the South River.
The Environmental Gardens surround the Visitors Center and include native plants, bio-retention gardens and a green roof, plus a stormwater management system of rain gardens, step pools and water courses that direct water to a pond, preventing polluted waters from entering the Chespeake Bay.
And finally there are the Historical Gardens, including a kitchen garden, a medicinal garden and vegetable garden planted with foods and herbs the slaves would have cultivated.