Ladew Topiary Gardens

In a way, every garden is a theme garden -- even if the theme is: "Plants that survive under my care." But a true theme garden has a specialized focus. "A theme garden reflects a specific interest," says Bridget MacGinn, vice president of Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore. Cylburn boasts several theme gardens, including a heritage rose garden whose varieties predate the first hybrid tea rose in 1867. The focus of a theme garden can range from the sublime to the practical, like a Medieval physick garden filled with medicinal herbs.

Almost as long as Americans have been creating gardens, they have sought to enhance them with benches, statues, fountains and a variety of other decorative items. But until recently, American styles have been sorely neglected in favor of the English and Continental models. If you ever longed for more information or inspiration on historic garden furnishings in this country, Barbara Israel is the person to ask. Her new book, "Antique Garden Ornament: Two Centuries of American Taste" (Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1999, $49.50)

Harvey Ladew was a horseman, artist, traveler, raconteur, wit, bon vivant, generous host and superb gardener who never held a job, never married and rarely completed a project. He lived on inherited wealth and spent his days wining, dining, partying, playing polo and chasing foxes. Yet when he died in 1976, he left the world a 22-acre masterpiece of a garden, now known as Ladew Topiary Gardens, that has been admired and written about by visitors from all over the world."A lot of his life was 'Been there, done that, what's next to try?

Reister's Towne FestivalEnjoy a weekend of down-home family fun at this year's Reister's Towne Festival. See live entertainment from the Daryl Davis Band, Bob Plunkert, Razin Kane, the Mood Swings, the Kindersingers and many others. Catch rising country music star Rhett Akins ("That Ain't My Truck" and "I Brake for Brunettes") as he performs 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday.Also browse arts and crafts and food vendors from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Watch a parade of floats, marching bands, antique cars and fire engines move from Franklin High School, 12000 Reisterstown Road, to Franklin Middle School, 10 Cockeys Mill Road, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Social CalendarAug. 6: Grant-A-Wish Casino Night at Edgar's Billiard Club, 1 E. Pratt St., Suite 14. Fund-raiser for the Grant-A-Wish Foundation. Includes a pool shootout pitting WJZ-TV's Marty Bass against Lisa Willis, formerly of WBFF-TV. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets $50. Buffet and two drinks included. 410-752-8080.Aug. 9: Summer concert at Ladew Topiary Gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton. Hard Travelers play. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Picnics welcome, but not pets, alcohol or athletic equipment.

There's nothing wrong with the Ladew Cafe's dinner menu that serving it in November wouldn't fix.Or here's an simpler solution: Offer the lunch menu at night.Imagine this scenario. It's 90 degrees in Baltimore, so you drive out to Monkton to have supper in the lush greenness of Ladew Topiary Gardens. You've heard that the respected Brass Elephant Caterers has taken over Ladew's cafe, so how can it miss?In spite of the heat, it's pleasant on the cafe's brick patio, what with the large, fragrant gardenia plant at its center, the perennials around the stone wall, the deep woods as backdrop.

Mission: To maintain, promote and nurture Ladew Topiary Gardens -- including it's 18th-century manor house and 15 formal gardens designed by the late Harvey S. Ladew, a gentleman, horseman, fox hunter, farmer, world traveler, linguist, writer, raconteur, artist, music lover, collector and horticulturist. Regarded as a 20th-century landscape architectural monument, the 22 acres of gardens have been called "the finest topiary garden in America" by the Garden Club of America. The manor house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Reflections in the grassVictorian gardeners used them to create an illusion of depth and light in the garden - and now they're popular again. They're gazing balls, whose mirrored surfaces provide a panoramic view as you move around the stand. This one, from Lillian Vernon, is made of blown glass with a cast resin base (24-inch base with ball, $99.98). Old versions can sometimes be found in antique or second-hand shops, with balls in cobalt or fuchsia.Sharp ideas about your mowerIt's about time for that annual rite of summer: cranking up the old lawn mower.

As 31-year-old Jay Marshall took his fiancee, Kim Zaicko, to her first My Lady's Manor steeplechase races yesterday, he remembered not only his three decades of watching the horses but also his high school years working at the Ladew Topiary Gardens."

Defender's DayGo back in time and meet one of American history's most notable couples, as Mr. and Mrs. Francis Scott Key come to life at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Saturday. Living-history actors Alan Gephardt and Sonia Socha portray the couple. Hear Mr. Key's recollections of the bombs bursting in air as he recounts tales of the bombardment of Baltimore in 1814. And listen in as Mrs. Key describes her hectic life -- married to the famous Georgetown lawyer and raising 11 children.