Thankfully, it was dry after heavy thunderstorms the night before for my talk at the famous Ladew Topiary Gardens on Thursday morning, September 27, 2018. Shown above is the iconic fox hunt, all created out of topiary. My good friend, Muffin Dell, and her wonderful husband, Sam, invited Charlie and me to stay with her in her gracious home and hosted a delightful dinner party the night before. Here we are gathered in Muffin and Sam’s garden, just before the heavens burst on Wednesday night.The next morning I was thrilled to return to Ladew with Muffin to give my talk. We are here with another topiary at the entrance to the Barn Studio where I delivered my book talk.There was a large and enthusiastic audience of many good friends and new ones to meet. Afterwards, I was happy to sign books and here is my friend, Dudley buying my book.
Then we had the great pleasure of a garden tour with one of the talented gardeners, Adrienne as our leader. There is a lot more to Ladew than Topiary, wonderful garden rooms open one onto a
nother, but the final topiary creations are truly unique. There are huge chess pieces, and my favorite, a collection ending with the hat of Winston Churchill on the left side, seen at the far end of the image, and his V for Victory sign with his hand on the right sight opposite. Swans swim across waves created out of hedges beyond. We watched the skill of the gardeners on high ladders, wielding high powered large clippers to maintain this magnificent creation. 
