Mums Mums are the flavor of fall. From garden beds, to planters, to porch décor, mums can be found everywhere at this time. As simple as they might seem, all Asteraceae flowers are composite/compound flowers. They have a rather complex arrangement of hundreds of florets packed in one single flower. Source: https://web.stanford.edu/.../dahlia.../compositae_info.htm Zinnias Zinnias, mums, sunflowers, coneflowers are all examples of composite flowers. A beautiful and intricate arrangement of two types of florets called the outer ray florets and inner tube like disk florets. More mum trivia? Did you know that the fall favorite mum has had its name changes several times? Here are some neat links to learn more about the name change story of fall favorite mums and how to grow them: https://www.uaex.edu/.../resou.../plant-week/garden-mum.aspx https://lee.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/09/mums-the-word-8/ My tip to grow mums: plant hardy mums in an open, slightly raised garden bed, where the roots of the mums will stay dry. Yes, they don't like wet feet. Hardy mums when planted right, will adorn your fall garden bed for many seasons.

Researched and written by Rachel Rabinowitz, Collections Manager and Visitor Services Coordinator, Claire Goode, Living History Specialist, and Teresa Marcus, Community Engagement Coordinator Let's spill the tea on tea caddies in this object highlight video! Watch the whole series. In the 18th century tea was a commodity for the wealthy upper classes of society. Tea caddies are designed to store this valuable under lock and key and kept the tea in a dark and cool environment. While they can be made of many materials, including ivory and tortoise shell, this tea caddy is made of mahogany wood and contains three inner compartments. More expensive ones can come with elaborate decorations and carvings and are still prized by collectors today. English Chippendale mahogany wood tea caddy, mid-18th century (1987.02.01). Gift of the London Town Publik House Assembly. For More Information About Tea Caddies: Tea and the Tea Caddy: A Brief Study of the Early History of Tea and Its Containers 18th Century Tea Caddy video Antique Boxes and Tea Caddies - Antiques with Gary Stover video About Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate: Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate in Early Colonial America About the Annapolis Tea Party: The Burning of the Peggy Stewart The Boston, Chester Town and Annapolis Tea Parties Grow the ReLeaf Fund Recently, London Town launched the ReLeaf Fund. This newly created fund was inspired by the cycle of renewal in our gardens. Donations to it will ensure that London Town will grow again. Funds will be matched up to $35,000! Learn more and donate today! London Town: Today and Tomorrow Survey You may have noticed an increase in our online postings lately. Will you take a short survey about what posts and virtual programs you'd like? You can also share your thoughts about re-opening London Town and what sort of programs you'd like to see after the crisis is over. Take the survey here

London Town's gardens are true four seasons gardens, filled with unique artistic plants. Transient veils of unique collections, signaling seasonal change, are apparent with each new blossom. From fragile ornamental annuals and perennials to seemingly everlasting evergreens, each collection wears a new veil. Carrying from one season to the other, as one collection goes dormant the next one is getting ready to wear a new veil. Who is wearing the next transient veil in the garden? Fragile pink Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' flowers, yellow Solidago & Lime light hydrangea together paint quite the artistic landscape towards the end of late summer to early fall bloom season. Camellia 'Winter's Star' blooms early October signaling the start of the gorgeous and robust Camellia season at London Town. Euonymus americanus (Strawberry bush) bright orange red fruits signal the transition of season from hot summer into cooler nights. Osmanthus sp, the fragrant veil of early fall. Osmanthus blooms at London Town, planted at the beginning of the winter garden, beautifully and fragrantly give a glimpse into the transient woodland gardens winter season. First fall blooming Camellias of the woodland gardens, its just the beginning!!

It is an excellent time to be on the move in the gardens. Fall and early winter are excellent to be on the move for the bare root trees, shrubs, plugs and also bulbs. But the relocation area has to be proactively thought through and planned beforehand. You don't move into a new home without considering all your options, right? Well, that applies to plants as well. Wrong location choice during transplanting is calling for a rapid decline in a plant. As ground temperatures start dropping in late September to early October, trees, shrubs and bulbs can easily be lifted and transplanted. But why is fall good to be on the move? In fall, the soil temperatures are warm which is key for root growth and in fact it encourages new roots growth which is great for reestablishment. Also, the change in night and day temperatures signal a tree to slow down on top growth, the foliar growth. "The most common mistakes in transplanting trees are planting too deep, and over or under watering. Careful attention to properly preparing the planting hole greatly increases the odds of successfully transplanting trees." How to transplant? Here is a neat link: https://extension.tennessee.edu/publi.../Documents/sp572.pdf Seems easy, but transplanting has to be done with ample planning and preparation. Otherwise, a transplant shock is sure to happen. "Under stressful conditions, plants are unable to recover, continue to decline, and eventually die. Although plant diseases may be responsible, transplant stresses are most often the culprit of death or decline of newly planted trees and shrubs" http://plantpathology.ca.uky.edu/files/ppfs-or-w-19.pdf If you are establishing a new garden area, I recommend starting with the smallest size of trees, going up not more than 7 gallon pot size. Root damage is minimal when root mass is low and chance of disturbance to the fine roots in reduced. We will be sharing more on planting bulbs next week. Spring garden planning happens in fall and what better than getting the ephemerals in the ground first!

William Brown House, photo by Jeff Jackson Photography Preservation work began on the c.1760 William Brown House in August 2018. Now, three years later, we look back on the half-million-dollar, multi-phase effort to ensure the long-term sustainability of this National Historic Landmark. The initial effort focused on repairing moisture damage to the building. Having faced the South River and Mid-Atlantic weather for over 260 years, the building required repairing or replacing rotted wood in all 38 exterior windows, as well as repointing most of the brickwork. During that first phase, we also undertook work in the attic to fix rotted joists and deteriorating brick supports. Worcester-Eisenbrandt, a Baltimore based firm specializing in historic house restoration, conducted the work. The firm had previously worked on a wide variety of projects, including those at the Washington National Cathedral, Mount Vernon, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. During the first phase, we discovered a lot of space behind most of the exterior windows’ trim. Much of that space had either been empty or just packed with bits and pieces of wood and brick. This lack of structure and support around the windows revealed why many bricks above each window were not staying in place. We also found debris like insect eggs and other trash! Something else that is interesting is that there appears to be ship-style caulking (oakum) at the top of the space, such as the photo below with the ladybugs, who had been nesting there for the winter. Fortunately, Worcester-Eisenbrandt was able to conduct the specialized repair needed to fix the issue. Here are some photos showing the damage to the windows. Worcester-Eisenbrandt worked diligently on repairing these issues. Here is some of their work in process and afterwards: Also shown is a large area of mortar that needed to be repaired on the brickwork. There were several other areas where mortar deterioration equaled or even surpassed this one: What the brickwork looked like before being fixed! Inside the attic, you can see where the wooden joist had rotted away, and the brickwork became so damaged it was no longer supporting the roof joists. Though the issue had not yet reached a critical point, catching it now made it an easier fix than 4 – 5 years from now. To fix the attic issue, the Worcester Eisenbrandt crew first built a new wooden support frame that will stay in place. The frame is meant to provide support in case other joist/wood sections start to deteriorate in that area. It also helped hold up that part of the roof while the workers fixed the brick and wood. Overall, it took about a week to carefully remove the bricks, clean them, fix the wooden joists, and replace the bricks and mortar. Attic issues that Worcester-Eisenbrandt fixed! Throughout this effort, we also worked on interior projects, such as repairing the tavern room door, fixing the southside porch, and other needed improvements. In the spring of 2019, an architectural feature was uncovered for the first time in a century (if not 200 years!): an arched pass-through between the tavern and bar. We believe that this feature was associated with the bar and tavern during William Brown's tenure (c1760-1790). Our best guess as to when the feature was bricked up is sometime during the late 1700s or early 1800s. Opened up to reveal the archway where a pass-through may have connected the lost bar to the tavern room. The bar is being constructed this summer and will be ready this fall! Imagine that if the archway was open, then you'd be able to see through the opening into the other side of the wall. If you were standing in the tavern room, then you would probably see into the bar area on the other side of the wall. The bar side is much rougher than the tavern room side. There are wires and poorly patched brick visible. We know that during the Almshouse period (c1823-1965), that this space was a small closet or pantry. That may be why this side of the wall is in worse condition than the tavern room side. There were several other wires and cables running through the wall at the top of the wall. While additional work and the pandemic delayed reconstructing the bar, that is finally happening this summer. The bar will be constructed by Andy Shaw, a noted shipwright and restoration carpenter. Shaw has worked on restoring and maintaining the Maryland Dove and her fleet of small wooden boats at Historic St. Mary’s City. Stay tuned for more information! Unsurprisingly, 2020 delayed the next phase of work on the William Brown House, but it didn’t stop it. We worked with Worcester Eisenbrandt to repair and reconstruct the deteriorated riverside porch. That porch receives the worst weather and thus deteriorates more quickly than the other porches. Ouch! Here is what the stairs look like now: Fantastic new set of stairs and fixed porch on the riverside! The second phase of work focused on improving the building’s electrical and HVAC systems. The core components of both systems go back to the 1960s or 1970s. Both needed to upgraded to continue operating and to become more energy efficient. We worked with Lewis Contractors and Kelly HVAC to conduct the upgrades, which finished in the spring of 2021. After this work, the building was actually enjoyable to be inside of during the hot, humid summer, and the A/C worked throughout the entire house again. Fixed windows, repointed bricks, new porch, and updated HVAC and electrical - the William Brown House is looking good and feeling fantastic! What happens next? There will always be additional improvement needs in a 260+ year old building, but we are grateful to have completed such important preservation work. As mentioned earlier, we’re working on constructing the tavern’s lost bar and planning for future events with it. We’re enhancing the interpretation of the space to focus on the stories of the many people who lived, worked, and traveled through the William Brown House and the Almshouse over the years. New signage is being installed outside of the building, and depending on grants, additional signage will be added inside as well. Look for more interpretation focused on the building during its long run as Anne Arundel County’s almshouse. It feels appropriate to have completed this work in 2021, the 50th anniversary of Historic London Town and Gardens being open to the public. We hope that you will come out to see the restored William Brown House. Plan your visit at www.historiclondontown.org/visit. We are grateful for the support of the Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks, Senator Pam Beidle, former Senator John Astle, Anne Arundel County Council, the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, Preservation Maryland, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, former County Executive Steve Schuh, and our many donors who contributed funds to this project. Want to learn more about the William Brown House restoration effort? Read all of our posts connected to the project at https://www.historiclondontown.org/blog/categories/william-brown-house. You can also take a virtual tour at www.historiclondontown.org/wbhtour.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of plant and animal species living on Earth. According to The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, over 38,000 species are facing extinction. Sadly, extinction of species is now happening 500 times faster. Now is the time for one and all to understand habitat loss, fragile ecosystems, diversity of plants for both exotic and native and, the impacts of extinction. London Town's gardens originally started with the vision of plant trials and highlighting the biodiversity of plants. It has evolved into one of a kind gardens offering plant collections diversity in a woodland garden that is also filled with beautiful vistas. Most of all, each year we're increasing the access to its stunning living collections via mediums like plant sales, like the one happening next weekend on Saturday, September 25 from 9am - 2pm. (Learn more here) Want a quick peak at the unique hand picked selection of plants at the sale? Here is a hint at what will be at the sale: Stewartias, Illiciums, Kalamias, Hakonechloa, Epimedims, Tea Camellias, Dawn Redwoods, Azaleas, Maples and much more! In addition, there will be flats and small quart sizes of native and non-native ground covers, succulents, seasonal mums, fall display planters and hundreds of bulbs to choose from. Check out our website for a full plant list coming soon!

London Town's Fall Plant Sale is coming soon! The member and volunteer preview is Friday September 24th, 12 - 4pm, while Saturday, September 25th, 9am - 2pm is open to the public. Learn more at https://www.historiclondontown.org/plantsale Two of the most special additions to the Plant Sale since 2020 are: 1) seeds collected directly from the grounds and 2) dry flower heads and cones for fall/winter display. Seed collection, sorting and packing is a timely and meticulous job, especially when it comes to select plant species such as Primula japonica and Rhododendron schlepnebacchi that have seeds as fine as dust. Candelabra Primrose (Primula japonica) Rhododendron schlippenbachii At London Town, we check the seed collection time for each species and in a timely manner, collect seeds to add to our mini seed bank, one step at a time, some for our gardens and some to share! As summer is winding up, you can collect your own vegetable and annual flower seeds too. Here is some good information from the Extension Service at Oregon State University. What else is in our plant sale? Check back for more information next week for updates on the plants' availability list!

London Town Gardens is a host to a diverse variety of plants. The best of best are surely the delicate naturalizing ephemerals. As much as London Town Gardens beauty lies in its exquisite collections, it extends beyond into the rolling hillsides, landscape with peaking river views, ravines and mature woods filled with dappled shade. What grows best in this calm dappled shade is a collection that is ephemeral, but one that brings everlasting joy. When the ephemerals are naturalized in a landscape, the joy unfolds every year. Naturalized ephemerals/bulbs are best suited for a woodland garden. But they aren't limited to a large space, or only dappled shade. As long as naturalized plants are grown in an undisturbed area (no mow, least foot traffic/disturbance), you've got a bulb pantry for the long haul. Naturalized plants are "thoroughly established, yet not native, and have not caused extensive damage or spread". Here is some good info.: An Introduction to Native Plants for SC Landscapes | Home & Garden Information Center . Some of the best naturalizing daffodil bulbs found at London Town include the 'Ice Follies' and 'Poeticus recurvus'. Ice follies are bright white/yellow, tall, hardy and last way into late spring, overall an outstanding daffodil for any garden. Poeticus recurvus on the other hand has a delicate form, it is one of the sweetest daffodil out of all 12 divisions. Yes! Daffodils have not one, but 12 divisions. Classification System | The Daffodil Society Amongst Tulips, the naturalizing 'Tulipa turkestanica' is one of the prettiest Tulips found growing at London Town. Most commonly found Tulips are large, bold and bright which is wonderful in a space where you can provide added critter deterrents, if needed. But for undisturbed garden beds, naturalizing daffodils are the best. Check out London Towns pre-order plant sale (ending September 3, 2021) to get some of these beautiful hand selected and, tried and tested at London Town ephemerals: https://historiclondontown.app.neoncrm.com/.../giftstore.jsp. Next week, also check out more info. on the other exquisite ephemerals and ground covers suited to the Mid-Atlantic, coming soon in our Sept. plant sale!

Plants propagated by seed by the lath house. In recent years, the horticulture department at Historic London Town and Gardens has worked to enhance our plant propagation efforts. One year ago, London Town was hit by a tornado that ripped through our gardens. We only closely missed one again earlier this month. Fortunately, we did not lose any core collections, but it was a fierce reminder of how easily that could occur. Additionally, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of being open to the public, we recognize that many of our plants are themselves around 50 years old and coming to the end of their natural lives. London Town’s gardens contain diverse collections, including exotic specimens and test species. Some are endangered in the wild. There are Camellias, Hollies, Azaleas, and others that were first tested here. Many are unique – at least without anything comparable nearby. To protect the gardens’ collections, we have begun working to build a reservoir of seeds, saplings, and nursery stock. All of us are grateful to the generous donors and volunteers who have helped us improve our plant propagation program. Propagation ensures that there are always ways to replenish our most important species. Creating a seed bank and properly storing saplings and nursery stock is the best way to maintain our special collections. Since our request for funding last year, we’ve made considerable strides towards improving our plant propagation efforts. Director of Horticulture Meenal Harankhedkar and her staff and volunteers have been excited to share what support likes yours has made possible. Behind the scenes improvements: improved grading, cleaned up areas, new storage spaces, and more! Some highlights include adding a new horticulture office and storage space. Your generosity has also improved the behind-the-scenes areas with better grading and gravel. You have made possible adding benches, shade cloth, and a frame designed for propagation efforts. We now have new bins and supplies. The greenhouse has plenty of new supplies, including heat mats, storage shelves, propagation mediums, trays, and more! Our Living Collections Curation and Restoration Assistant Grace Washbourne has done a wonderful job of propagating any seeds remaining from 2020 as well as the new All-American Selection Winner seeds received this year. All the new annual flowers planted near the Lath House were propagated by seed. In the future, we’re planning a seed exchange. We’re also planning to soon start on Camellia cuttings and propagate full shade plants like Star Anise (Illicium sps). Learn more about seed propagation and germination in these related Botanist's Lens posts: "Seed Dormancy: 'Surviving the Adverse'" and "Propagate, 'Causing of Plants to Reproduce'" Thank you to everyone who contributed to the campaign. Your generosity has helped with our efforts in “ex-situ” conservation of plant species. Ex-situ means that the plant is being conserved away from its original habitat, especially if the area is threatened. Plant propagation ensures that not only are London Town’s core collections cared for, but that species endangered in the wild are maintained for the future. If you’d like to support London Town’s plant propagation efforts, you can do so here. Your donation is 100% tax deductible. London Town’s Tax ID is 52-1396159. SAVE THE DATE: London Town's Fall Plant Sale will be Saturday, September 25, 9am - 2pm. Learn more about this garden fundraiser here!

Summer is for color. Summer gardens are filled with vivacious annuals and perennial flower colors. But summer in a woodland/sun garden is also to relish the greens! Elephant ears, Colocasia is one such 'summer green' to enjoy, the flowers are inconspicuous, but the large fleshy leaves are eye catching. Did you know that plants are modular organisms? "Most plants are modular and are certainly the most obvious group of modular organisms. In modular organisms, neither timing nor form is predictable. In the growth of a higher plant, the fundamental module of construction above ground is the leaf with its axillary bud and the attendant internode of the stem. As the bud develops and grows, it produces further leaves, each bearing buds in their axils. The plant grows by accumulating these modules." (Unitary and modular organisms - Species Richness - Ecology Center). Since form isn't predictable in modular organisms, it is exciting when you plant bulbs, corms and tubers. Unpredictability of the flowers, leaves and the overall shape of the plant is exciting. Especially when it comes to Elephant ears or Naked ladies, Lycoris sp. Elephant ears (Colocasia sp.), Crocus, Gladioli are all corms. Crocus are fall planted corms to enjoy in the following spring, whereas Gladioli and Elephant ears are spring planted corms to enjoy in mid-late summer. Naked ladies, Lycoris squagimera and Elephant ears are two beautiful bulb/corms blooming at London Town right now. In Lycoris the leave emerge in spring, then die back and in late summer only flowers emerge on tall stems. How many, where and in what shape they will come up, is not known, plants are modular organisms after all! Same thing with Elephant ears, when you plant the corm, it’s a wait and watch till mid-summer of how many, where and how tall the leaves will get. Bulbs, corms, bare roots and many more varieties of ground covers and ornamental plants will be featured in our plant sale in Sept. Can’t wait to buy bulbs already? Members and Volunteer can now pre-order bulbs at: https://historiclondontown.app.neoncrm.com/.../giftstore.jsp

Dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides is one of the most marvelous species growing at London Town. Thriving in full sun in ornamental gardens or in dappled shade down close to the river, these majestic marvels are one of the tallest trees and the most mysterious ones at London Town. Mysterious? Yes. Their story goes far beyond just being known as living fossils. Metasequoia glyptostroboides is the only deciduous redwood. "It is hypothesized that the genus Metasequoia evolved its deciduous nature to cope with the darkness. Despite its success, fossil evidence of this genus disappears after the Miocene. For this reason, Metasequoia was thought to be an extinct lineage" https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/tag/redwood "When Metasequoia lived in the warm and humid Arctic, the plants shed their leaves in autumn, before the four months of total darkness. The litter was buried for tens of millions of years, including beneath the weight of a continental ice cap. Metasequoia seems to have survived from the brink of extinction, yet its native population remains isolated with low levels of genetic diversity. While the natural population’s long-term survival remains uncertain under the changing climate, what is certain is that, along with the advancement of technology, both living and fossil Metasequoia will continue to offer us invaluable information about its past secrets and the future of our global climate." https://arboretum.harvard.edu/.../old-molecules-new.../ Dawn redwoods can reach up to 100 ft high, now that sounds much more doable for a garden design than the other genus in the Sequoioideae group. Here is a good visual for how tall the other trees get: https://www.nps.gov/.../upload/ThreeTrees-2014-508.pdf And, yes we might be a bit too far from the other giant Sequioas. But, you can come and visit the only deciduous genus in the Sequoioideae or even buy one to give it a new home. From our gardens to yours! Check out our just opened pre-order plant sale. The Pre-Order is only open until Friday, September 3rd. More information at www.historiclondontown.org/plantsale. Not yet a member? Become one at www.historiclondontown.org/member to receive access to the Pre-Order and more.

Professor Steve Lenik shows visitors a shovel test pit during a recent tour at Gresham Estate. In 2017, London Town began working with Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks to manage a new historic property, the Gresham Estate. Located about 10 minutes from London Town's main site, the Gresham Estate was constructed by John Gresham II in the late 1600s, the same time that London Town was beginning to thrive. Over the years, the Estate has been owned by several families, most notably William Cotter, a retired 17th century pirate, and Commodore Isaac Mayo, who lived in the house until his death in 1861. Most recently, the house was restored by Leon Johnson of Johnson Pools and his family. Although Gresham has been in continuous ownership since the 17th century, there are many mysteries about the site. There have never been systematic archaeology investigations conducted at Gresham, nor has there been an in-depth historical report researching the different people connected to the place. There was a 1984 architectural survey, from which we know the main house that stands today was probably constructed originally after 1765. However, there have been several significant alterations and additions to the building over the years. Students from St. Mary’s College of Maryland sifting through dirt to find potential artifacts. Thanks to a generous donor, London Town was able to contract a field school with professors Steve Lenik, PhD and Liza Gijanto, PhD and St. Mary’s College to conduct an initial archaeology assessment of the grounds. The archaeologists and students spent four weeks at Gresham between June and July 2021. During that time, they conducted a shovel test pit (STP) survey of the property. An STP survey is an efficient way to cover a large area without causing major disturbance. They laid out a grid and flagged up to every 50 feet. As they got closer to the house, they flagged every 25 feet. Much further out became every 75 feet. They then dug at each flag, going down past the topsoil and looking for artifacts and features. Part of a clay pipe found at Gresham. Photo courtesy of Carol Benson and Four Rivers Heritage Area. As a result of their work, they found 19th and possibly 18th century artifacts. They also found bricks indicating potential earlier features to the property. If an STP proves promising, they’ll spread out from it, digging out a 5x5’ square. For example, on the northeast end of the house, they found what might have been an earlier kitchen. They discovered oyster shell deposits, shards of tableware ceramics, and animal bones. They also found bricks and lighter soil in a line connecting back to the current wall. While the finding is not conclusive, it is indicative of the possibilities hiding beneath the ground at Gresham. They have also located other features, such as a possible brick path and several artifacts, ranging from potentially parts of a chamber pot to a 19th century button. Larger unit revealing a potential earlier kitchen. The white flecks are oyster shell deposits. As the crew worked through the site, they carefully documented everything and bagged up materials found. The bags are each meticulously labeled. The artifacts in them will go to the Archaeology Laboratory facilities at St. Mary’s College to be gone through, washed, and processed. After that analysis is complete, all artifacts will be curated in the collections managed by the Lost Towns Project at the Anne Arundel County Archaeology Lab at London Town. Dr. Lenik will submit a technical report of all archaeological field activities for London Town and the Maryland Historical Trust. That report will help guide next steps for continuing archaeology and research at Gresham Estate. Our hope is to continue piecing together missing parts of the site’s history, especially of the people who lived and worked at the site over the centuries.