Historic London Town and Gardens Blog

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Tagged in: William Brown House , Living History , Junior Docents , Hearth Cooking , Gardens , Education , Archaeology
Posted by: Rod Cofield
Revolutionary London Town 2010

     On Sunday, July 11, the beginnings of the American Revolution came to Historic London Town and Gardens.  Over 200 visitors enjoyed live cannon fire by Ships Company, participated in militia drills, learned about hearth cooking, played colonial games, and toured the William Brown House while interacting with 1st-person interpreters.  Additionally, Annapolis Ice Cream Company gave out free scoops of ice cream to our visitors.  The demand was so much that all of it was gone by 2:30pm.

     This event was successful due to the large numbers of volunteers who helped interpret London Town's history and stories to the public.  The London Town Foundation thanks them for their invaluable service.

     Our next large living history event will be Sunday, November 7, when we explore the market and trades aspect of the colonial Chesapeake.

Tagged in: Gardens , Bees
Posted by: Rod Cofield
What's the Buzz - The Bees at London Town

Kai the BeekeeperAhhh, May is here and that means its time to check on the bees.  On Saturday, May 1, Kai Richardson came to London Town to see how his hives (in our Woodland Garden) were doing.  It was quite an experience for me to see the hives disassembled and then put back together.  Below are some pictures of Kai working as well as his own guest blog entry:

 

"It indeed was a fantastic day for checking on the bees.  The sun was shining and bees were especially active.  These two hives have thrived in Londontowne, particularly the one on the left.  Since I brought it to Londontowne 3 years ago from my former Charles County home, it has developed into the largest and most vibrant hive I have ever cared for.  Last year, over 100 pounds of delicious tulip poplar honey was harvested from this single hive, and from the way things look this spring, I am hopeful that we will have another bumper crop.

For obvious reasons, Spring is a critical time for both the bees and for beekeepers.  This is especially true in Maryland which has such a short "nectar flow" season.  This is the short three months starting April 1st and ending in late June during which there are plentiful nectar producing plants such as tulip poplar trees, locust trees, and basswood trees.  A beekeeper has to be ready to take advantage of this time when there is an excess of nectar and the bees are in full force to collect it and store it as honey.  As you can see from these pictures, I have loaded each hive with 5 extra boxes, or "supers", filled with just empty plastic honeycomb.  The bees are genetically predisposed to fill any extra space in the hive with nectar, even if they don't need that much to make it through the winter.  By July 4th here in Maryland, the nectar flow will end, and the extra boxes will be removed - hopefully full of Londontowne honey.  Not to worry though:  enough honey is always left for the bees, and there is a short nectar flow from fall flowers so they should have no problems surviving even the harshest Maryland winter!"

 

 

Tagged in: Woodland Garden , William Brown House , Living History , Gardens
Posted by: Rod Cofield
Maryland Day 2010

On Sunday, March 21 from 12:00 - 4:00 Historic London Town and Gardens celebrated Maryland's 276th birthday by opening its doors for the season with free admission.

Visitors had a chance to listen to Caldwell's 2nd Fife and Drum Corps (image below), tour the c1760 William Brown House (a National Historic Landmark), learn about children's games in the Lord Mayor's Tenement, and see what plants the weather has encouraged to bloom in our gardens.

This was just the first out of three planned living history days for the year.  The next, Revolutionary London Town, will be held on Sunday, July 11 from 12:00 - 4:00.  And in the fall, on Sunday, November 7 we will have our Market and Trades events.

We hope to see you throughout the year at these and the many other activities we're hosting.

 
 
Tagged in: Woodland Garden , Gardens , Education , Archaeology
Posted by: Lisa Robbins
Field trips are quickly filling up!

School is about to begin in just a few short weeks.  We are booking field trips for the Fall and Spring seasons.  We are doing our best to accommodate each individual school and teacher's schedule and objectives.  Please call soon to book your field trip! 

All of our programs are hands-on, allowing kids to experience Maryland's colonial history, participate at one of Maryland's largest on-going archaeological excavations, learn about colonial foodways, explore the interdependence of plants and animals in our 8-acre Woodland Garden, and learn how we know what we know about the African Americans who lived and built London Town.

Public Hours

Wednesday-Saturday
10:00-4:30
Sunday
12:00-4:30

Open Memorial Day

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$10 - Adults
$9 - Seniors (62+)
$5 - Ages 7 and up
Free - Children 6 and younger
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