Trade Secrets 2015: Twin Maples

Twin Maples features a trove of brilliant ideas wrought on a magnificent scale. To quote Twin Maples’ horticulturist, Deborah Munson, “This garden is incredibly beautiful in spring—it features so many shades of green.” Sumptuous and thoughtfully designed, there’s a little of everything at Twin Maples.

Want formality? Tulips and similar spring bulbs sprout between willow edging and a unique pergola on the terrace partitioned by intriguing metalwork and inventive backdrops where herbs and vegetables will later take precedence. Or take the promenade past intensely fragrant dianthus-filled beds overlooking a pool framed in crabapples.

But that’s just the beginning. You could embark on the woodland walk filled with potentilla, primulas, foamflowers, woodland peonies, jeffersonia, maidenhair ferns, blue cohosh, corydalis, ginger, and Iris cristata—to name only a handful. Island beds in the lawn sprout with a blue sea of violets, Virginia bluebells, phlox divaricate, and daffodils. There’s a living moon gate framing the Litchfield Hills swathed in Hydrangea petiolaris. Walk the primitive labyrinth, enjoy the orchard, or wander into the shad allée underplanted with white daffodils and snowdrops.

Meanwhile, an expansive greenhouse cossets a noteworthy collection of begonias and tropicals all staged to perfection. This is a rare opportunity to visit a noteworthy private garden that rivals some of this country’s grandest public arboreta.

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