Perched above a green corridor park that follows the route of a former railway line, the house and garden occupy a distinctive setting rarely seen within the Borough. The owners are opening the garden to the public for the first time as part of Gardens by the Sea. A curving grass path ribboned with dwarf boxwood introduces a playful formality to the upper level, while glacial boulders, low stone walls, terraces, and fieldstone stairways root the garden firmly in its New England setting. Many of the plants reflect important developments in American gardening during the last 150 years. Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), Yoshino cherries (Prunus × yedoensis), and hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) were introduced from Japan during the late nineteenth century, when American and European gardeners became increasingly interested in Japanese horticulture and design. Their popularity grew after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and expanded further during the twentieth century as Japanese gardens were established at estates, botanical gardens, and public parks throughout the United States. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), and American hornbeam are all native to the forests of the Northeast. Mountain laurel, Connecticut’s state flower, was widely planted on New England estates during the Country Place Era (roughly 1890–1930), when wealthy homeowners sought to blend formal landscapes with native woodland plantings. The lower portions of the garden contain plants associated with the woodland and shade gardens that became increasingly influential during the twentieth century. Hosta, astilbe, climbing hydrangea, hellebores, hakone grass, Japanese painted fern, cinnamon fern, Christmas fern, and maidenhair fern thrive beneath the canopy of larger trees and among the stonework. These plantings reflect a gardening style inspired in part by the naturalistic woodland gardens developed throughout the Northeast. Visitors may wish to note the row of upright American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana ‘Fastigiata’) along the drive. Known as musclewood because of its smooth, sinewy bark, hornbeam is native to eastern North America and has become increasingly popular in contemporary gardens as an alternative to more traditional screening trees. - contributed by Anna Bell McLanahan