ORIGIN: The Maywood Estate, built in the 1990s, is the private residence of Peter May, a private equity investor, and wife Leni. LOCATION: Maywood Estate is positioned atop a hill with a view of the surrounding Litchfield Hills. EXPERIENCE: I visited the Maywood Estate as part of a fundraising event organized by Trade Secrets. In its 24th year, Trade Secrets is an annual weekend-long spring event in which Saturday is devoted to tours of inspiring gardens, followed by a Sunday of gathering resources to enhance participants' home gardens. The fundraiser supports Project Sage, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women who have experienced domestic violence. Environmentally sound practices are applied on the forty acre estate and my seeing a variety of birds and insects during my short visit may be attributed to this effort. There is something of interest positioned at every turn... a pool, sunken perennial garden, a modern neoclassical home, greenhouse, sunroom, and barn. TIP: Maywood Estate products include wine and produce. See their website site for locations, which include the Bridgewater Village Store. Maywood Estate is a private residence but opens periodically to others during fundraisers, including the Garden Conservancy. Look out for opportunities to visit yourself. read more

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