Douglas Dockery Thomas
The Foundation for Landscape Studies is proud to honor Douglas Thomas with its 2011 Place Maker Award for creating a landscape of extraordinary environmental sensitivity and beauty.
At Twin Maples, their estate in Salisbury, Connecticut, Douglas and her husband, Wilmer, have created a series of remarkable gardens. A formal garden complements the architecture of the manor house, a potager provides fresh vegetables and salads, espaliered pears and apples offer fruit for the table, and a conservatory ensures that there are fresh flowers in the home year-round.
As significant as these horticultural features are, Douglas’s most notable achievement at Twin Maples is the creation of a forty-acre wildflower meadow with spectacular views of the Berkshire Mountains. The meadow is composed of perennials, annuals, and grasses that form a subtly colored and richly textured plant tapestry. In its entirety, Twin Maples exemplifies place making as an art form of great importance.