Killian Garden

About

Just off a quiet neighborhood road, an unassuming gravel drive leads you past a newly planted buffer of tree-form hydrangeas toward a large southern magnolia. A beautiful replica (circa 1800) Sturbridge home of New England reveals itself.

The timber-frame house is backed by a woodland and provides the perfect setting for a garden which has been cultivated for over 40 years and is divided into multiple areas of distinct personalities. The garden begins to the right with a brick walkway leading to the Boxwood Ellipse. Simple, yet elegantly appointed with plants of rich greens and soft creamy whites, the composition is soothing yet sophisticated.

Continue through the rustic cedar gate and traverse the Camellia Walk, which is a cool shady place to sit on a hot summer’s day. Follow the meandering woodland pathway and notice interesting specimens such as Stachyurus praecox, Corylopsis pauciflora, Stewartia pseudocamellia, and Oxydendrum arboreum.

Walk past the weeping Alaskan cedar and traverse the rain garden’s large steppingstones towards the citrus collection whose lemons fill the homeowner’s kitchen in winter. Sneak behind the Carriage House to find a hidden compost space where critical garden support occurs. Pass through the holly arch and enter the delightful flower border and koi pond whose circular pathways are laid with peach-colored brick and flanked by four mature Hinoki cypress, while an artfully pruned Blue Arizona cypress adds whimsy.

Blanketed with pansies and tulips in early spring, followed by lilies, peonies and foxglove and eventually evolving into the big and blousy summer show of delicately colored zinnias, spheres of gomphrena and verbena, asclepias, phlox and ageratum, this garden room is truly a magnificent spot to linger but the garden does not end here.

This garden's estimated size is 1 acre.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: There are uneven stones and a few steps.

2026 Open Day Date: Saturday, June 27

Open Day Hours: 10am–4pm