Last June we moved from Montclair to Verona rather suddenly, to a home built in 1871. It is on one half acre bordering a park. I asked Cynthia of Twig and Vine design if she would be interested in helping me sort out the overgrown garden and discuss its potential. I know that gardens require patience and observation, but I needed to get started on the back. Boy, did Cynthia deliver. Her drawing, which was measured and planted perfectly, gave me the perfect vision for the plan. Her choice of plants was spot on, and she "rearranged the furniture" by finding places for the existing plants that were healthy. I love her spontaneity and the way she works with the team at Red Maple. Those gentleman are friendly, hardworking and loyal to Cynthia because she is very clear about what she wants. They KNOW how to plant even mature trees, and how to move existing plant material so it survives in its new spot. I wish they were my weekly garden caretakers. My neighbors were so delighted by the transformation. They asked for Cynthia's card. This Spring we tackled the front of the house. With Cynthia's encouragement we trimmed and pruned and observed last summer, fall and winter...and the bones of the garden began to appear. With Cynthia's help this year we have the next step completed...adding privacy and some outstanding tree specimens, including a Serviceberry column, an Acer Griseum and a stewartia. I look forward to our final act together as we replace walkways and steps, knowing her skillful, trained eye will put the final touch on that. If you love to garden, you love nature, you have a profound respect for the green in your life, then Twig and Vine owner Cynthia is the woman for you. As for the reviewer who had trouble with her work style, Mother Nature is our guide...things aren't available, it pours for weeks, plants get rejected for quality and there aren't anymore, and flexibility is necessary. read more

We hired Cynthia to help us landscape a particularly difficult spot in our backyard - medium sized area next to the garage/back of the property, very wet, clay soil with lots of stones and low light - The Ritz Carlton for mosquitos and a trap for my kids. Even after we had some of the trees pruned, grass was still out of the question. Ugh. Shortly before contacting Twig and Vine, we put in a herringbone, paver patio back there. We wanted to frame it with a jewel garden. Cynthia came over very promptly after a phone call, surveyed the area, understood our limited budget and got straight to work. It was a great appointment - she was easy to talk to, welcomed our ideas and explained which plants worked and where they didn't on our property. When she returned, she had a couple of ideas estimated out within budget. A couple weeks later, we had a young, beautiful jewel box garden with a gorgeous silver birch tree, leafy hostas, feathery astilbes, lime colored grasses and mini hot pink roses, to name a few, hugging our patio complete with privacy trellis that would soon have hydrangeas climbing all over it. We LOVE it. Everyone who ventures into the backyard is delightfully surprised and ooh and ahh over our secluded, 'secret garden'. The kids have the yard - we have this. With a fridge in the garage, string lights and the addition of a fire pit, its perfect. This lady knows what she is doing! P.S. She gave me a comprehensive plant listing with care instructions so I wasn't left in the lurch and is always available for questions which usually results in a house call! read more

We hired Cynthia earlier this year to fix our front-yard landscape that another "designer" had butchered. It's likely we contacted at least 30 landscapers/designers for this project, most of whom did not bother to respond. The ones that did respond seemed to be unable to maintain basic professionalism/communication by either not showing up for a scheduled consultation, failing to send a quote/design, or simply disappearing altogether. There's no better way to put this, but, quite frankly, they were all...well, imbeciles. When we found Cynthia, she gave us her word that she would be responsive and work with us to create a front-yard landscape we could enjoy for many years to come. Not everything went as planned, and we ended up pushing back on a major component of her recommended design midway through the process. However, she was able to take our pivot in stride and come up with something that we are truly happy with. Her team at Red Maple were also a joy to work with and did their jobs with diligence and respect for our home. After nearly two years of being completely depressed at the sight of our unsightly landscape, it's wonderful to have that lifted. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Cynthia to our friends and neighbors going forward. read more

I hired Cynthia last year to design a front garden and a rear garden for the house I bought in Montclair. The contract we signed was for design services only, since she does not have a landscaping firm. Her fee was $2,500 for designing the two areas (for reference, the whole property is only 0.25 acres). To begin with, I was disappointed with Cynthia's professionalism throughout the whole process: 1) Though she advised we should aim to plant in the Fall, she was unable to give me a schedule that worked backwards from a target date and specified things like: when the plants should be ordered, when the hardscape should be finished, when the design should be complete. She ended up sending me the final plant list only a few days before the date she said she wanted to plant everything. 2) She ended up only doing a design for the front, because we decided to stop working together, but even that design (which I paid her for) was never complete. In the final drawings she gave me, there are still areas with unlabeled plants. When I pointed this out to her she said something along the lines of "just stick some sun-loving plants in there". This is not what I was expecting from someone who does this professionally. 3) I did not feel that she advised me properly on the design of a hardscape element (a stone path leading to the front door). You would think a designer would take the client to the stone yard to see samples, but instead she told me to go on my own. She knew this was not my area of expertise, and yet she was on board with putting in a natural stone path that (naturally) ended up being full of trip hazards (see photos). Note to those of you who are putting in a new front path: don't do natural flagstones with grass in between. It looks great on Pinterest, but it's not appropriate for a front walk. 4) Since she doesn't have her own landscape company, Cynthia partners with Red Maple Landscaping & Construction and inflates their fees so that she can then take a cut of any business they do through her. Fair enough. However, she doesn't actually supervise their work (which is very crummy), and she doesn't take any responsibility for their work, even though the check was cut out to her. They are the ones who did the path in the photos, as well as the Belgian block border on the driveway that looks crooked. 5) Cynthia proposed purchasing ~$5,000 worth of plants (more on that later), and she was upset when I expressed a wish to (a) see the plants before purchasing them, and (b) bid out that massive order with 2 or 3 nurseries. She actually told me that what upset her was that she was planning to skim a fee off the top if we went with the nursery she recommended, but she wouldn't be able to do that if I went with another nursery. (!!) On top of all that, I was disappointed with the design she came up with. There was no variety of plants to create interest in the areas next to the porch (instead she wanted to do just a wall of azaleas there). She wanted to pack 150 plants into a relatively small front yard, which in my opinion would have made it feel like a jungle. And in the process, she was planning to cut up my lawn so that about half of it was inaccessible unless you went around the 'jungle'. In my opinion her design was not tasteful, balanced, interesting, or particularly beautiful, but I have posted a photo so that you can all decide for yourselves. Overall, working with her and Red Maple was a waste of money and time, and it was very disappointing. I do not recommend working with her. In hindsight, I would recommend to anyone in my position to go to some nurseries and ask them who they recommend working with. read more

See all

We hired Cynthia Corhan-Aiken of Twig & Vine Design several years ago and we are still thrilled with the results! We enjoyed working with her from start to finish. Cynthia was very creative In her vision for redesigning our backyard and was extremely knowledgeable in selecting appropriate plant materials. She was receptive to involving us in the process and accommodating to our requests. She was professional in dealing with us and others on the job. Cynthia coordinated with the hardscape contractor to bring the entire vision to completion. She guided us in how to maintain the plantings long term and she continues to be available for plant care questions. We highly recommend Cynthia for your landscape needs! read more

I highly recommend Cynthia and Twig & Vine Design. She helped me with a native plant garden and outdoor classroom design. I am very happy with her work. She was collaborative, patient and a great problem solver. I have walked through one of her gardens in the peak of summer foliage and it was breathtaking. Cynthia has a great sense of style and balance in her designs. The hardscaping and landscaping will not fight one another. She has a knack for marrying the two seamlessly. read more

Cynthia worked with us a few years ago to scale back an ambitious design for our 3/4-acre yard and find ways to stay within budget - with a strategy to continue adding depth and color to complement the initial plantings over time. She is extremely knowledgeable and sources her plants from a high-quality nursery that offers the healthiest trees and shrubs we have come across in the several years we have been putting this project together. I have recommended Twig & Vine to several friends and recently had an opportunity to visit Cynthia's own home garden during a Montclair community garden tour coordinated by Van Vleck. This is a hard-working woman with strong creative vision who knows what she's doing. Her yard is memorably awesome. And I'm grateful to report that ours is, too. read more

We hired Cynthia two years ago after we bought our house and we are still thrilled with the results! She turned our unkempt, disheveled yard into a clean, crisp, beautiful space. Passersby compliment it all the time. She asked lots of questions and took everything we asked for to heart. We just love it. She listened to our desire to keep everything low maintenance, and we've had to do very little to keep it looking nice over the last couple of years. She has also remained in contact with us after completing the job, just to make sure everything is going well. We had problems with one spot where a dogwood tree wasn't thriving, and she had the tree replaced twice at no cost to us. She's a true professional who clearly loves her work. The Red Maple crew that she works with on hardscaping and planting was also a pleasure. Very professional, hard working, and polite. I highly recommend Cynthia. read more

We had Twig & Vine help us with the overall redesign of our complete yard (front, back and sides, each with unique challenges and lighting). I appreciated that there was thoughtful attention given to our likes, what plants would do well in the space, keeping / repurposing existing plants / trees, and the end result was a cohesive and classic look that totally compliments our home. I also really appreciate the time she took to explain the upkeep / maintenance for each of the plants and provided a guide for seasonal pruning and upkeep to keep things looking great. Through the process, she kept me updated as to timing, what to expect and provided me a heads up on any possible delays. She also has been very responsive to any follow-ups I had a year plus since the work was done as we maintain the plantings. A very professional and courteous experience working with Cynthia - I would greatly recommend her. read more