Congratulations to Thomas J. Fraley a New England Home 5 Under 40 Winner

Portrait by Bruce Rogovin

Photograph by Neil Landino

Photograph by Neil Landino

Photograph by Thomas J. Fraley

Photograph by Neil Landino

Thomas J. Fraley’s passion for landscape design was awakened the summer before high school, which he spent in northern France. His work is still deeply inspired by travel, especially to the Caribbean, which he visits every year. “The landscape there opens my eyes to form, color, and texture,” he says. “I live and work in New England, but I love to see what’s going on in the world.”

At thirty-seven, Fraley is a senior associate with Gregory Lombardi Design, a landscape architecture firm with headquarters in North Billerica, Massachusetts. He grew up in southern Indiana and, in the summer months, his family vacationed at their cabin in north-central Minnesota. “I spent a lot of time outdoors and was always interested in plants,” he says. He earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Ball State University.

After moving to Boston in 2012, Fraley worked with the city’s Parks and Recreation department then joined a nonprofit focused on sustainability. He serendipitously found his way to the firm of renowned landscape architect Morgan Dix Wheelock, where he stayed for three years. “I was lucky. I had a lot of latitude, and I learned so much,” he says.

A licensed landscape architect in Maine, Fraley leads his firm’s northern New England projects while setting standards for the company’s practices and protocols. “I try to challenge conventional ways of thinking, to push the envelope, the aesthetic,” he says, “to embrace what it means to practice landscape architecture.” Fraley’s “planting forward” process positions horticulture as the driver of design, whether creating lush environments in the region’s vernacular or exploring what is possible in the face of a changing climate.

He lives on the shore north of Boston, where he tackles home and garden improvement projects with his gardening assistant, Tucker, a loyal five-year-old golden retriever.

This year’s 5 Under 40 awards ceremony will be held on September 18 at The Galleria at 333 Stuart Street in Boston. The festivities will include food, drink, and the chance to catch up with old friends while making new ones. The highlight of the evening is the auction of five unique rugs designed by our 2025 winners and produced by Landry & Arcari Rugs and Carpeting, with all proceeds supporting a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating women from South Asia. Click here to purchase tickets.