Celebrating A Rural Hamptons Landscape

As promised, here are is another special garden I enjoyed touring during the annual Parish Art Museum's Landscape Pleasures.

On eighteen acres in Sagaponack, landscape designer Edwina von Gal designed developed a romantic view of a rural farm. The cedar shingled house and its outbuildings are more modern and chic than the original Hamptons homesteads. Its grassy meadows, 'orchards' and pond are more manicured. However, this garden still celebrates the original rural landscapes that are sadly being replaced with McMansions in the Hamptons.  I applaud the owners, Gus & Liz Oliver, for allowing Edwina to create a green oasis that they can enjoy as much as the native wildlife.

Even though this is a large garden, basing your plantings on those from surrounding fields or woods can create a more natural look and extend your property lines.  This is something I tried to do early on when designing my Hamptons garden.  Even though I had a narrow lot, my garden looks much larger with the periphery blended into adjacent woodlands.

Hope you enjoy these photos.  I'll try to post photos from the rest of this tour later this week.

The yard was designed to look as though the land was just cleared for the house

Outbuildings, like those from an old farm,  serve an aesthetic and practical purpose

 A man-made pond is filled with fish

An ornamental cherry grove adds the look of an orchard one would expect on a farm

A low stone fence holds back the grassy field beyond (mowed down in mid-June to keep it at a manageable height)

Modern patio furniture and planters bring you back to the 21st Century  

A Closer Look

This past Sunday, I visited some beautiful private gardens that were part of the annual Parish Art Museum's Landscape Pleasures garden tour.

I started the tour at the garden of Daniel Chung and Alexandra Alger.  I had once before toured this garden near Georgica Pond in 2009 as part of the ARF garden tour. (Click here for my first impressions.)  This garden was designed by the firm Oehme van Sweden.  As is their signature style, the plantings marry the house to the landscape using bold sweeps of plantings of grasses and perennials. Though totally designed, the garden blends beautifully into the existing woodland.  Since I had been here before, I took a closer look and found beauty beyond my earlier observations.  It was pointed out that this garden is both drought AND deer resistant.

I have more photos tour to share from the other gardens on the 2012 Landscape Pleasures, but I have to return to my own garden now before it starts to to look neglected.  I'll post more soon so stay tuned.

Plantings marry the stone and cedar  house to the landscape

The edges of the gunite pool are softened by plantings of grasses and Nepeta.

Persicaria polymorpha in full bloom

The spiky flowers of Acanthus add drama by the pool

Delicate seed heads on an unfamiliar grass or sedge