2011 ARF Garden Tour
During the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons garden tour this year, visitors got a good look into some fantastic private gardens. Many of these gardens were designed by prominent landscape architects. I thought I'd share a few of the things that caught my eye.
This pool in the garden of Domna Stanton was spectacular. Not oversized, but very unique. Not just another rectangle gunite swimming pool. Like a moat adjacent to a small Medieval castle. The pool and pool house were designed by Scott Johnson.
Fantasy pool in Bridgehhampton
The other pool area that caught my eye was in the garden of Diane and Craig Solomon. The gunite swimming pool, bluestone patio and surrounding plantings created a very clean, modern and tranquil experience. Modern is never as simple as it looks, but it does looks like a low-maintenance dream.
A modern garden gate in this garden provided a striking and unique entrance to and from the car park.
Simplicity in Sagaponack
A modern gate
The Asian-inspired garden of Susan and Stan Reifer was a big surprise. I hadn't seen anything like it it the Hamptons before. Designed by Jian Guo Xu, the garden treated visitors to a Chinese garden experience. I found the Asian sculptures posted along the hollies a great idea to break up a long expanse of hedges.
The stone mosaics embedded in the paths were a creative departure from the typical bluestone used throughout the Hamptons. It looked like each design took weeks to create by a skilled mason with an artistic flair.
Asian-style statues guard a holly hedge
Stone mosaics in the pathways
Speaking of stone, I found a great idea for one of my own steeper grass paths. In the garden of Karen and Herb Friedman, designed by Jack deLashmet & Associates, large pieces of bluestone were trenched into the hill making the grade more manageable. I liked that they were informally but purposely placed, allowing grass and plantings to grow between the stone. This created a very natural look.
Making the grade with bluestones