Guild Hall Garden Tour Looks At Water Views

Water is the theme of Guild Hall’s day-long symposium and garden tour on Saturday, August 27, and that will be reflected, as it were, in four gardens open to visitors in the afternoon.

Carole and Alex Rosenberg’s garden, for example, is situated on Burnett’s Creek off Mecox Bay. On a recent preview, shiny strips flapped in a breeze skimming the water—meant to ward off geese, Mr. Rosenberg explained, adding that a fox sculpture at the edge of the lawn, one of several artworks dotting the landscape­, had failed to do the trick.

Black-eyed Susans, switchgrass—these were some American natives, not commonly used then as they are today, that modernists Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden introduced to the garden more than 30 years ago, explained Eric Groft of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates.

The firm’s unusual mass plantings at the time had reminded the Rosenbergs “of broad strokes in color field paintings we saw in galleries and museums,” wrote Ms. Rosenberg, who with her husband is an art dealer and curator.

A continuous plane of water and turf is defined by perennials and sweeping ornamental grasses at the outer edges, with more complex plantings in the inner garden, says Guild Hall’s garden description. “A 1-acre sequence of outdoor rooms features plant materials that thrive in the site’s seaside growing conditions,” it says.

“Gardens for Wolfgang were survival of the fittest,” said Mr. Groft at the preview, and some of the original plants have survived through three decades including hurricanes and an ongoing collaboration between the owners and the landscape designers. “Our goal is to make it look like we weren’t even here,” he said.

Also on Mecox Bay in Water Mill is a much newer landscape with a garden by Abby Lawless of Farm Design. It is maintained organically to protect both the bay and the homeowners’ grandchildren.

Jessica Edge of Farm Design noted that tall grasses visually temper the mass of the recently renovated house, which had to adhere to flood specifications because of its proximity to the bay. The designers used a “limited palette” of native grasses with muted colors to avoid deer damage and at the same time capture sunlight in a variety of ways. The water view is framed by a native buffer that transitions to a meadow as it gets closer to the house.

Kellis Pond is the focal point of the Bridgehampton garden of Lyn and James Adamson. The gardens are divided into two levels sloping naturally down to the water: an upper garden in full sun, nearer to the house, and a lower one in the shade at the pond’s end. Cabbage moths were diving among layers of ferns, black-eyed Susans, calla lilies, viburnum, honeysuckle and many other plants on the day of the preview, and succulents sprouted in the spaces between natural stone steps.

Frederico Azevedo of Unlimited Earth Care explained that the designers left the natural grade and trees in place, and used a variety of organic composts, depending on the soil, but no chemicals or sprays. Native plants and “well adapted” non-natives, including self-seeding annuals that now return in different spots, found homes in the gardens. The resulting look is “very soft,” Mr. Azevedo said, with colors and patterns that change with each season.

The Sagaponack garden of Jennifer and Marc Lipschultz is not technically on the water—although a pool plays a large role in the landscape.

Edmund Hollander Design|Landscape Architects transformed from a lawn with informal plantings to “a property where the architecture in the landscape gave definition to the property,” according to a Guild Hall description.

Drifts of white, blue and silver plantings border rows of lacebark elms, and white hydrangeas line gravel paths leading to a large pool area complete with a kitchen and dining area, from which the sounds of a water fountain and reflecting pool can be heard.

Patrons and benefactor ticket holders can also attend a cocktail party on Friday, August 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the home of Barbara and Richard Lane on Sagg Pond, which contains one of the oldest and largest stands of pepperidge trees on the East End as well as manicured and wild landscape elements.

And Mary Jane and Charles Brock will host a benefactors’ lunch at their East Hampton home from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on Saturday. According to Guild Hall, their garden includes an immense 90-year-old crimson weeping Japanese maple, a putting green, a colorful perennial garden designed by Galen Williams, a croquet court and a bubbling pond with lilies and water hyacinths.

Tickets to a breakfast as well as the lecture and tour on Saturday cost $125. Further information can be found at guildhall.org.