‘The Good Garden’: Shaping The Natural World And Its Inhabitants

Shaping a landscape is often a blend of considerations. At Edmund Hollander Landscape Design, the firm studies three areas in particular: the habitat and what it can nourish; the position of structures and how interior and exterior spaces work together; and the ways a homeowner will use the land.

“All of our work is kind of a synthesis of what we call the natural ecology of the site, the architectural ecology of the site and the human ecology,” said Edmund Hollander, who is principal of the firm with Maryanne Connelly.

The duo shares their expertise and the ways that plants can shape a person’s emotional response to a garden in a new book published on June 30. “The Good Garden: The Landscape Architecture of Edmund Hollander Design” was written with Anne Raver, featuring principal photography by Charles Mayer.

The coffee-table-style volume features large, glossy photos of impressive estates the firm has worked on over the last 10 years throughout the Northeast, many of them in the Hamptons. “The great fun of working out east is that there’s such a great diversity [of habitat] in such close proximity,” said Mr. Hollander, citing the region’s ocean, farmland and woodlands as examples.

Detailed captions explaining plant selections and how species affect the overall landscape and, in some cases, its inhabitants, accompany each image. For example, a section on butterfly gardens cites one featuring a blend of shasta daisies, purple coneflowers, red bee balms and a butterfly bush. Ms. Shraver notes, “Gardens that attract these flying works of art are beneficial to the environment, and they are beloved by kids and families.”

Other categories the book touches on are gateways, paths, pool terraces, groves and borders, which present the ways in which plants can add dimension or texture to a garden.

“Whether you have a place behind the dunes out in the Hamptons where you get a lot of salt, winds and harsh sun, or it’s some shady place back in the woods, [Mr. Hollander and Ms. Connelly] really know what kinds of trees, shrubs and perennials are suited for different conditions,” said Ms. Shraver.

For Mr. Hollander, landscape design is a labor of love. The most rewarding part? “You get to make people’s dreams come true, which is a pretty awesome thing. I love plants, I love trees. I always have.”