Guild Hall Offers A Peek At Some Special Gardens

Be enveloped by sweet aromas and fresh edibles—pillowy peonies, colorful irises, medicinal echinacea are all on the menu at Guild Hall’s annual Garden As Art Tour on Saturday, August 22.

Guests will be able to explore six lush—and tasty—gardens in East Hampton belonging to Barbara and Lloyd Macklowe, Alexandra Munroe and Robert Rosenkranz, Dina Merrill and Ted Hartley, Lucy and Steve Cookson, Marshall Watson, and Terry and Bob Weigel.

The focus of this year’s event is farm-to-table gardening. “People are really exploring the idea of growing food at home, and a number of the gardens use the food that they’re growing, said landscaper Geoffrey Nimmer, who designed the Weigels' garden, during a recent press preview.

Aside from a kaleidoscopic display of annuals and perennials, the homeowners also have an impressive collection of freshly grown vegetables and fruit. The Macklowes, for example, showed off their grape vines and espaliered apple trees. “The wonderful thing about espalier apples is in the winter it’s like a sculpture against the wall; in the spring, I have flowers, the apple blossoms; and then [the apples] turn bright red and much larger … they’re delicious apples,” Ms. Macklowe said.

Also in East Hampton Village, Ms. Munroe and Mr. Rosenkranz designed an elaborate vegetable and cutting garden they nicknamed "The Farm," featuring everything from artichoke, tomatoes and kale, to mint and lemongrass, which are used to create teas all year long. The yield is so high, in fact, that they donate excess produce to the East Hampton Senior Center.

Tiered vegetable gardens and winding paths make up Ms. Merrill and Mr. Hartley's beachfront landscape. They also have a large cutting garden with a bubbling water fountain anchoring it in the center.

The Cooksons' garden in Amagansett includes root vegetables and fruits, while Mr. Watson’s Springs home has a mixture of herbs, such as lavender, rosemary and different types of mint. Finally, amidst the Weigels’ crabapple trees, vegetable garden and bushes of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, is a meadow designed to attract butterflies and other pollinators.

The Garden As Art Tour will commence with a cocktail reception on Friday, August 21. Saturday will begin with a "garden fresh" breakfast prepared by the Golden Pear with ingredients from local farms and businesses, including Amber Waves, Mecox Dairy and Balsam Farms.

Afterward, there will be a Garden to Table panel discussion moderated by Brian Halweil, featuring speakers Katie Baldwin, co-founder of Amber Waves Farm; Ann Cooper, chef, author and food policy advocate; Tony Piazza, a landscape designer; and Chef Joseph Realmuto from Nick & Toni's.

The self-guided tour will follow, from noon to 5 p.m.

All tickets include admission to the breakfast as well as the lecture and tour. They start at $100 and can be reserved at www.guildhall.org.

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