Left to their own devices, gardens can wilt and wither with neglect. A skillful hand can resurrect them, of course, but finding the right touch can be difficult.Rose Kernochan has watched her yard in Southampton Village make this transformation, but not without some substantial fretting in between.
She purchased her Moses Lane abode two years ago, a turnkey with beautiful furnishings and decorations ready for their new owner. “Basically what I bought was a perfect house,” she said. “The only thing that wasn’t perfect was the landscaping.”
For two years, she was on the hunt for a landscaper—any landscaper!—to work on her backyard. No, they each demurred. At .18 acres, her property was deemed too pint-sized to work on.
“It was such a small job that I couldn’t get anyone to do it,” said Ms. Kernochan.
That is, until she found landscape designer Victoria Fensterer, who usually finesses the foliage of large estates, including the famed Grey Gardens in East Hampton, once belonging to the eccentric mother-daughter duo Edith Beale and “Little” Edie, the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy.
Upon inspecting Ms. Kernochan’s property and understanding the homeowner’s needs, Ms. Fensterer selected a medley of plants that are relatively small, low-maintenance, fragrant and evergreen through the winter.
“I love it when you have a small space that you can make look larger, and sometimes you have a larger space you want to make more intimate. That’s a big interest of mine: using space and creating three-dimensionality with plants,” Ms. Fensterer said.
Into the ground went dwarf peach trees, boxwoods, day lilies, clethra and a variety of hydrangeas, among others. The less than perfect yard started to resemble a cozy garden.
“We planted things that don’t need a lot of deadheading, flowering shrubs, plants with interesting leaves and shapes,” said Ms. Fensterer, who also centered a stone path that came with the house.
“She has done pocket gardens for high-end people, but this is the smallest, yardiest space she has ever done,” said Ms. Kernochan. “Victoria is really like an artist with foliage … I mean, what is she doing here? It’s like a miracle on Moses Lane,” she said, laughing. “It’s like having Balenciaga design your jeans at Target.”
on Aug 31, 2015