From tightly terraced plantings to a sweeping waterfront expanse, six homes and/or gardens in Quogue, Westhampton and Remsenburg will be open to visitors to benefit the Westhampton Garden Club on Friday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The tour, which is held every other year, is the club’s only fundraiser, said Susan Lilley, who organizes the event. The club maintains public gardens and village greens in Quogue and Westhampton, creates topiary arrangements for East End Hospice patients and their families, and awards a scholarship to a Westhampton Beach High School student who plans to study horticulture.
In addition, the Westhampton Garden Club works collaboratively with the Quogue Wildlife Refuge to maintain a butterfly garden it established there about a dozen years ago.
When it comes to the house and garden tour, “we have a slightly different focus,” said the club’s president, Mary Kelberg, this week. “What the Westhampton Garden Club looks for is interesting houses ... not necessarily the biggest ... something that we think is interesting.”
One such property is a cottage which the club describes as a “tiny jewel.” It has gardens defined by terraced rock walls and walkways with textured layers of deer-proof plantings, dwarf species, creeping groundcovers, lavender and garden containers designed by the homeowners. The cottage itself contains furniture designed by Ruth McChesney, mother of the homeowner Bill McChesney, whose work is in the Winterthur and other museums.
In addition to containing a number of other pieces of historical and design interest, the carefully curated house incorporates clever design elements to make the most of a small space.
Another stop will be an Adironack-style family compound with views of Ogden Pond and the Quogue Canal. The design here blends indoors and out, and the interior is a mix of casual and refined, including a Native American-themed powder room.
Outdoor plantings at this home complement stone pillars and stairs, as well as the main house and a boathouse that survived the 1938 hurricane. Pathways wind around planting beds, birdbaths and birdhouses, with annuals set in planters designed by the homeowner.
“They are quite different but both quite lovely in terms of their aesthetic and approach,” Ms. Lilley said of the two properties. Other stops on the self-guided tour will be the “secret gardens” developed over 25 years at a Remsenburg home, the garden “rooms” at a large property in Westhampton, and two more homes and gardens in Quogue.
A luncheon at the Westhampton Country Club will be offered to tour ticket holders at an additional price. Boutique shopping will be available at one home and complimentary refreshments will be offered poolside at another one.
Tour tickets are $75 each and luncheon tickets cost $40 per person, with limited seating available. Tickets for both the tour and the luncheon can be purchased online at westhamptongardenclub.org.
on Jul 8, 2016