LongHouse Planters Will Push Petals

At LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, the word “container” is left to interpretation.

Exceptional design, however, is not, said Dominique Browning, the former editor and chief of “House & Garden” magazine who will judge this year’s “Planters: On & Off the Ground IV,” an invitational exhibition at the East Hampton garden showcasing pots and planters with an imaginative bent.

“In a way, you know what’s great when you see it,” Ms. Browning said during a telephone interview last week. “You have a visceral response to it. I’m looking for something that works on its own terms.”

But Ms. Browning won’t be the only one critiquing the expected two dozen entries this year. For the first time in the history of “Planters: On & Off the Ground,” the audience vote also counts.

“We’re calling it ‘People’s Choice,’” said garden committee chairwoman Elizabeth Lear during a telephone interview last week. “Usually there’s a consensus, if you talk to a lot of people who attend the exhibition, as to which exhibitors might have been ignored or something. So because the judging is based on very personal taste, we thought it would be fun to see what the public thinks, kind of the way ‘American Idol’ does—balance the judge’s vote with the people’s choice.”

Last year, the results of the judging were something of an upset, according to LongHouse Reserve Executive Director Matko Tomicic. “Exterior Decorator,” John Danzer, was the judge for “Planters: On & Off the Ground III.”

“What was chosen by the juror was not necessarily something that the audience kind of preferred or liked,” said Mr. Tomicic. “Geoffrey Nimmer’s bed was the ‘People’s Choice,’ if there was an award.”

The crowd pleaser was a simple wrought-iron bed with a botanical twist, Mr. Nimmer explained during an interview last week. Building on elements of green roof and wall technology, the president of East End Garden Design in East Hampton said he planted a quilt that grew on the top, as well as the sides, of the bed’s “mattress.” The design was inspired by LongHouse Reserve’s founder Jack Lenor Larsen’s career in textiles, Mr. Nimmer said.

This year, Mr. Nimmer’s only parameter for his entry into the exhibition was that he needed to be able to finish the piece in one day. Even with help, the bed had taken him a week last year.

“I’m really happy with what I’ve come up with,” he said. “It’s very different, once again. I had this idea, and I’m always happy when I can actually execute what I had in my head. That’s what I feel like I’ve done every year.”

But Mr. Nimmer was tight-lipped when it came down to specifics.

“I was inspired by another piece of furniture, let me just say that,” he let slip.

Mr. Nimmer has participated in the event since its inception, he said, because it gives him a chance to flex his creative muscles.

“I think that it’s just an incredible meeting of minds of really talented designers,” he said. “It’s right in our own backyard and it’s a world-class event.”

That was the initial goal: to gather the talent, push their boundaries and present their creations, Mr. Tomicic reported.

“It was really Liz’s idea about five years ago,” he said of Ms. Lear’s inspiration for the container exhibition. “She said, ‘Let’s do something sexy. Let’s ask these people together, these landscape designers and architects, and see what they come up with.’”

The result has run the gamut, from traditional ceramic pots and iron planters to wooden furniture and rubber tires, Ms. Lear said. The only rule is that the installation cannot exceed 25 square feet.

“You might see some hot new pots,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s a nice opportunity for designers to express themselves. And people always like competition.”

Based on years’ past, Mr. Tomicic said that participants are trying to outdo themselves and their competitors, now more than ever. And for that reason, Ms. Browning said she’s going into the judging with an open mind.

“I’m completely open to anything,” she said. “You always want to visit great gardens and great homes to learn about design. When you want to learn about art, you don’t go to a thrift shop, you go to a museum. You learn from great work, and Jack [Mr. Larsen] is the master.”

In celebration of the garden’s 20th year, Mr. Larsen will be selling one of his designs—a handmade Tuscan terra-cotta planter, dubbed “Jackpot,” produced by Siebert and Rice—for $1,300, Mr. Tomicic said. A portion of the proceeds will benefit LongHouse Reserve.

LongHouse Reserve is a special place to Ms. Browning, and many others, she said.

“It’s so inspiring to be there. It’s everything that’s great about humankind,” Ms. Browning said of Mr. Larsen’s 16-acre reserve. “It’s a celebration of the creation, what we make by hand, how we love our gardens, how we love our homes and it’s so tied to our history. It just makes you feel great about what people can do, what we’re capable of.”

To catch the judge’s eye, Frederico Azevedo of Unlimited Earth Care in Bridgehampton said he strives every year to craft “the next big thing.”

“My inspiration is everything that I see,” he said during a telephone interview last week. “The colors that are being used in fashion, architectural materials and design. I try to blend everything that is visually happening right now and translate that into a container.”

So far, it’s worked, he said. The exhibition’s inaugural judge, Martha Stewart, awarded Mr. Azevedo with a blue ribbon, as did P. Allen Smith, the judge in the second year.

“A prize is great, but anybody who is in this exhibit is already a master at a certain level,” Ms. Browning said. “Just to exhibit on the grounds is a real honor. If you’re there, you’ve already gotten the prize.”

The fourth annual “Planters: On & Off the Ground” event will be held on Saturday, June 25, at LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton. Gardens open at 4:30 p.m. and the blue ribbon program with judge Dominique Browning is planned for 6 p.m. Admission is $20, or $10 for LongHouse Reserve members. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call 329-3568 or visit longhouse.org.