'Garden As Art' Tour Lives Up To Its Name

The final big annual garden tour of the season will live up to its name yet again this year.

“The Garden As Art,” presented by Guild Hall and on view on Saturday, August 25, is chockful of homes with grounds that celebrate aesthetics—whether it be sculpture, topography or the famous East End light. “The Garden As Art” will also include a patron and benefactor cocktail reception on Friday, August 24, and a continental breakfast and benefactor luncheon on Saturday, August 25.

The theme of the tour is perhaps no more apparent than at the extraordinary North Haven home of Lisa and Richard Perry. The sculpture-filled waterfront property is dramatic, fun and romantic—evoking thoughts of a modern-day “Gatsby” mansion with a Hollywood-meets-East Coast glamour.

“The Beach House,” as it is called by its owners, showcases artwork by Robert Indiana, Gary Hume, Zhu Jinshi, Niki de Saint Phalle and Alexander Calder, among others. Plants on view include hydrangea Annabelle and

Perovskia atriplicifolia,

or Russian sage.

Another garden on the tour, the 48-acre Sag Harbor property of Lenore and Adam Sender, which one enters via a picturesque allée of trees, has everything but the kitchen sink.

Michael Derrig of Landscape Details created the many vignettes on view. The home also includes a pond garden with gazebo, a launching dock, a sculpture garden featuring the artwork of Sol LeWitt, pastures filled with rescue animals, a play castle for the kids and a must-see trampoline area.

Jody and Larry Carlson’s Bridgehampton home, “Villa des Amis,” is not only pleasing to the eye, the plantings emit a pleasing aroma as well. 
The grounds feel like a slice of Tuscan heaven, but now housed in a plot that once contained potato fields as far as the eye could see. The property contains a series of connected garden rooms, including a courtyard garden, reflecting pool allée, parterres, a walled studio garden and a grass labyrinth.

The Bridgehampton gardens of Jenny and Trey Laird are understated but definitely not simple. Designed by Deborah Nevis, the grounds are a study in elegance and simplicity in design. Each area—from the square of grass in the front entry garden; through the pathway around the house, which opens to a boxwood path, water element and perennial border; to the third garden, centered around an ancient, spreading tree; to the pool garden and pavilion at the rear of the property—flows harmoniously, connecting small spaces into a unified landscape.

The East Hampton Village property of Michael MacElhenny and David Wine, designed by Edmund Hollander, thoughtfully and smartly illustrates a pleasing approach to planting a small garden. Located in the historic district, the property showcases a majestic elm—which provides a roof of dappled shade—a variety of hydrangea and native plantings, stonework, archways and Mr. Hollander’s signature symmetry and outdoor living spaces.

Those who purchase tickets to the patron cocktail reception on Friday, August 24, and attend the breakfast on Saturday, August 25, will take in the sights at the “Windy Dune” Devon Colony Estate at the Amagansett property of Lucy and Steve Cookson. The breakfast will feature presentations by Mr. Hollander, who recently published “The Private Oasis,” and “Hamptons Gardens” author and landscape designer Jack deLashmet.

The benefactor luncheon on Saturday, August 25, will be held across two neighboring East Hampton Village estates—the historically-inspired gardens at Elizabeth Gerschel’s “Violet Farm” and the classically captivating grounds at the home of Jill Lassersohn.

Tickets for “The Garden As Art” start at $100 and include a continental breakfast at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 25, a lecture at 10 a.m. and the tour, which will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Patron level tickets are $300 and include a cocktail reception on Friday, August 24, from 6 to 8 p.m., plus the tour events. Benefactor level tickets are $500 and include a luncheon on Saturday, August 25, from noon to 2 p.m., plus the cocktail reception and tour events. For reservations, call 324-0806, ext. 22 or visit guildhall.org.