While the renovation work inside quietly continues on glorious Guild Hall, this weekend take a walk outside in support of the storied arts institution. “Garden as Art” is back and better than ever this Saturday, June 24, featuring a rarefied amble through four bespoke bucolic spaces in East Hampton.
The day-long event starts at the East Hampton Library (159 Main Street, East Hampton) at 10 a.m., with a talk by renowned horticulturist and director of the Planting Fields Arboretum at the New York Botanical Garden, Vincent Simeone. With keen knowledge of both history and modern gardening trends, a seat at Simeone’s talk will be a sweeping tour of the gardens of the globe — from Canada, England, France and Germany to Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and an abundance of exotic species of plants along the way. Registration is free — click here to secure your place.
Then, from 12 to 4 p.m., put on your walking shoes for a special self-guided garden tour through four of East Hampton’s most beautiful private gardens:
Linden Hill
The natural roll of the land here is embraced by historic copper beech, linden and Japanese cypress trees, with pretty posies of interest and focal points throughout to inspire wonder — just like it did for landscape designers Hollander Design and Kligerman Architecture and Design when envisioning and creating the space.
Pondside
Another Hollander project, this time with Peter Ponnoyer Architects, this all-season stunner offers a multitude of curated spaces and specimens to relax by and under. Head through the main gate and past the old plane trees for a walk through glorious groves of trees, an allée of crape myrtles, now-in-bloom bountiful hydrangea and pops of astilbe, all luring you down to the pretty pond that anchors the property.
Gardens on West End Road
You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to an English summer garden when you amble down the stone path of this storybook garden rimming Georgica Pond. A trio of crape myrtle groupings are ever-more stunning accented by the brightly hued plantings of lace cap hydrangea, and the handmade-brick wall dividing the crab apple allée from the private pool area brings the past and present together (and will feel a little like The Secret Garden come to life). Designed by Harmonia Inc., be sure to wander over to the French conceptual artist Bernar Venet-commissioned sculpture, “97.5° Arc x 9,” its height and power vying with that of the mature trees on this lovely landscape.
Garden on Egypt Lane
Fans of back-to-nature landscaping will love this enlivened Egypt Lane garden, designed by Frederico Azevedo of Unlimited Earth Care in Bridgehampton. Think pollinator plants, breezy meadows and lots of varied heights and texture plantings that make you want to curl up on a picnic blanket in the sunshine with a book and a glass of iced tea.
Tickets for the garden tours benefit Guild Hall, and start at $200, $150 for Guild Hall members, and can be purchased here. Bonus: Garden lovers willing to go in at the patron-level price ($500 and up) get to attend the Cocktail Prolongé after-party at the Sagaponack home of Cornelia and Ralph Heins (whose gardens aren’t too shabby, either!), with a special performance by Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence, the Beatbox House.
