OvS at the New York City Ballet Spring Gala

Peter Martins’ “Mes Oiseaux,” costumes by Gilles Mendel/Photo by Paul Kolnik

On Thursday May 10^th, 2012, Oehme van Sweden Principal Eric D. Groft accompanied Barbara Slifka to the New York City Ballet Spring Gala at Lincoln Center.  Cocktails were served in the lobby and on the terrace, followed by a performance including the world premeire of Mes Oiseaux (choreographed by Ballet Master and Chief Peter Martins, with music by Marc-Andre Dalbavie) and the world premiere of “Two Hearts” (choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, with music by Nico Muhly). The last performance of the evening was the classic Symphony in C (choreographed by George Balanchine and music by Georges Bizet). The night culminated with a dinner and dancing. The Actress Natalie Portman was the Honorary Chairperson and the Gala Chairmen included Emily and Len Blavatnik, Charlotte Moss and Barry Freidberg, and Marie Nugent-Head and James Marlas.

See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/new-york-city-ballet-spring-gala_n_1510688.html for more details and photos.

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Hamptons Gardens Celebrated at Book Release Party

The latest tome of gardening, horticulture and design, Hamptons Gardens by Jack DeLashmet, was honored by a book release / cocktail party on Saturday, June 4th. The party, hosted by publisher Assouline and Hamptons Cottages and Gardens, took place in the garden featured in the book – the East Hampton home of Randy Kemper and Tony Ingao.

It was a spectacular evening and the garden looked incredible. Alejandro Saralegui of the Madoo Conservancy described the garden as “Charlie Marder’s greatest hits,” referring to the collection of mature topiary, Japanese Maples, and other specimen trees, all of which were planted within the last five years. Charlie was on-hand (with his standard colorful suspenders) and explained the process of moving and planting these enormous trees in the garden.

The garden also featured some amazing antique walls, stone-work and sculpture throughout the grounds.

OvS Principal Eric D. Groft accompanied Barbara Slifka, whose Sagaponack beachfront garden is featured in the book. They ran into David Ebershoff of Random House (editor of THE ARTFUL GARDEN: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design), Charlotte Moss, Ben and Bonnie Krupinski, Kendall Cronstrom, Chris Coy of Barnes Coy Architects in Bridgehampton and New York City, Diane Benson and Nina Gilman of East Hampton.

Barbar Slifka, Eric, Nina Gilman, Carole Mercer

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New York Botanical Garden Azalea Garden Opening

The New York Botanical Garden commemorated its 120th anniversary with the grand opening of the New Azalea Garden on May 7 and 8 with a festive ceremonial ribbon-cutting and preview of the New Azalea Garden. The 11-acre Garden features extensive perennial collections designed collaboratively by NYBG and Oehme, van Sweden & Associates and landscape architecture by Towers│Golde, LLC.

The first tour of the garden!

This premier collection of the world’s azalea species features 300 varieties of azalea, rhododendron and diverse companion plantings which are woven together in this restoration of the original garden.  The display offers a venue to enjoy, learn about and be inspired by the beauty and diversity of these ornamental shrubs and perennials in a mature woodland environment. 

L to R: Jane Cooke, Sheila Brady, Todd Forrest, and Barbara Slifka

The design team of Todd Forrest and Frank Genese of NYBG, Shavaun Towers of Towers│Golde, LLC and OvS’ Principal-in-Charge Sheila Brady, were honored at the festive ceremonial ribbon-cutting and preview of the New Azalea Garden. Distinguished guests were treated to the garden’s dedication, performances by the Greenwich Academy Madrigal Singers and tours of the New Azalea Garden.

Eric Groft and Barbara Slifka

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A Tribute to OvS Principal Eric Groft

Earlier this fall, Oehme van Sweden Principal Eric Groft had the pleasure of speaking at Guild Hall in East Hampton as part of the Garden as Art: Designers Choice talk and garden tour. For this event, Eric was honored to be introduced by longstanding client (and very good friend) Barbara Slifka. Barbara gave a truly moving introduction of Eric, which we are priveleged to be able to share here:

This is going to be a very personal introduction. You can read all about Eric’s academic and professional background in your programs. I have known Eric for about 25 years. We first met when he was the Project Manager on my Sagaponack beach house, and since then we have worked on two other projects—one in New York and another again in Sagaponack. We have also become good friends.

Working with Eric – and Jim van Sweden and Wolfgang Oehme (the founding partners of Oehme van Sweden) – has been a very educational experience. It was as though someone had lifted a curtain in front of me and I was seeing gardens for the first time. Eric has a truly trained and professional eye. When he is involved on a project, it is the total effect he is interested in, and not just plants or flowers or trees, but the whole landscape. This includes the hardscape – the fences, the paths, the swimming pool, the driveway, the scale of the pots. All of this is important, and all the details matter, because they all add up to the final vision.

Working with Eric, I was exposed to a whole new way of looking at plants – his sense of scale, his interest in texture, his interest in shapes, and his interest in colors (all year long – winter can be beautiful!). All of a sudden I was noticing movement, the way plants flow and interact with each other, and the volume of plants needed to make a statement. For me, being exposed to Eric has brought a wonderful new dimension to my life. I love formal gardens, but once exposed to Eric’s special taste and talent, I hope your eye and personal taste will change forever.

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A Visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

On Wednesday, October 27th Oehme, van Sweden Principal Eric Groft and long standing client Barbara Slifka were hosted to a lunch and tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden by President Scot Medbury and Dr. Gerry Moore, Director of Science. From its humble beginnings as an ash dump in the late 1800s, Brooklyn Botanic Garden has come to represent today the very best in urban gardening and horticultural display, attracting more than 700,000 visitors and serves over 150,000 school children each year.

Scot has been with with the Garden five years and has initiated some ambitious projects including a new herb garden, visitor center and expansion of the local plant collection.

A highlight of our visit to the Garden was the beautiful fall color in the Native Flora Garden, and the emerging colors in the maples located in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. To view photos of the beautiful fall foliage, check out the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Flickr photosharing page.

What a delight to revisit this gem of a garden located right in the heart of Brooklyn!

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The Garden as Art

On Saturday, August 28, Oehme van Sweden Principal Eric Groft participated in the “Garden as Art: Designers Choice” talk and tour in East Hampton, New York. The event, sponsored by Guild Hall in East Hampton, featured gardens selected by prominent East End garden designers. The Rifkind garden in Amagansett, designed by Mr. Groft for Oehme van Sweden, was one of six residential gardens showcased on the tour.

Guild Hall, East Hampton New York

The Garden as Art tour is an annual event that has become a weekend-long celebration of gardening in the Hamptons. This year, the festivities included a pre-tour cocktail party on Friday night at a the home of MaryJane Brocks in East Hampton; a continental breakfast at Guild Hall on Saturday morning featuring two illustrated lectures—“Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” by Mr. Groft and “A Botanic Garden by Design” by Brooklyn Botanic Garden President Scott Medbury; as well as a luncheon at the waterfront home and garden of Dorian and Gary Fuhrman on Hook Pond, in East Hamtpon on Saturday afternoon.

Barbara Slifka Introducing Eric Groft's Lecture

Oehme, van Sweden has undertaken a number of landscape architecture projects in the Hamptons spanning the past several decades. The Rifkind garden was designed by Eric Groft in 1992 and the objective was to capture the feeling of farmland turned to meadow. The naturalistic style of design used in the project has stood the test of time well, and 20 years later, the homeowners continue to enjoy the beauty of their garden.

Eric Groft giving his "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" Lecture

* All photographs courtesy of the East Hampton Star

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Annual Quail Hill Farm Dinner

Last weekend, OvS principal Eric Groft attended the Quail Hill Farm’s annual benefit dinner with Oehme van Sweden client Barbara Slifka.

Above (L to R): Rebeccah Chapman with the Peconic Land Trust, OvS client Barbara Slifka and Ovs Principal Eric Groft.

The table was set for 175 organic farmers, wine makers, artists, brokers, and the one and only, Mr. Alec Baldwin!

The dinner and its communal table benefitted the Peconic Land Trust. The Peconic Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that was established to ensure the protection of Long Island’s working farms, natural lands, and heritages.

Quail Hill Farm is a Rockefeller Farm. It is one of the original CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms in the U.S. and is located in Amagansett, New York, on the South Fork of Long Island, on land donated to the Peconic Land Trust by Deborah Ann Light.

The food that was served at the dinner was all organic and locally grown and prepared by New York’s BEST chefs!

Can you spot Mr. Baldwin in this photo?

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The Nature Conservancy Honors Barbara Slifka

The threat of rain did not dampen spirits at the Nature Conservancy’s “Beaches & Bays” 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala at the Center for Conservation, held on Saturday, June 26th, 2010 in East Hampton, New York. The event benefited the Long Island Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, with Kathryn Rayner chairing the event and Chairman of the Board Jefferson Hughes hosting. The 2010 Gala Honoree was Barbara Slifka for extraordinary support of local and global conservation projects. Previous honorees and Chairpersons of this event over the last ten years were again recognized for their support and included Polly Bruckman, Gretchen and James Johnson, Barbara Hearst, Isabella Rosselini, and Dick Cavett.

Karen Hughes, Barbara Slifka, and Jefferson Hughes

Barbara Slifka was accompanied by Eric D. Groft, Principal at Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, as well as many other friends, family, and colleagues. Barbara is Vice Chair of the Long Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy’s Board of Trustees and a major supporter of Long Island projects such as shellfish restoration and wetlands protection, as well as international programs including work in Brazil with indigenous peoples, ocean conservation, and climate change. In addition to her work with The Nature Conservancy, Barbara sits on several other Boards including the New York City Ballet, Publicolor, Interfaith Center of New York, Guild Hall, LongHouse Reserve, and the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons.

Barbara Slifka is also a lover of gardens and all things green. She has worked with Oehme, van Sweden & Associates since 1986 to create beauty in the landscape on the beach in Sagaponock, in a city garden in Manhattan, and also at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

OvS congratulates Barbara for this honor and looks forward to continuing our ongoing friendship and collaboration!

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