Seasonal Planting at Americana Manhasset

On the longest day of the year, Oehme, van Sweden had the pleasure of welcoming summer by laying out annual plantings at Americana Manhasset. Eric D. Groft and Hilary Oat-Judge of OvS laid out a vast array of colorful and textural plants from the Otto Keil Nursery with Steven Dubner Landscaping’s masterfully assisting in this ambitious annual ritual celebrating Summer.

Oehme, van Sweden’s 30-year collaboration with the visionary staff at Americana Manhasset has provided visitors to Long Island’s premier haute couture shopping destination with dramatic seasonal plantings to complement Peter Marino’s architecture. Here’s a quick look at this season’s combinations.

Laying out the plants at the Coach boutique

Eric Groft laying out plants at the Chanel boutique

Plantings at Chanel: Colocasia fontanesii 'Black Stem,' Strobilanthes dyerianus, Coleus 'Flirtin Skirts'

The fuchsia stems of the Iresine 'Blazin Lime' interplanted with Gomphrena 'Fireworks' and Strobilanthes dyerianus play off the bright blooms of the Dianthus 'Bouquet Purple' at the Louis Vuitton Boutique

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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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Garden Conservancy Society of Fellows Visits the Schupf Home

On Friday, June 10th the Garden Conservancy Society of Fellows Tour of the Hudson Valley stopped by the home and garden of Axel and Sara Schupf. It was a crystalline day, clear and in the 70’s, a thunderstorm the night before had cleared out all the humidity and the garden just glistened. The visibility was so clear you could see Bear Mountain beyond the Hudson River from the Library Terrace.

Attendees included Lee Auchincloss of New York City, Susan Burke of New York City, Colin Cabot of Loudon, NH, Page Dickey of North Salem, Ben and Cindy Lenhardt of Winnetka, Il., Joseph Marek of Santa Monica, Ken and Polly Mattox of La Grange, Georgia, Mary Ann Tucker of Greenwich Ct, and Ceasar and Dorothy of Knoxville, TN.

Oehme, van Sweden Principal Eric D. Groft led the tour and later signed copies of the latest Oehme, van Sweden book, The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design for each member on the tour.

Axel Schupf with Chapin and Cynthia Nolen of Santa Barbara, CA

 

The group enjoyed fresh strawberries and pastries on the Library Terrace

 

The group descending the Roxybury Granite Steps from the Entry Garden to Forecourt

 

Sara Schupf addresses questions from the group

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The ARF Hamptons Garden Tour – 25th Anniversary

The Animal Rescue Fund of The Hamptons is offering a self-guided visit to six delightful gardens in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack, including an Oehme, van Sweden garden on Ocean Road. The tour, this Saturday, lasts from 10am – 4pm. A cocktail party immediately follows in East Hampton. Tickets are $75 for the tour and $175 for the tour and cocktail party. If you would like to attend this year’s garden tour, click here.

The OvS garden featured on the tour highlights a series of garden rooms, all with a distinct carpet of brick and stone. To the rear of the house are a living room terrace, dining terrace, pool terrace and secret garden off the master bedroom. A magnificent lily pool sits adjacent to the living room french doors, providing spectacular refractions of light from the setting sun on the ceiling.

Specimen trees on the property include Mimosa, Weeping Beech, Chinese Sumac, Caucasian Wingnut, Amur corktree, and Katsura Trees.

OvS Principal Eric D. Groft will be on-hand to fully illustrate the splendor of this garden and sign your copy of the new book THE ARTFUL GARDEN: Creative Inspriation for Landscape Design.

Photography by Richard Felber and James van Sweden

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An Update on the Green Roof at United Therapeutics

OvS paid a visit to the United Therapeutics Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 25th to complete a Final Plant Warranty Inspection for the site. The purpose of the visit was to inspect all plant material and determine if any replacements were required. We completed a walkthrough of the site and were pleasantly surprised to find that there were very few replacements required. We were also shocked at just how much the plants had grown in a two-year period.

The roof terraces in particular were fantastic. The Achillea tomentosa was a full bloom bright yellow, the Salvia ‘Tesquicola’ was just starting to pop blue and the multiple different colored Sedums had spread as intended. Stainless steel planters, the 6th floor arbor, and beautiful site furnishings, together with the plantings, have created pleasant outdoor rooms to be enjoyed by the employees of United Therapeutics.

 

 

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A Visit to Garden Treasure Nursery

On Thursday Afternoon, May 19th, OvS Principal Eric Groft stopped by Garden Treasure Nursery in Sagaponock and walked a demonstration garden that owner Holger Winenga has established. Known as “The Wilderness,” the garden is a treasure of rare and unusual plants, a true horticultural delight.

Holger descends from a long line of horticulturalists, nurserymen and hybridizers of plants in Germany and OvS considers him one of the most knowledgeable nurserymen on the east coast.

Enjoy!

Lamium Ovala

Rodgersia Podophylla 'Braunlaub'

Rhododendron 'My Mary' (not narcissiflora) Holger

 

Anemone sylvestris with Senecio

 

Anemone sylvestris

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A Visit to Treesearch Farms

On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 24 and 25, OvS Principal Eric Groft was in Houston, Texas for the Chung Mei Buddhist Temple Park Project presenting to the Temple and design team of Catherine Chao and Greg Yang, architects.

While in the area he visited TreeSearch Farms, which turned out to be a treasure trove of plants. Not just your ordinary nursery and not a collection of the rare and bizarre either, it is just the type of place those here at OvS love. Eric had asked his tour guide Erik Hansen of McDugald Steele (potential installer for the garden and park) to show him a nursery owned by someone that is passionate about horticulture. Well … Treesearch Farm Owner Heidi Sheesley was the right pick – she knows her plants! Eric and Heidi were off and running sharing plant knowledge and stories of J.C. Raulston, Michael Dirr and Tony Avent. The perfect plantsmen afternoon!

L-R: Lucky (Heidi's toy rat terrier), Heidi Sheesley, Eric Groft and Erik Hansen

Heidi is a sensitive and sensible plants person. She collects and propogates plants that will do well in her region, always pushing the limits but not trying to reinvent the wheel either. She loves ornamental grasses and the natural look, but does not go to the extremes of the native purists. All very much simpatico with the OvS philosophy. Eric looks forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with TreeSearch and Heidi.

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Eric Groft at Kendale Farm

Detail of Honeysuckle blooming on the vegetable garden fence

On Friday May 4th Eric Groft visited Harrison and Sue Wellford at Kendale Farm on the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It had been several years since Eric had a chance to review the garden and in general the garden and grounds look amazing. Kendale Farm is featured in our new book THE ARTFUL GARDEN: CREATIVE INSPIRATION FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN. You’ll find a panoramic spread of the farm in Chapter 4: Rhythm & Movement.

Lady Banksia Roses just finish blooming in the cut flower garden

 

Iris Ceasars Brother blooming in front of summer kitchenCut Garden detail

 

Sue Wellford standing in front of a glorius stand of PeaoniesCut flower garden framed by old summer kitchen now used as a potting shedFront of Kendale FarmThe fields of barley were simply mesmerizingDetail of Barley

Lisa Delplace at Toledo Botanical Garden

Customers shop the annual plant sale at Toledo Botanical Garden (Photo by the Toledo Blade)

The horticulturally hungry descended upon The Toledo Botanical Garden in Toledo, OH on a Saturday in May for the annual spring plant sale. Oehme, van Sweden CEO Lisa Delplace was among the many to browse the over 10,000 perennials on sale, and also serve as the day’s keynote speaker. Some of the most popular items for sale were of the sustainable variety. For those looking to capitalize on the rain as a way to water their gardens, stormwater management barrels were on sale. For those looking to capitalize on breakfast, chicken coops – which included three hens – were available. It goes to show that no matter where you live – urban or rural – you can enjoy farming and dabble in raising livestock.

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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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