ARF Takes Tourgoers Through Bridgehampton, Sagaponack And Wainscott During Annual Garden Tour

What inspires a garden? Wandering through the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons’ (ARF) 30th Annual Garden Tour, “Highlighting Gardens in Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and Wainscott,” we saw Gillian Spreckels Fuller start with a tennis court she transformed into a squared off floral fantasia. Rosalind and Ken Landis started with an English garden that was redesigned by Christopher LaGuardia Design Group to offer better water views. For Susan Calhoun and Charlie Moss, Edwina von Gal gave shape to a romantic vision that ties together lawns, gardens and meadows. Bettysue and Jeffrey Hughes’ grounds, featured in Edmund Hollander’s book Gardens for the New Country Place, showcases curved beds and stone terracing echoing the curved tower of the house.

Ani Antreasyan’s old vessels can also be converted to lamps. (Photo: Lee Fryd)

At the Madoo Conservancy’s Much Ado About Madoo, high-end gardening vendors such as Ani Antreasyan were offering inspiration. Under the Ani Ancient Stone banner, she curated antique pieces to mix into her signature outdoor porch and garden installations. “The metal cups are nomadic tribal cups I filled with pink peonies,” she told us. “They are sitting on an 18th Century Spanish table.” She also had a collection of old terra cotta pots, which she keeps as garden containers or transforms into lamps. (Not on display, but worth mentioning are Ani’s antique Turkish marble sinks.)

Interior Decorator Nancy Corzine’s indigenous forest was inspired by a Southampton town edict! “It looks like it’s been here for many years,” she told us, standing at her pool at the foot of a sloping terrace of blue boulders, the entire property surrounded by a forest of towering trees, “which it has not.” Sixteen years ago when she bought it, the house sat on woods. “The first contractor cut down every tree, sold the lumber, sold the wood, scraped off the top soil and sold it,” Corzine revealed. “The Township of Southampton put me under a criminal stop order.” The project took an unexpected turn, but she ended up loving the end result. “I had not planned to terrace the property like this, but I had to put in 21 dry wells and 5,000 feet of French Drain outside, because there were no longer roots to protect water runoff. I put in these many, many tons of rocks to make it look natural. And I’m happy I did it. I love the look!”

The residence of Bettysue and Jeffrey Hughes. (Photo: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com)

Corzine, a strong supporter of ARF, says she’s rescued 73 dogs. “They come to my factory in California and usually in a bad way, maybe injured, beat up, sick,” she explained. “It’s an industrial park and they come to our gate. We feed them. We take them to a wonderful vet, and then we find wonderful homes for them.”

For more information about ARF, visit www.arfhamptons.org.