As much as water and light, the Hamptons is also about our gardens. We inherit and/or create them. They reflect life’s seasons in their buds, blooms and withered refuse. Or so we were thinking, as Mark Fichandler described how he, co-chair Barbara Slifka, and the 31st Annual Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) Garden Tour team had to imagine how the gardens would look in full bloom next week, as they walked through their skeletal bones in February. Now, it’s our turn to walk through the gardens, open to the public, Saturday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., to benefit the Animal Rescue Fund. It’s a glimpse not only into seven private East Hampton Village gardens, but the vagaries of their planners: mortal and divine.
The gardens of Dr. Richard Axel, Susan and Frank Dunlevy, Alex Goren and Brooke Kroeger, Carol and Paul Mendez, Jackie and Alan Mitchell, Scott Sanders and Peter Wilson, and Frances Schultz will be on display to those who purchase $85 tour tickets. Free entry to Madoo Conservancy is also included. Libby and Shahab Karmely will open their home, built originally for Sarah Diodati Gardiner, for cocktails, on Friday, June 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to $175 ticket holders.
“We always do different homes and Hamptons towns each summer,” Fichandler told us. “We keep it geographically tight, so you don’t have to traipse all over the East End. It’s challenging to find fabulous, new, different and underexposed sites. It’s a real team effort between Barbara and me, the committee and ARF employees to do so.
“This year, there’s quite a nice variety, starting with this really charming village garden 1920s cottage,” he continued. Frances Schultz, a contributing editor to House Beautiful magazine, named it Bee Cottage, after the tiny buzzing workers that are drawn to beauty.
Carol and Paul Mendez have a low light garden. “Everyone has shade,” Mark agreed, “and everyone says, ‘What am I going to plant?’ There’s also a pathway that wanders around the house that you’re going to love!”
“The Richard Axel landscape is all about specimen trees pruned within an inch of their lives that are just magnificent,” Fichandler continued.
“Right on the corner of Further Lane and Two Mile Hollow Road is the Asian themed garden of Scott Sanders and Peter Wilson,” Fichandler added. “It’s got a lot of elevation, which is unusual in the Hamptons and quite vertical: You go up and down and around.”
For more information or for tickets visit www.arfhamptons.org or call 631-537-0400 x219.
Animal Rescue Fund Of The Hamptons’ 31st Annual Garden Tour To Showcase East Hampton Landscapes
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Luxury of Restraint: Inside the Quiet Confidence of STUDIOBKMās Aesthetic
I first noticed 55 Wickatuck Drive in Sag Harbor because the gorgeously redesigned home had a real point of viewācalm, edited, and quietly specific. That is, it felt like a home, not a project. The styling is intentional without feeling staged: elevated finishes, relaxed coastal ease, a level of cohesion that shows someone cared about the homeās full experience, not just the high-impact moments.
Even after the home sold, something about the property stayed with me. Luckily for me, the real estate agent who sold the property, Sarah Doud, picks up her phone when I call (to be fair, she would probably answer your call, too). She told me the renovation and interiors were designed by STUDIOBKM and Brian K. Mims, a studio approach centered on luxury that simplifies living rather than complicating it. The spaces feel restorative, considered, and durable enough to handle real life in the Hamptons: sandy feet, wet dogs, last-minute guests, all of it.
INTERVIEW: Jonathan Shoemaker on the Accabonac Theater Project, This Land Is Your Land, and Life in Springs
Film and Television Line Producer and Springs resident Jonathan Shoemaker brings his talents to the East End with his theater company, The Accabonac Theater Project. Its inaugural production, This Land Is Your Land, will run January 30 through January 31 at 7pm with a 5pm show on February 1 at Hoie Hall at St. Lukeās Episcopal Church in East Hampton. The production features a trio of short plays titled āGeneral Store,ā āBaker Sale,ā and āMystery Art.ā
From RosƩ to a Lifestyle Collective: Jesse Bongiovi on Building Lily Pond Group
When Jesse Bongiovi launched Hampton Water Wine Co. with his dad, Jon Bon Jovi, in 2018, he helped redefine what modern rosĆ© could look and feel likeāsun-soaked, effortless, and rooted in moments shared with the people you love.
Now, with the growth of Lily Pond Group, heās expanding that vision far beyond the bottle. Influenced by years spent in the Hamptonsā uniquely relaxed and refined culture, Jesseās approach to brand-building is all about capturing a feeling: the blend of ease, taste, and connection that defines a perfect summer day out East.
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