Garden Glory: How to Craft a Spectacular Outdoor Living Space
Landscape designer Edmund Hollander explains how he conceived a Hamptons oasis that carves out space for nature, art, and Janus et Cie furniture
Although the team at Hollander Design Landscape Architects shapes gorgeous green spaces from Manhattan to Hong Kong, arguably its most recognized lawns live along the sandy shores of the Hamptons. There, firm president Edmund Hollander orchestrates Edenic settings with blankets of emerald green grass and plots exploding with blue hydrangeas, purple buddleias, or fragrant beach roses.
“Nature teaches you to be humble and respectful,” says Hollander of Long Island’s East End. “Everything we do on the ocean, there’s an informality; there’s a sense of movement.”
For this home in Sagaponack, New York, Hollander worked in conjunction with Kligerman Architecture & Design and the interior designers at Cullman & Kravis. The latter firm selected elegantly refined furnishings for the interior and exterior, such as the Janus et Cie Quinta tables and chairs, made using responsibly sourced teak and handwoven fibers, that populate the firepit and pool, which Hollander surrounded with a garden of sprightly Gaura Whirling Butterflies.
“All of our best design is collaborative between the architects and the interior designers, because we’re all creating spaces where people are going to live and enjoy,” says Hollander, whose work on the project also entailed carving plots to support the remarkable collection of outdoor art, including a colorful Yayoi Kusama sculpture and a mirrored Jeppe Hein artwork.
As the mist rolls in off the ocean, bringing with it the heady scent of sand and surf, and the sea grasses rustle and wave in the breeze, the artfully appointed seating areas, furnished with pieces specifically designed to withstand the challenges of the environment, add to the moment by offering a perfect perch to take it all in. “Landscape is an art; art is a landscape,” states Hollander, who featured the property in his recent book, The Landscape of Home (Rizzoli). “Planting by the ocean invites you to create magic.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Fall Issue under the headline “Natural Beauty.” Subscribe to the magazine.