Sun Sails

Back in the 80's my friend Claude had a light nylon triangle he would tie over the picnic table to make a spot of shade. I liked the light airy protection his simple shape made for us. My client needed more shade on their deck than one umbrella could provide. Mills of Greenport engineered these Sun Sails for us. Jamie from Mills had the shade sections made in New Zealand and built the custom poles to support it all.

Life on the Edge

Vines like deer seem to thrive in a roadside environment. This growth of bittersweet got left high and dry when the land below got cleared.

Green Driving

This modern solution makes a lawn that you can drive over. The concrete grid protects the plants so they do not get crushed by the cars tires passing over. From a distance the you just see the grass poking up like a typical lawn.

A Bit of Color

Lace Cap Hydrangea have become very popular. The bloom has a flatter profile than the classic blue snowballs, the buds open over time making delicate spots of color.

Getting Here

I like this secion of RT27 that runs through the heart of the Pine Barrons between Westhampton and Hampton Bays. In the summer of 1995 we got very little rain and there was a big fire here in 1995, most of that damage has grown back.

Spring into Summer

This field on Cobb Road is in full bloom with field daisys and purple vetch.

Terms of Sale

top left: Do Not Leave used computers or TVs

top right: We are not selling lines at our fair this year do do not leave yours

center bottom: Do not leave second hand Yard sale items

If you couldn't sell it we can't either

Loaded

This Kousa Dogwood is loaded with blooms, more than I can recall seeing on any other tree. This type of tree like the mountain laurel seems to have years with a very strong bloom and years that are less impressive. This year has been strong for these dogwood & the laurel up in the hills. The Kousa Dogwood is also know as a Korean Dogwood

What's Inside

Over the years I have had reason to open the old walls of my home on Bowden Sq. The main frame seems to be classic post and beam filled in with studs and a MIX of old boards to make up the siding under the shingles. This section was opened when the living room got extended.

Something Big is Coming

Tucked in the corner of my garden I have an espalier magnolia. The plant seems to like it's protected corner with a warm southern exposure. In the early spring the leaves tend to be very beat up from the winter ice. Once it warms up again the plant recovers and I get a real treat rich fragrant waxy blooms.

Loft, Southampton

I have an interest in the industrial side of the Hamptons. Buildings built to support the community. This vast building set on the edge on the Long Island Rail Road started life as a local power company. Later it had many uses, most recently as an office Today it sits vacant waiting for a buyer to give it a new life.

One Crazy Tree

I had the opportunity to visit this very nice garden in Sag Harbor. The tall tree in the center is a Monkey-puzzle tree. This strange tree made of spikey scales is native to Chile and Argentina.

Good Foundation

This fine Sag Harbor stone foundation must have been built in the hay day of whaling. I know of no stone quarry on Long Island, we are just a big sand bar here. This stone must have been imported at great expense.

Nice Bit of Color

Some fields here are planted in flowers to be cut for the local farm stands. Coming across a growth like this is always a treat.

More Modern Movement

This sleek modern home made interesting choices. The main house is almost a cube, the center section is a great screen room that opens to the pool and creates a bridge between the garage structure and the main house.

Choice Hedges

Most of the hedges in the Hamptons are California Privet, a fast growing shrub that is ALMOST evergreen in our climate not dropping its leaves so late in the fall after most summer people are gone from the area. These two much slower true evergreen hedges had been growing side by side. The left is Ilex, on the right classic English Box.

A Nice Place to Watch

This balcony on North Main Street near the merge with North Sea Road has always seemed like a fun place to watch village life.

Herbs at Home

This pot is in my herb garden. I like the peppery zing that nasturtium blooms give to a salad.

Hedges Colors

Most of the hedges in the Hamptons are privet. When I was at the garden Hidcote Manor I saw hedges with accents mixed in. There is a small garden just outside the kitchen door I call the herd garden, it has turned out to be too shady for most herbs. I added this clematis to the privet hedge so I would have some color. It makes trimming the hedge a little tricky.

The New Frontier

I am reading a book about a large shingle house and the family that built it. This home was built on Cape Cod in the early 1900's. The book reminded me of the huge roll train service played in providing access to most of the outer banks. The light rain today gave the tracks a nice silvery slick.

One Good Rose

My climbing rose opened today, The rose grows on a wall next to the pool. I think it is very happy next to the pool. Maybe it likes all the chlorine from the pool to ward off black spot.

Big Move

The new Parish Museum is now being built just outside Southampton Village. The new building looks very impressive. I had to stand a good distance away to get the whole building in my photo.

Tidy in Pink

The wind seems to have arranged the fallen petals from these crab apples in very neat order.

Summer Projects

Each year I do some decorating for charity events. This was the ARF Beach-Ball in Bridgehampton 2009. This year the ARF party will have a Full Moon theme. I have started tests for the decoration parts, now that the Rose Girls are mostly worked out for the Rose Society. The Rose Girls are for July, ARF is not till August.

Color and Texture

I added a smoke bush last year to set off the corner of the giant green leaves, I did not expect the iris to show so nice in front of the bronze foliage.

Two Heads

I have been working on parts for the Southampton Rose Society's entry in the 4th of July parade. These head pieces for the "rose girls" are mostly complete.

Look our for Dinosaurs

The Chinese Rhubarb is so tall now that there is a whole world under their foliage.

Thats a Lot of Shingles

This home on North Main Street just got all new shingles. As the shingles weather the walls will turn darker from weather and the roof will turn lighter from the sun. This will give the home more definition.

New Garden

My big garden in the back yard has a back planting of bigger plants with annuals filled in on the front. This spring I added a new flower bed of classic perennials on the front of the house. It is tempting to ad some longer blooming annuals to this bed also but I will try to hold back.

Restoration

A lot of older homes in the village get a make-over. This home's deep repair job seems more a restoration as they have kept & rebuilt the old windows. I expect this is one of the older homes in our village.