garden

.iving green
LONG ISLAND LUSHNESS
A four-season garden showcases the signature style of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates
WHEN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WOLFGANG OEHME
and James van Sweden joined forces in 1977, sustainability was not part
of the vernacular among their colleagues, or even among gardeners. But
for the two men, it was an innate philosophy of eco-conscious principles
that drew them together. Since then their style has even been assigned
its own name, the New American Garden. "They were green before
anyone else," says Eric Groft, a principal with Oehme, van Sweden
& Associates. "You could call them the grandfathers of green."
Though the Washington, D.C., based firm has been at it for more
than 30 years, their work is still cutting edge, from public spaces
to perfect-fit surrounds for architecture ranging from modern to
classical, the translatable quality perhaps due to the blend of order
and wildness, the perennial border meets the American prairie. It
was this combination that drew a Southampton client to the firm in
2001. A friend of van Sweden's, she wanted a wildlife-friendly garden
STORY BY JENNY ANDREWS ■ PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD FELBER
A butterfly's paradise of
Sedum 'Matrons', Agasrache
'Blue Fortune' and Kalimeris
mongolica billows along
the walkway at this home in
Southampton. Designed by
principal Eric Groft, the garden
has a controlled wildness that
suits the luxe location while
recalling the natural look of the
client's former home in Maine.
that recalled the natural landscape she had enjoyed near her previous
home in Maine. This meant bucking the traditional approach
to gardening in the Hamptons, where a drive in any direction presents
block after block of meticulously clipped hedges and manicured
lawns — green only in a color sense. In this affluent part of Long
Island, the sound of hedge trimmers and mowers generates a constant
hum during high season.
The designer on the project was Groft, a then 15-year veteran with
the firm and well versed in the mantra of "reduce, reuse, recycle,"
which for OvS comes into play with every design. To start with, the
ubiquitous Hamptons lawn was in this case tailored to allow just
enough play area for grandkids and dogs, covering only about 15
percent of the 2-acre site. As Groft explains, a standard lawn creates
nearly the same runoff surface for rainwater as asphalt or other
hardscaping, and OvS has long been on a mission to minimize turf
APRIL 09 GARDEN DESIGN 45