LAST NIGHT I, and about a thousand others, attended a party celebrating the publication of a big fat coffee table book called Hamptons Gardens by Jack deLashmet (Assouline), held in a private garden more akin to an arboretum.
There wasn’t an uninteresting plant on the four-acre property, which was designed by deLashmet. No fussy perennial borders — just one extraordinary hedge, tree, and shrub after another, mulched and manicured to the last pine cone, interspersed with pools and statues, but not too gaudy or too many (with the possible exception of the sphinxes). There was an almost Japanese restraint holding the homeowners’ obvious incredible wealth and ability to do anything they wanted in check.
Me, right
The property, owned by Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper, interior designers and antique dealers, is all about strolling lawns, discovering hidden corners, admiring individual specimens. The party was all about drinking vodka tonics, sampling tiny hors d’oeuvres, mixing and mingling. It wasn’t too fancy; a lot of people were wearing jeans. It felt like one of those rare “right place at the right time” moments. The season has begun.
Note: The pictures in this post were taken with my friend’s iPhone.
4 comments
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June 5, 2011 at 11:13 am
Patti Hinkle
Wow! Wish I’d been there. Those are pretty nice photos from an iPhone.
June 5, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Terry
Pretty good party spot to manage so many folks. I wonder how do they do deer management?
June 5, 2011 at 9:41 pm
BrooklynGreene
You look great! The iphone photos aren’t that bad…good enough for the web but your normal photos on your blog are gorgeous. What kind of camera do you normally use? Looks like it was a very pleasant evening! Ah…Summer!
June 6, 2011 at 10:07 am
cara
Terry, that property just has to be fenced, though I didn’t particularly notice the edges. Any fence would be well-hidden by design. BG, thanks for the compliments:-) The camera question is a sore spot. I have used at least 5 different cameras in the course of this blog, and at the moment have none (well, I have a loaner but can’t charge it), which is one reason my posts have been infrequent of late. I had bought a Canon G10 last year — a “good” camera by my lights — and it was too complicated for me. I never mastered all its functions (I asked a prof’l photographer for help — she had never mastered all its functions either). I gave it to my daughter, who uses it in her work, and “temporarily” bought an inexpensive Nikon Coolpix, which I have been mostly using this year. However, I fell on my butt with it in a back pocket (long story) about a month ago, and shattered it. My plan is to go to B&H this week when I get back to NYC, and finally buy something a bit better than the Coolpix but not as fancy as the G10. Suggestions welcome!