Tour Grey Gardens And More Private Estates During Parrish Art Museum's 2017 Landscape Pleasures

“The only thing more pleasurable than weeding and pruning is sharing a garden walk with friends—and drinks.”

Wise words by R. William Thomas, one of three esteemed speakers at this year’s Landscape Pleasures, an annual garden tour and symposium held by the Parrish Art Museum.

Indeed, it is the perfect time of year to appreciate the wonder and serenity of beautiful gardens, and to celebrate the season—out of doors. In its 33rd year, Landscape Pleasures is almost like a rite of summer. Held the weekend of June 10 and 11, the program features world-class landscape design and gardening figures making presentations, followed by a Q&A session.

On Saturday morning, at the museum in Water Mill, writer/garden designer Page Dickey will discuss her favorite gardens; landscape architect Christine Ten Eyck will talk about the inherent beauty of Texas and the Southwest; and Mr. Thomas will share insights into the art of gardening at Chanticleer, the 48-acre pleasure garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., ticket-holders can participate in self-guided tours with exclusive access to private gardens. In East Hampton, Arne and Milly Glimcher and Deborah Nevins will open their estates, and Grey Gardens—the former home of Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s cousins “Big” Edie and “Little” Edie Bouvier Beale made famous in a 1975 documentary of the same name—will welcome visitors as well. In Water Mill, the Listowel estate fronting Mecox Bay is on the tour.

Ms. Ten Eyck said, “I will be speaking about the inherent harsh beauty of the Southwest and how we have tried to instill this special character into our work in Arizona and Texas.” Her ancestor Conraedt Ten Eyck landed and settled in New York, and had many sons. “My family is a descendant of this original family. I have lived in the West, though, all of my life.”

“We are always striving to create gardens that don’t require exhaustive maintenance—we have designed resilient landscapes in the Southwest that can take flood or drought,” Ms. Ten Eyck said.

Ms. Dickey said her presentation will be all about her favorite gardens and why they are her favorites. “I’ll show slides of private gardens in the U.S. and also Europe that particularly appeal to me for various reasons. Why do I call them favorites? It might be the atmosphere … originality, humor, a passion, a great sense of design.”

“I get great pleasure out of people who are having fun in their gardens!” she said.

Ms. Dickey’s book “Gardens in the Spirit of Place” featured East Hampton landscape designer and past Landscape Pleasures speaker Edwina Von Gal.

Mr. Thomas will present a “virtual tour of the [Chanticleer] garden and a behind-the-scenes look at the place. I’ll talk about how the gardeners design both the plantings and much of the furniture, and how we work in an environmentally responsible manner.”

He went on to say, “As citizens of the world, we all have a responsibility to care for our planet. As gardeners and landscapers, we are specially equipped to bring plants and natural beauty to our neighborhoods.”

Ms. Ten Eyck is the founding principal of Ten Eyck Landscape Architects based in Austin, Texas. During her 35-year career, her work has celebrated the inherent beauty of Texas and the Southwest, its culture, and the sacred path of water. Her work addresses global issues such as climate, habitat and water quality protection, while also creating restorative outdoor environments that foster social interaction and healing.

“The opportunity is to connect people to nature and each other through the gardens we create. As far as elements in the garden—of course, plants, but also brimming water—or even the memory of water in a garden,” she said.

Mr. Thomas has been with Chanticleer since 2003. He leads the Chanticleer staff in its continued development of the garden and emphasizes an environmentally sensitive and multi-century approach to the property.

Ms. Dickey is the author of seven books, including the aforementioned “Gardens in the Spirit of Place,” plus the award-winning “Breaking Ground: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers,” and “Inside Out: Relating Garden to House.”

Once participants gain knowledge from the esteemed panelists, the following day they take their self-guided tours of the private gardens.

Mr. Thomas gave some tips for exploring the gardens: “Just enjoy the visual splendors and not look at gardens through your own landscape’s lens. Too often, garden visitors are focused on what idea they can take home. I think it’s better to enjoy what you see and think about why you like it. You never know how that will inspire you in the future.”

Tickets for the Landscape Pleasures symposium and garden tour are $225, or $175 for Parrish members. For $400, sponsor tickets also include a private cocktail reception Saturday, June 10, at the estate of Louise and Leonard Riggio. Benefactor tickets, for $1,000, additionally include invitations to a Saturday luncheon hosted by Parrish Trustee Veronica Atkins. As a bonus, all tickets include admission to Intersections: The Architect in Conversation on Friday, June 9, at 6 p.m. at the museum. Friday’s theme is “Landscape Architecture and the Environment: The Aesthetics of Sustainability,” with speakers Chris Reed, the founder and director of landscape firm Stoss, and Alex Matthiessen, the president of eco-political consulting firm Blue Marble Project. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit parrishart.org/LandscapePleasures2017 or call 631-283-2118 ext. 150.