The Hamptons are known as a glamorous playground of the rich and famous, but since its earliest days as a sleepy summer colony, the area has also been at the epicenter of American garden design, boasting a vast collection of lushly innovative, private landscapes-and a staggering assemblage of creative gardeners, designers, and landscape architects. Hamptons Gardens invites you behind the private hedges and into the picturesque landscapes, showing work by groundbreaking designers such as Edwina von Gal, Oehme, van Sweden and Associates, and Miranda Brooks. From the sustainable and native to the over-the-top and avant garde, these gardens frame or transform houses-both modern and traditional-and extend the living space outdoors. Hamptons Gardens makes stops at the estates of Southampton, the cliffs of Montauk, East Hampton's Georgica Pond, and even the famed Grey Gardens. In collaboration with photographers Mary Ellen Bartley and Doug Young, author and Hamptons-insider Jack deLashmet open the garden gates to the Hamptons' most exciting private gardens in this visually stunning edition.

First monograph to present the work of Laguardia Design Group, a highly regarded landscape architecture firm specializing in contemporary residential design in the Hamptons. With offices in Water Mill, LaGuardia Design Group is immersed in the fragile landscape of the Hamptons, both its woods and meadows and the dramatic shoreline along the Atlantic. Notable projects include the rebuilding of the dunescape surrounding a landmark Norman Jaffe house damaged by storms, collaborations with well-known contemporary architects, iand the setting for a distinguished collection of contemporary sculpture in Bridgehampton. Founded in 1994 by Christopher LaGuardia, this firm is committed to expressing the character of each site and recognized for its environmental stewardship, historic references, and meticulously designed outdoor spaces. Rather than attempting to mimic nature, LDG's goal with every design is to interpret natural processes as an artistic expression in their work. In 2013, LDG received the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) award of excellence in residential design, the highest residential award in the profession.

Cool breezes, miles of pristine beaches, and vast, open farmland have long attracted visitors to Long Island's South Fork, known worldwide as "The Hamptons." Residents in picturesque seaside communities from Southampton to Montauk are calling upon world-class designers to fine-tune their visions, giving rise to a fresh design vernacular: homes that are testaments to what can be achieved when inspired by the natural beauty of a unique locale--and when imagination is one's only limitation. Out East captures the enduring appeal of shingled houses, modernist oceanfront designs, artists' compounds, and Montauk surf shacks. Jennifer Ash Rudick, a long-time Southampton resident, leads an insider's tour of more than 25 houses, cottages, and pool houses. Tria Giovan, a Sag Harbor-based photographer, captures extraordinary gardens, verandas, lakeside pavilions, farmhouses, and converted barns.

A lavish look at the private homes of the storied Hamptons, with gorgeous photographs and engaging text that discusses the history, decor and architecture from an insider's perspective.

“The Hamptons” is synonymous with luxury. Simply mentioning the name conjures images of poolside soirées, grandiose waterfront estates and endless days on the beach socializing with the upper echelon. But before this famed peninsula became the summer haunt of the glitterati, its forty miles of rolling sand dunes provided the perfect landscape for English settlers. Once New York high society caught wind of the charming hamlets and salty air, its members—from the Fords to the Vanderbilts—soon turned The Hamptons into a summer oasis. Next came the creatives seeking solitude, a place to write and sketch, away from the urban cacophony. John Steinbeck in Sag Harbor. Jackson Pollock in the Springs. And Andy Warhol in Montauk. Now, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Calvin Klein, Madonna, Alec Baldwin and Martha Stewart all enjoy Hamptons homes. They may come from different realms, but what’s one thing all Hamptonites, honorary or official, can agree on? The locale boasts a unique allure—one that morphs to meet the desires of its next seasonal guest or lifelong dweller.

published in conjunction with an exhibition held at The Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York.

Madoo is an artist's unusual and beautiful garden at the far end of Long Island. Described in the New York Times as "Robert Dash's ever-changing masterpiece," it has been pictured in many books and magazines and visited by lovers of gardens from this country and abroad. Now the author/artist/gardener describes his making of Madoo in a book that is as charming and entertaining as it is enlightening. Dash’s artist's sense --or senses -- of the movement of air and the effects of light and color suffuse all his writings, and show us new ways to look at our own gardens. As with Henry Mitchell's books, one learns more from reading these essays than from a dozen how-to books. And whether we like to make gardens or simply to look at them, Dash has given us a book to keep by the bedside, where we can read and reread our favorite pieces ("Fairies"? "Manuring"? "The Name of the Rose"? "The Garden Tour"? Too many to list!) over and over again.