In support of an exciting summer of events at LongHouse Reserve—the renowned 16-acre museum and sculpture garden in East Hampton—the Hearst Design Group [House Beautiful, ELLE DECOR, and VERANDA] announces the launch of an Instagram challenge designed to create an explosion of beautiful and inspiring imagery celebrating the LongHouse Reserve’s new exhibition EXTERIORS: The Explosion of Outdoor Furnishings, which opened Saturday, May 17th‎. An obsessive fan of gardens AND Instagram, KDH explores the explosion with my stepdaughter Lily in this New KDHamptons Garden Diary below:

Demonstrating how design need not stop at the back door, EXTERIORS delights with nine distinctive outdoor rooms, filled with the best in international design. Inspired by the lush gardens and the EXTERIORS exhibition, visitors are encouraged to post pictures and videos on Instagram using the hashtag #HearstLovesLongHo‎use [KDHamptons posted ours on Instagram already!]. Hearst Design Group editors will select their favorite entries, which will appear on the Hearst Design Group websites and will also be featured at the July 19 “White Hot and Blue 2” gala honoring Cindy Sherman and Agnes Gund at LongHouse. Entries must be posted on Instagram using the #HearstLovesLongHo‎use hashtag by Saturday, July 5.

Newell Turner, editorial director of the Hearst Design Group, says, “LongHouse is a world-class garden and design destination filled with unusual plantings and extraordinary outdoor art that will inspire you to look at nature and space in new way. There are so many ways to see nature—from expansive landscapes to up-close, almost microscopic details. Plants, objects, people, animals and insects, weather and light all become a part of an ever changing experience in the garden. The goal of our Instagram challenge is to encourage people to look for and find beauty all around. It’s also an opportunity for people to use still photography and videos to tell stories or simply share experiences through an artistic medium.” Love it! Check out KDHamptons LongHouse Instagram video here: http://instagram.com/p/oHGqEcKQ0X/

LongHouse President Dianne Benson [below] adds, “LongHouse is bursting with new coordinations of nature and design never quite seen like this before. We are thrilled to introduce this cross-fertilization of ideas and throw open our doors to welcome all Instagrammers and view the best at our July 19th Gala with Cindy Sherman and Agnes Gund.”

LongHouse Founder Jack Lenor Larsen, stated, “We hope viewers will begin to collect art and furnishings for their exteriors—not suites of matching pieces but those which will, above all, personalize their spaces—encouraging users to be more themselves. We are happy to partner with Hearst.”

In May and June, LongHouse and the EXTERIORS exhibition are open: Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 2:00 until 5:00 p.m. In July and August, open days are Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 2:00 until 5:00 p.m. Reservations are required (631-329-3568). Admission is $10, $8 for seniors. LongHouse Members, children under 12 accompanied by an adult, and high school and college students with student ID are admitted at no charge. For more information please go to: http://www.longhouse.org/

[EXTERIORS curators are Wendy Van Deusen, Associate Curator; Jack Lenor Larsen, co-curator; Sherri Donghia, co-curator; and Elizabeth Lear, co-curator.]