On Saturday, June 20th, East Hampton’s not-for-profit art garden, museum, and educational organization LongHouse Reserve will host its much-anticipated horticultural event, Planters: ON+OFF the Ground VII garden container invitational exhibition. At the seventh garden invitational, a team of recognized horticultural experts together with a lively Hamptons crowd will review a spectacular line up of garden masterpieces of all shapes and sizes, designed by illustrious artists, gardeners and landscape professionals from far and wide. The mission? To create a contained garden of choice, as divergent in format, design and contents as the imagination allows.

Founded by Jack Lenor Larsen, LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton exemplifies living with art in all its forms. Through its arboretum, sculpture gardens and programs, LongHouse Reserve brings together art and nature, aesthetics and spirit, with a strong conviction that the arts are central to living wholly and creatively.

Acclaimed judges Marco Polo Stufano, and Preston Phillips will present awards to winning designs on the squash court in front of the Lear Memorial at the Reserve, while guests will vote to award a People’s Choice Award to the garden art ‘container’ of their choosing.

The event, which always incites an atmosphere of exuberance and high-spirits, not only promises to be a true crowd-pleaser but also represents the quintessence of LongHouse Reserve’s guiding mission: living with art in all of its forms. Planters: ON+OFF the Ground VII is hosted by LongHouse’s Garden Committee Chair, Elizabeth Lear, and LongHouse Reserve founder and legendary textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen. The exhibit will remain open through Saturday, July 25th.

Plant Auction & Sale: This year, LongHouse Reserve will also host a rare plant and container silent auction on the same day. Broken Arrow Nursery, our good friends from Connecticut, will also be on the grounds that day and will hold a plant sale bound to inspire new additions to your home container and garden displays. A percentage of the sale proceeds will benefit the LongHouse Reserve’s Garden Fund.

Event Details: Planters: ON+OFF the Ground VII
On Saturday, June 20th, the exhibit will be open from 4:30—7:00PM;
Ribbon presentation will take place at 6:00PM;
The exhibit will be open to the public from June 20th – July 25th;
Tickets are $20 for non-members; members pay $10.

About the Judges:

Marco Polo Stufano is the Founding Director of Horticulture at Wave Hill; a position he held for 34 years. Overlooking the Hudson River in the Bronx, the Conservatory at Wave Hill bears his name. Stufano holds numerous awards including the Scott Medal and Award from the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, The Garden Club of America’s Distinguished Service Medal and The Thomas Roland Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A popular lecturer, he is active with The Garden Conservancy and The Untermyer Garden Conservancy.

Preston Phillips is a renowned and local architect with a distinct sense of his craft. He brings a unique dimension to the festivities as he taps into the relationship of garden to architecture and his exceptional attention to detail to assess this year’s more than 25 ON+OFF entries. Hamptons magazine described him as a “visionary young architect,” while Connoisseur magazine has called him “a man of his time.” His works have been featured in publications such as Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, and Interior Design, among others.