Garden Photo of the Day

Highlights from a Long Island Garden

By Kim Charles

Here is the story behind Amy Palmer's beautiful garden.

"Twenty two years ago my husband and I began our garden on two acres of potato farm in a small town on the east end of Long Island, NY.  In the hamlet of Bridgehampton, we found the perfect place.  We loved the idea of being in a rural area, a farming area with lots of tractors and potato trucks.  The acres we settled upon were open, wide open to views of horse farms and sky with nothing to obstruct the blank canvas of land we found at the beginning except waist high weeds and a low berm along the rear of the property where the tractors used to turn to start down another row.  

Yes, we thought, as we walked the land, "we can build a garden here, it's perfect."

We designed and built five small gardens to surround the gray shingled cottage.  The herb garden, the sentimental garden, the shade garden the horseshoe garden and the kitchen garden.  We learned so much, kept notes and delighted in our labors.  We kept many garden journals, one for each year with pictures, ideas, failures and successes.  

The garden has been a major part of our lives for many years and our three raised beds in our kitchen garden for organic vegetables has been amazing to us.  The beds dressed with our own compost each year have been feeding us and many others for all that time."

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Butterflies and bees love the Mexican sunflowers.

Crowning glory

Our garden tete a tete

A Swallowtail butterfly on a butterfly bush.

A flashback to spring.

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Comments

  1. frankgreenhalgh 09/07/2016

    Something strange going on here. This is the second post of Amy's garden on the web-site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. perenniallycrazy 09/07/2016

      You're such a keener Frank =).

      1. frankgreenhalgh 09/07/2016

        About to 'retire' though, Cherry

        1. User avater
          LindaonWhidbey 09/08/2016

          Oh, please don't, Frank:)

          1. frankgreenhalgh 09/08/2016

            Hi Linda - I'll see if things improve. Aussies don't like messing around. They like to get on with things, and haven't got the patience of you guys. You don't want a frustrated Aussie disturbing your tranquility!

    2. sheila_schultz 09/07/2016

      Thanks for letting me know about this post, Frank!

  2. User avater
    treasuresmom 09/07/2016

    I got 2 copies of the email of Beatriz Ayala's garden. I never got this one.

  3. grannieannie1 09/07/2016

    Very pretty pictures, liked the history, and I'm curious what goes into a "Sentimental Garden." More pictures please! I'd like to see each garden next time.

  4. sheila_schultz 09/07/2016

    Amy, your acreage is a delight, and the photos you sent in leave me wanting to see much more! Rural living definitely agrees with you!

  5. User avater
    meander_michaele 09/07/2016

    Well, I guess I'm old enough that I can get away with repeating myself...so I'll do a copy and paste of what wrote on the other "official" posting of this garden.

    Hi (again) Amy, I love how you have given your garden areas a sense of enclosure and privacy...quite a transformation from a once upon a time potato field. In fact, I think all your shared vignettes deserve to share the title of a "crowning glory" with your elegant lady head planter. The peeks of the surrounding land beyond your hedging seem to show that it has remained rural which is exactly what you were hoping for 22 years ago.

  6. User avater
    LindaonWhidbey 09/08/2016

    Hi Amy, your garden is a delightful mix of formal and country casual. Unfortunately, it was probably missed by many of the usual responders on this site since some of us received emails of yesterday's post again today. That said, I really enjoyed your photos and would love to see more of your 22 year adventure.

  7. User avater
    simplesue 06/20/2024

    Beautiful, and I love the arrangement of the shrubs with bench and birdbath.

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