Warren Gardens

Massive pure-white panicles bloom from midsummer through early fall — 'Natchez' is reliably the longest-blooming crape myrtle and one of the finest. Off-season the exquisitely exfoliating cinnamon-and-gray bark glows against winter skies, making this a four-season tree. The two multi-stem specimens will frame the front walk with graceful vase-form canopies at 20–25ft.

A classic lacecap hydrangea with flat, open flower heads — a ring of large sterile florets in luminous violet-blue surrounding a cloud of tiny fertile flowers. In Southampton's acidic soils the color deepens toward rich cobalt. The open lacecap structure is more refined than a mophead, casting delicate shadows against walls and paving.

The quintessential mophead hydrangea, producing globe-shaped heads in clear saturated blue that intensifies year over year as the soil's natural acidity works its magic. Eleven plants massed along the front will read as a continuous blue ribbon from the road. Reliable, vigorous, and beloved for good reason.

Allowance for boxwood edging and globe forms throughout the front garden. Specific count and placement per Lydia's design. Dense, evergreen, and permanent — the dark structural backbone against which every flower is set.

Additional hydrangea allowance ($2,200) for supplemental plants or variety additions as the front border is refined. Specific selection with Lydia.

Rich saturated crimson-magenta double blooms — one of the deepest notes in the palette. Strong stems, no staking needed, intoxicating fragrance. Foliage deepens to burgundy in autumn.

Intensely colored English lavender with deep violet-blue spikes and silvery aromatic foliage beautiful even out of bloom. Thrives in sandy coastal soils. Every pass along the path releases its fragrance.

Among the darkest flowers in the garden — brooding near-black purple pincushion blooms on long wiry stems that dance in any breeze. Blooms prolifically all summer if deadheaded. The definitive dramatic note in the moody palette.

Enormous tall bearded iris flowers in pure saturated violet-purple — genuinely electric in the late-spring border. The upright sword-like foliage provides architectural structure through the whole season.

Dramatically large, velvety-soft silver-gray leaves that are essentially flowers in their own right. This low-blooming variety is all about the foliage — the luminous silver ground plane that makes every color beside it sing. The visual mortar of the Blue & Moody border.

Cascading clusters of very double white flowers with the faintest blush center — an effect of white lace draped over its support. Profusely blooming with classic old-rose fragrance. Appears in both Front and Terrace palettes, lending continuity across the garden.

Deep glowing crimson masterwort flowers surrounded by a pale starburst collar of bracts — somewhere between a Tudor rose and a jeweled brooch. Brings an elegant, slightly old-world botanical quality to the front border.

RHS Plant of the Centenary — Rozanne blooms continuously from late spring until hard frost, producing violet-blue flowers with a white eye. It sprawls graciously through neighboring plants, weaving six months of color through the whole border.

An airy cloud of tiny pale lavender-white flowers loved by bees and butterflies. When brushed the foliage releases a refreshing minty fragrance. Front-of-border froth that softens edges and connects larger plants, thriving in sandy coastal soils.

Late-season anchor for the front border.

The crown jewel of the collection. The signature tree of the rear terrace.

One of the most rewarding small trees in American horticulture — the Seven Son Tree blooms when almost nothing else does, in September, with fragrant white clusters that then transform into showier papery rose-red calyces persisting through November. Exfoliating cinnamon bark adds winter interest. Two display seasons in one tree.

Only winter-blooming tree in the collection. Plant where the subtle fragrance can be encountered on the path.

The orchard anchor — spring clouds of fragrant pink-white blossom followed by summer fruit developing through harvest in autumn. A specimen apple of ornamental and productive character. An apple tree in an American country garden is as fundamental as the garden itself.

Multiple trees including 10–12ft specimen, 'Milky Way Select' 3in caliper, and grove allowance.

Spring white flower chains AND brilliant orange-scarlet new growth unfurling through spring — two simultaneous displays of extraordinary beauty. A premier broadleaf evergreen, glossy and refined year-round. New growth from red-tinted buds in late winter announces the season.

A spectacular sculpture in living form — blue-silver twisted needles catch light in constant motion, and the wide spreading hindupan habit creates an immediately mature, ancient-feeling presence. This collector's tree, selected for its particular character, will be the most remarked-upon specimen in the garden.

Dense green foliage sculpted into distinct rounded cloud-forms — the niwaki style of Japanese garden art. At 11 feet this is a substantial, immediately commanding living sculpture. These trained forms take decades to develop; it will be formal, timeless, and impossible to replicate quickly.

Broadly mounding with distinctive fan-shaped pendulous sprays of deep green foliage and golden highlights. Growing wider than tall, these two specimens create substantial weeping cloud forms. Evergreen, structural, and four-season in value.

Overlapping shell-like fans of the deepest, richest green arranged in a tiered organic silhouette. A specimen that has taken 20+ years to reach its size, providing an almost meditative presence — serene, unchanging, permanent. Grows very slowly.

A naturally dwarf, dense globular falsecypress with particularly fine-textured lace-like foliage. Rounder and more formal than the Nana Gracilis, it provides a compact evergreen presence with its own distinct character — tightly knit and refined.

Completely distinct from other Hinoki varieties — 'Filicoides' produces long pendulous fern-like sprays of deep green foliage creating an open, cascading, almost mysterious character. Growing wider than tall, this heavy specimen creates a weeping textural accent unlike anything else in the collection.

A sculptural tour de force — naturally twisted corkscrew branches with purposeful hindupan pruning create something between tree and living art. Dark needles spiral along gnarled branches in a manner that looks ancient and wind-shaped. Its silhouette against sky or a pale wall is unforgettable.

The garden's scaffolding — upright, densely branching dark green needles forming natural columns. Incredibly tough, shade-tolerant, and salt-resistant. The dark yew is the color that makes every pale flower luminous by contrast.

The English yew in its low spreading form — growing wide and horizontal rather than vertical, creating dark evergreen groundplane structure. At 7–8ft the large specimens will be substantial sweeping presences. Jewel-like red arils in autumn add accent to the dark foliage. Large boxwood allowance ($12,000) plus original 12× 30in globe specimens. Dense evergreen globe forms and hedging throughout the rear garden providing permanent structural rhythm and the clean green backdrops against which all flowering plants perform.

The late-blooming panicle hydrangea that delivers when the garden most needs it — August through October. Large pointed panicles open pure white and gradually blush to soft pink as temperatures cool in September, a beautiful seasonal progression. This is one of the garden's primary structural flowering shrubs, used in masses throughout the rear.

One of the most elegant flowering shrubs available — flat-topped white flower clusters appear to float like clouds over the distinctly tiered, horizontal branching. The layered branching structure remains beautiful all season; fall color deepens to rich burgundy. Seven plants create a repeating rhythm through the rear garden.

Three wisterias trained as lollipop standards — in May before the leaves fully emerge, the trained crowns transform into cascading globes of intensely fragrant pink-lavender clusters. The combination of formal structure (the trained standard) and extravagant bloom is quintessential English garden style. Annual pruning under the Marders maintenance program maintains the form.

A compact gracefully arching deutzia flowering in profusion in late spring — branches covered entirely in small star-shaped white flowers. 'Yuki Snowflake' has a naturally tidy habit requiring minimal maintenance. Twenty plants massed as a border will create a unified white flowering band bridging spring and summer.

Camellias extend the garden's season dramatically — they bloom in late autumn through early spring when little else does. Waxy, perfect blooms in white, pink, or red against glossy evergreen foliage. The allowance will fund specimen-quality plants for sheltered positions in the rear garden.

Luminous white foxglove spires with an unusually silvery-gray cast — almost metallic in certain light. The vertical exclamation marks of the border, rising above everything else. Self-sows freely to maintain a permanent presence.

Clouds of tiny daisy-like flowers opening white and aging through pink to rose — the plant carries all three shades simultaneously. Self-seeds into crevices and softens every hard edge. On the terrace it will thread through stone joints in exactly the romantic way that looks accidental but is entirely welcome.

The defining cultivar of the Blue & Blush choice — warm apricot-blush cupped blooms and strong tea-rose fragrance introducing warmth where the lavenders and salvias are cool and architectural. David Austin English rose of outstanding constitution. The 'blush' in Blue & Blush.

Gossamer haze of lavender-blue from midsummer — silvery-white aromatic stems and finely cut foliage are fragrant when touched, and the effect from a distance is of blue smoke drifting through the border. Drought-tolerant and magnificent in sandy Hampton soils.

White lace cascading clusters with faint blush center and classic old-rose fragrance. Used in both Front and Terrace palettes — the white constant that links the whole garden's color story together.

One of the most purely blue flowers in the garden — clean bright cobalt quite unlike the softer lavender-blues of salvia and perovskia. Blooms in late summer when that blue note is most needed. Bees and butterflies are magnetically attracted. Gray-green aromatic foliage is attractive from spring.

Six months of continuous violet-blue bloom from late spring to hard frost. Sprawls graciously through neighboring plants weaving them together. The thread that unifies the entire terrace planting. (Also used in Front borders.)

A pure airy cloud of tiny white flowers above aromatic foliage from midsummer until frost. Distinguishes the terrace from the front (which uses the pale lavender form) — provides clean white notes bridging the blush tones of Emily Bronte and Crystal Fairy with the blues.

Perhaps the most refined white peony — grown since 1856, its large, very double, utterly fragrant white flowers with creamy-yellow center age to pure ivory. Aristocratic restraint: luminous and serene rather than exuberant. Anchors the pale end of the Blue & Blush spectrum.

Buds inflate like small balloons before opening into wide star-shaped blue flowers — a particularly Japanese refinement in the midsummer border. Clear blue-violet that holds its color well in heat. Clump-forming, long-lived. Note: emerges late in spring — mark its position.

Enormous tall bearded iris in pure saturated violet-purple — genuinely electric in the late-spring border. Upright sword-like foliage provides architectural vertical structure all season. (Also used in Front borders.)

Masses of small pale blue-lavender five-petaled stars on fine stems — a quiet, filmy edge effect that bridges gaps between larger perennials and softens transitions to paving. The visual equivalent of a rest note in music.

Cascading fountains of bright golden-green foliage that move in the slightest breeze like a living waterfall — the most graceful ornamental grass for a shaded or partially shaded position. Fall foliage turns orange and russet. Bold in form and delicate in movement simultaneously.

One of the great small trees of the cultivated landscape — fine-fingered palmate leaves of deep burgundy-red in spring and summer, exploding to scarlet and crimson in autumn. Moved a short distance within the Middle Garden to a more advantageous position, it retains all the character built up over years in place. The existing branch structure, already shaped by time, would take decades to replicate from nursery stock.

Two Natchez crape myrtles moved to new positions within the Middle Garden as part of the renovation — carrying their established trunk structure and cinnamon bark character with them. Natchez is the definitive white crape myrtle: large panicles of pure white flowers from July through October, vigorous growth, and outstanding disease resistance. In the middle garden they anchor the summer palette as the tallest flowering element.

Six butterfly bushes relocated to new positions within the Middle Garden — arching shrubs carrying long tapering flower spikes in purple, pink, and white that draw Monarchs, Swallowtails, and Painted Ladies from midsummer through frost. Fast-growing and forgiving of hard pruning in early spring, they fill space generously and bloom on new wood each year. Among the most effective wildlife plants available for a garden of this scale.

A bold architectural statement in damp shade: enormous bronze-tinged palmate leaves like those of a horse chestnut, rising to 3 feet, topped in midsummer with tall plumes of tiny creamy-pink flowers. Few plants command a shaded pool margin so authoritatively. The foliage is the main event — the flowers are a bonus. Thrives with consistent moisture and afternoon shade.

A compact foxglove bred for shade tolerance, bearing soft pink-mauve tubular bells with deep-spotted throats in early summer. Where the species can lean and topple in woodland conditions, 'Silver Fox' stays upright and bushy — ideal for the more contained shade garden. The spotted interior of each flower is an invitation to lean in and look closely.

A giant among hostas — one of the largest varieties, with deeply corrugated blue-green leaves that can exceed two feet in length. The puckered, wavy surface catches light beautifully, creating movement and texture in still shade. Pale lavender flower spikes emerge in early summer. A single specimen becomes a destination in a shaded border; a grouping is a landscape event.

Tall, airy stems carrying tubular white or soft blush flowers that release an intoxicating jasmine-like fragrance in the evening — designed to be noticed at dusk and after dark. Thrives in partial shade where most summer annuals sulk. A garden that is used in the evenings needs Nicotiana; there is no substitute for what it does to the air around a terrace at nightfall.

A slow-spreading evergreen groundcover making a dense, glossy carpet of kidney-shaped leaves — the darkest, most polished green available in a shade plant. Tiny hidden flowers appear under the foliage in spring, almost irrelevant beside the year-round elegance of the leaf. Nothing carpets the ground under a Japanese Maple more beautifully. Stays tidy indefinitely once established.

One of the most intricate flowers in the herbaceous border — a pincushion of tiny florets surrounded by a starburst of papery white bracts tipped in green, the whole effect like a botanical illustration come to life. 'Shaggy' has especially long bracts that give it an unusually elegant, attenuated look. Ideal for cutting; thrives in the damp shade it prefers. Among Lydia's defining shade palette choices.

Pure white single flowers with golden stamens, floating on wiry stems above deeply cut dark green foliage — among the most refined of all late-season perennials, and uniquely valuable for the shade garden. Blooms from August through October when most shade plants have finished for the year. An heirloom variety in continuous cultivation since 1858; its longevity is its own recommendation.

The anchor of the orchard garden: soft pink-white blossom in May, followed through summer by the quiet labor of fruit development, then the harvest drama of September and October. Under the Marders Organic Fruit Tree Care Program (15 visits annually), this apple will receive fertilization, pest management, and targeted pruning throughout the season — making the difference between a decorative tree and a genuinely productive one.

The season's most extraordinary performer: ribbony, spidery yellow, orange, or copper flowers that emerge on bare branches in the depths of winter — January through March — carrying a warm spice fragrance detectable yards away. No other woody plant blooms when the garden is this cold. Autumn foliage is equally spectacular. In the orchard garden it becomes the winter presence that gives the space a reason to visit year-round.

Flat-topped flower plates of soft lilac-mauve that fade gracefully to pale buff as summer progresses, providing months of color from a single flush. Fine ferny foliage is aromatic when brushed. A reliable, long-blooming workhorse that fills the middle of an orchard border with quiet charm. Attracts beneficial insects; tolerates heat and drought once established.

The 'Chantilly' series produces open-faced flowers without the traditional closed "snap" lip — wider, more airy, and arguably more beautiful than the classic form. Light salmon carries enough warmth to bridge between the cooler blues and the deeper pinks in the orchard palette. Tall stems (to 30 inches) make them excellent for cutting. A cottage garden classic with a refined modern edit.

The essential blue-purple mass planting of the English-style border: cascading mounds of small silvery-green leaves smothered in lavender-blue flower spikes from early summer, reblooming strongly if cut back after the first flush. Deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, pollinator magnet, and effortlessly beautiful. Perennial of the Year for a reason — Lydia's orchard palette leans on it as its backbone blue.

White-flowered magenta's cooler sibling — pure white saucers held above felted silver-grey foliage on branched, upright stems. The grey leaf is the key: it ties together all the other palette colors and provides luminosity in the evening garden. A biennial that self-seeds reliably, maintaining its presence without intervention. Its silver-white combination works as a natural neutralizer among stronger orchard colors.

Large, open lavender-blue cups of exceptional size (to 2 inches across) on tall, slender stems — an heirloom variety that has never been superseded for sheer elegance. The flowers are large enough to read clearly from a distance and refined enough to reward a close look. Excellent for cutting; self-seeds without becoming invasive. Among the most aristocratic of all bellflowers.

Tiny daisy flowers that open white and age to rose-pink, creating a perpetual two-tone effect on cascading, fine-stemmed mounds that bloom almost without pause from June to frost. A filler without peer — it softens edges, spills over walls, and threads between larger plants with an effortless, naturalistic quality. A single plant looks accidental; a drift of them looks inevitable.

Towering white spires that command the back of the orchard border in high summer — vertical architecture that nothing else in the perennial palette provides. White delphiniums are rarer and more elegant than their blue cousins; they catch evening light and glow at dusk. The 'Guardian' series is more weather-resistant than older hybrids. Staking required, but the effect is worth every effort.

A David Austin shrub rose of the highest quality: large, deeply cupped flowers of warm apricot fading to cream, with a powerful myrrh fragrance that announces itself from ten feet away. One of Austin's most reliably repeat-flowering varieties, carrying through from June to the first frost. In the orchard setting, the warm apricot bridges perfectly between the whites and the pinks of the palette.

Soft apricot-peach tubular bells spotted within — a warmer, more unusual coloring than the standard white or purple foxglove. Exceptional in a garden that mixes English-style pastel with warm Mediterranean tones. Tall spires command vertical space in early summer before the roses fully open. Self-seeds freely; a colony establishes naturally and perpetuates without replanting.

A low, spreading groundcover rose that covers itself in small clusters of pure white flowers from early summer to frost with almost no maintenance — no deadheading required, excellent disease resistance, and spreading habit that covers ground and suppresses weeds. The ideal edging rose for an orchard garden: it ties the border to the ground plane and provides continuous white through the longest season of any rose in the palette.

Elegant tall wands of tiny soft-pink flowers arranged in branching, candelabra-like spires — providing vertical rhythm in mid-to-late summer when many perennials are between flushes. Leaves arranged in neat whorls around the stem make the plant attractive even before flowering. Attractive to bees and butterflies; the dried seedheads persist attractively into winter.

A vigorous climbing rose with fully double flowers of warm apricot-salmon — large, high-centered in the classic exhibition form — carried abundantly on long arching canes. At the café nook rose trellis, 'Polka' will train across the structure and cascade generously, creating the effect of an enclosed floral room. Moderately fragrant; repeat-flowering through summer. Among the most reliably beautiful climbers for an outdoor dining setting.

Compact, branched spires carrying saucer-shaped flowers in a blend of biscuit, peach, and rose — the palette is one of the most unusual and painterly in any garden plant. 'Southern Charm' holds its branched, bushy form without the gawkiness of the species. A sophisticated cottage-garden plant that bridges warm and cool tones simultaneously.

Ruffled medium-blue flowers with a white beard — the archetypal blue bearded iris, providing the clearest blue note in the early-summer orchard garden before the catmint and bellflowers take over. The sword-like grey-green foliage remains attractive after bloom as a structural element. Brief-blooming but memorably beautiful for its moment; pairs naturally with alliums and early roses.

Perfect globe-shaped flower heads of deep purple-violet, each composed of dozens of tiny star-shaped florets, held on perfectly straight stems above dying foliage — one of spring's most architectural moments. Plant bulbs through the face of the border for a naturalistic effect; the dying foliage hides behind emerging perennials. The dried spherical seedheads are ornamental well into summer.

Tall airy columns of tiny lavender-blue flowers on silver-white stems — a haze of color from mid-summer to frost that reads as pure blue from a distance and reveals silver on close inspection. Wildly heat and drought tolerant; actually performs better in lean, dry conditions. The silver stem color is nearly as valuable as the flower. One of the essential late-season plants for any perennial border with a blue-and-silver scheme.

Crape Myrtle trained flat against a wall or fence as an espalier — a more formal, architectural presentation of the same prolific summer bloomer found as a free-standing tree in the pool garden. Espaliered against a warm wall, the cinnamon bark and summer flower panicles become a vertical garden element of considerable elegance. Final variety and color to be confirmed with Marders at installation.

An allowance for espalier plantings on the patio walls — species and variety to be confirmed with Marders. Candidates include pear (for spring blossom and autumn fruit), fig (for the Mediterranean feel and large architectural leaf), or pyracantha (for year-round interest including winter berries). Espalier is one of the highest-impact uses of wall space in a walled garden: flat, formal, and unforgettable.