The Birds and the Bees, From Landscape Maestro Edmund Hollander

MagazineThe Birds and the Bees, From Landscape Maestro Edmund HollanderWhen it comes to outdoor living, pollinators make the party

By Chloe Malle

January 19, 2022

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An allée of crape myrtles. Charles Mayer

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When landscape architect Edmund Hollander told a Hamptons horticulturist with Southern roots that he wanted catalpa for an East End property, the gardener replied, “That’s a fish-bait tree,” invoking a not so endearing Low Country term for a species often filled with worms and caterpillars. What that green thumb didn’t quite understand was that such a tree was exactly what Hollander wanted. “Most people associate bad things with worms and caterpillars,” Hollander says with a knowing smile during a recent tour of the five-acre grounds. “But you can’t get freaked out by caterpillars if you want butterflies.”

The agricultural area, home to beehives and a chicken coop, as well as vegetable and cutting gardens. 

Charles Mayer

For Hollander, the goal was to attract not only butterflies but also bees and birds, all the while minimizing the use of chemicals. “We’re providing habitat for pollinators because without them we’re gonna not have any food,” he notes. “Everything here is trying to keep the ecological web.” The trees he chose to add to the existing population of “eclectic, big, old funky” ones included beeches, oaks, lindens, and assorted flowering species. “People think you’ve gotta spray and kill all the bugs, but when you do that you chase away all the birds. Then the system’s all out of balance.” A healthier ecosystem, he continues, means fewer mosquitoes and ticks, as they are eaten by the birds and bats. “Normally I say, ‘Think of the grandchildren,’ ” the jolly, bearded, award-winning designer explains, revealing his strategy for persuading reluctant clients to pursue a more ecologically sensitive plan. “Then they say, ‘Oh, my God! Yes, sure!’ ”

The Belgian fence espalier, with the meadow in the foreground.

Charles Mayer

These particular clients, a young Manhattan-based family of five, were amenable from the start. “The couple gave us the freedom to use our imagination. They said don’t be insane but create something wonderful.” The property provided an array of cues, with a Shingle Style main residence by Peter Pennoyer, a 1680s guest cottage restored by Robert Stilin, and a contemporary poolhouse by Roger Ferris. Hollander was tasked as ringmaster to unite the different facets. “What we had to do with the landscaping was tie all these disparate elements together to make it feel like it had always been here—to make this feel like it was inevitable.”

The wisteria-covered tennis cabana. 

Courtesy of Hollander Design

A lavender-edged path.

Courtesy of Hollander Design

“We didn’t want it to feel like a Hamptons estate. It’s not. It’s a home on a farm,” Hollander continues, adding with a pause, “a very nice farm.” The fields at the back half of the property are a cornucopia for gourmandizing winged creatures. Clover is left to flourish in the lawn, while joe-pye weed, oxeye daisies, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, and lobelia stud the meadows. Two hives of bees are tucked near the western edge of the property, part of an agricultural area where they can feast on the flowering peach, pear, and apple orchards. “There are a lot of people who want fruit trees but no insects,” he says with a chuckle. “I say, ‘Well then, you need to go get yourself a Q-tip and pollinate every flower, because God doesn’t work that way.’ ”

The farm road to the agricultural area’s meadow and orchard.

Charles Mayer

Standing beside a row of espaliered pear trees along a Belgian cedar fence, with bee-friendly lavender at his feet, Hollander reflects: “There’s nothing about this that isn’t beautiful and wonderful, but there’s a sense it’s not just for people—it does more benefit than that. It’s not just about making a beautiful landscape; it’s about making a healthy landscape.”