The juxtaposition of wild and cultivated landscapes gives the South Fork of Long Island a distinctive mosaic quality. The island’s characteristic hills, streams, meadows, and swamps exist today in constant dialogue with farmland and formal gardens, remnants of the region’s agricultural legacy and history as a seasonal destination.

This enduring tension between the natural and the artificial inspired the design for a residential landscape on a narrow peninsula in the Peconic Estuary. Once a submerged, marshy sandbar, the site was first documented as solid land in the late 1950’s, when the surrounding channels were dredged, the peninsula filled, and the new land divided into three properties. By the time the project commenced in 2020, the peninsula had become fragmented and overdeveloped, flood- prone, and overrun with invasive species.

The new design fosters a dialogue between nature and artifice within the site itself, embedding ‘jewel-box’ gardens into a field of naturalized coastal meadows alongside remnant beaches, marshes, and groves. Each garden serves a distinct programmatic or infrastructural function, incorporating salvaged site materials and preserved native plants. They range from vegetable and pollinator gardens to parking areas and spaces for gathering and entertainment. One functions as a septic leaching field; another as a turn-around for emergency vehicles. Five glass-enclosed interior courtyards treat graywater runoff. The meadows, which blanket the peninsula in a vibrant mix of grasses and sedges, replace over 20,000 square feet of lawn and pavement, reunifying the peninsula while reducing maintenance needs, restoring soil health, and providing critical habitat. Gravel paths wind through the meadows, inviting visitors to discover each space—whether natural or artificial—in turn.