WINNER: Janice Parker Landscape Architects
This 117-acre property in the Hudson Valley had been everything from a farm to a nursing home to a camp. Janice Parker’s goal was to transform multiple sites into one parcel for a private residence, the owner of which is a dedicated gardener. In addition to preserving views and installing a 50-foot infinity pool, she created an outdoor room defined by boxwood hedges and planted a rear fountain garden with perennials. Judge Alan Tanksley raves about the project’s “traditional luxury.”
RUNNER-UP: Glen Gate Company
The moment the owners saw this Bedford Hills home and property, they envisioned an infinity pool, preparations for which began with the removal of a line of trees, thereby opening up views to an expansive valley beyond. The chief building blocks are hand-hewn bluestone slabs, whose forms and colors are further enhanced by minimal plantings around the pool itself.
FINALIST: Conte & Conte
When landscape architect John Conte toured this Armonk property, he was confronted with a blank lawn, something that seemed anathema to the early-20th-century estate overlooking Long Island Sound. Known as the Ledges and Soundview Manor, it featured everything a major European-style spread should have, except a formal garden. Accordingly, Conte created outdoor rooms defined by walled hedges, formal axes, and a sunken rose garden with custom-made wrought-iron arches.
FINALIST: Barry Goralnick
Even the owner of this private garden on the Upper West Side—a best-selling author—couldn’t have written a happier ending. To create what judge Shawn Henderson describes as a “calm and balanced space,” Barry Goralnick removed old wood decking and pavers and constructed a teak wall around the garden in the center, hanging a 12-foot mirror to extend the area visually while concealing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning units.
FINALIST: Sean Jancski Landscape Architects
The owners of this residence in Rye envisioned a place with unimpeded views of Long Island Sound and a backyard and pool as livable as the rooms within. Working in consort with Keller/Eaton Architects, landscape architects from Sean Jancski made expert use of the relatively flat coastal site, positioning the rectangular pool off-center to preserve the views and configuring a dense grouping of outdoor furniture off to another side.