Photos of Lily Pond from Kevin Sharkey
My gardens at Lily Pond are thriving.
Many of you have commented on how much you enjoy seeing photos of my East Hampton, New York home. Over the weekend, my dear friend and EVP Design Director at Sequential Brands Group, Kevin Sharkey, stopped by to visit Lily Pond, and took a series of images to share with you - pictures of the gardens, the pool, as well as a few fun snapshots indoors - he has a very artful eye.
Enjoy this gallery, and visit Kevin’s Instagram page @seenbysharkey to view more of his photographs. This week, I will also share photos from my stay at Skylands, my beloved home in Seal Harbor, Maine - you'll love them.
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- Our own Sarah Carey, executive editorial director of food, was also at my home in East Hampton, and made a nice snack for Kevin when he arrived.
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- Kevin loves caviar on potato chips. Actually, Kevin really likes caviar on Fritos, but he says potato chips are a close second.
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- Kevin gave me these gorgeous McCoy pots a couple years ago. They are displayed in one of my kitchen windows. McCoy is a brand of pottery that was produced in the United States in the early 20th century. These particular pots were once used as humidifiers.
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- Also in the kitchen, I have large built in shelves that hold my expansive collection of glasses.
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- And, I have wall shelves to hold and display more teal McCoy pottery jardinieres and pitchers.
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- Some of you may know, I love examples of taxidermy. In the living room, the walls are painted a unique shade of yellow – a great backdrop for this giant mounted tarpon.
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- I have hung all types of old mounts of stuffed fish on the walls. Kevin also took a photo of this fish in the butler’s pantry.
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- And here is another giant tarpon in the parlor above the fireplace. These taxidermy exhibits of animals are meant to teach, inspire and inform those who view them.
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- I have never had any animals mounted, but I greatly appreciate the time and patience it takes to complete one of these pieces. This is a sailfish taxidermy.
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- The original front hall at Lily Pond is always a favorite spot. Kevin took this photo to show its lovely paneling, shiny fir flooring, and the mounted bird on the right.
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- Outside, Kevin captured this view from the east looking down the beautiful swimming pool towards the guest cottage. The swimming pool in the back yard is adorned with aqua glazed strawberry pots which are planted with many different tropicals from my Bedford farm. The tall trees are European hornbeam. The smaller shrubs are boxwood.
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- Nestled in between the shrubs and trees is my old pool furniture which dates back to the early 20th century – all sitting in front of the wooden platform.
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- Every potted plant is green and lush – all the plants are doing so well in East Hampton this season. These are Lady’s palms, Rhapis excelsa, which have broad, dark green, fan-shaped foliage on tall stalks. They need to get east-facing exposure, out of direct sunlight.
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- Colocasia, or elephant ear, looks great in this large aqua-colored planter. Colocasia, with its downward facing leaves, will switch energy resources in colder temperatures from producing leaves to flower and corm production.
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- This giant pot was originally from Martha by Mail, a mail-order catalog business we had years ago. It is now planted with Alocasia, with leaves pointed upward, and beautiful trailing ground covers.
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- Along this path, Japanese maples, lilies, shade loving plants and lots of large Cimicifuga. Look closely, and see how beautiful the Japanese maples and hostas look together with the lilyturf, Liriope.
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- Here is another view – I am so pleased with how well my shade garden is doing.
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- Here is a view looking over a bed of ferns towards the privacy hedge. The ferns do well in East Hampton especially when the garden is in partial to full shade all day long. Below the hedge, I have several types of white hydrangea.
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- The wrap-around front porch is such a relaxing place to sit, surrounded by more potted tropicals.
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- This is a bird’s nest fern, Asplenium nidus. Bird’s-nest fern is a common name applied to several related species of epiphytic ferns in the genus Asplenium. They get their name because the center of the plant resembles a bird’s nest. It is also occasionally called a crow’s nest fern.
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- There are many large beautifully planted pots which surround the pool. The entire pool area is also surrounded by 12-foot high trellises original to my renovation of house.
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- I love how these windows frame the pool and gardens outside. They also look great above the existing Mexican teal tile floor and more McCoy art pottery along the window ledge.
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- Kevin and Sarah enjoyed another favorite meal at Lily Pond – fresh cherries, olives, bacon and tomato sandwiches, and of course, more chips.
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- Kevin took this pretty image from above showing the Jadeite bowl of cherries and small bowl of olives.
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- Here’s a photo of Kevin’s delicious sandwich – in just the perfect lighting. Thank you for sharing your pictures, Kevin. See more of Kevin’s images on his Instagram page @seenbysharkey.
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