Garden Dialogues: Florida Gulf Coast

What are the secrets to great gardens? Garden Dialogues provide exclusive access for small groups to visit some of today's most beautiful gardens. Hear from the owners and their landscape architects about the creative process, the give and take and the collaboration that yields a great garden. On Saturday, March 28, get exclusive access to private gardens in Sarasota on Florida's Gulf Coast and hear directly from the designers and their clients about their collaborative process.

Tickets: $45 per person, per tour.

Register for the tour.

Saturday, March 28, 10:00 to 11:30am | Sarasota

Three Oaks Residence
David Young of DWY Landscape Architects

The namesakes of this Sarasota residence are three elegant live oak trees whose massive canopies diffuse the sunlight and create ideal habitat for a multitude of exotic and beautiful ferns, air plants and sub-tropicals. The overall drama of the site’s design – and its genius – is the regular juxtaposition of white stone rectilinear forms against sinuous, curvilinear plant materials, and the deft use of paving materials. Remnants of the  vanishing Florida tropical hardwood hammock are augmented with Sabal palms and an understory of other native and tropical palms and herbaceous species, all interwoven beneath the large oak trees. The entry drive, privacy walls and entry planter are conceived as a singular composition whose design creates a sense of arrival while protecting the signature oaks. An enticing outdoor entertaining and dining area includes an exquisitely proportioned pool and looks out onto a nearby waterway.

Saturday, March 28, 1:00 to 2:30pm | Sarasota

Aquadisia
David Young of DWY Landscape Architects, with David Lowe, Interior Designer, David K. Lowe Interior Design

Situated on a barrier island overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, this landscape is a dazzling mix of geometric form, carefully manicured lawns and the shaggy manes of numerous bamboo trees. The landscape architects collaborated closely with the owner to create a garden that takes full advantage of the site’s location, views and climate. The site’s sequence of designed spaces carefully balances large but simple geometric shapes with a well calibrated plant palette. Entry to the house is gained via a concrete walkway that passes over a water garden and through a glass cube flanked by marble Foo Dogs. The water garden continues to a glass-enclosed lower-level where a waterwall provides the perfect backdrop for a beachside spa and fire pit. The experience of this exquisite landscape is not limited to the ground; a wooden terrace allows full view of the Gulf and a new spiral glass staircase leads to a crow’s nest overlooking the property.

Click here to read an interview with David Young.