It can be hard to remember, sometimes, that the Hamptons, with its relentless traffic, over-the-top shopping, and competitive restaurant reservations, was once considered a refuge. The east end of Long Island was a place to rest and recharge, to bond with nature and to escape urban pressures—not create a whole set of new ones.
The garden of Anu Duggal in Water Mill hearkens back to that earlier era. It is a reminder that even in our 24-hour-connected world, serenity is still possible, and serendipity is powerful. Duggal, founding partner of the venture capital firm Female Founders Fund and host of The Two Percent
podcast, had no intention of buying a property in the area. “I was never a Hamptons regular,” she says. Then, while scrolling through Zillow, she stumbled upon a small house that had once belonged to the esteemed New York Times editor Arthur Gelb. “I kept coming back to it,” she recalls. “I had never even been to Water Mill, and I didn’t drive, so I took an Uber to see it.” She laughs. “Since then, I have had to learn to drive.”
While Duggal was confident that she could handle the interiors herself, she needed help with the grounds. Enter AD100 landscape designer Grace Fuller Marroquin, who had recently launched her practice after a career in magazines. “The property was mostly just lawn,” she recalls. “There were no interesting shrubs or perennials. It is not a huge lot, only a little over an acre. But what it did have was the beautiful backdrop of Mill Pond.”
Fuller Marroquin began by removing and simplifying, thinning out the mature native tupelo trees to let in sunlight and open up views of the water. “We got rid of bamboo and other invasives,” she says. “We relocated existing boxwoods and added ilex and rhododendrons, so there would be structure in the winter.” Elsewhere, they kept the nice old-growth brush at the edge of the wetlands, as well as the Eastern pines, sycamores, and sweet gum trees.
New paths now wend through lush plantings of ferns, hollyhocks, lupines, liatris, peonies, hydrangeas, and more. “I always believe in minimizing lawn and maximizing the garden,” Fuller Marroquin says. “I like softening and blending the hardscape with nature. I am not a hedge girl.” The result is a bosky green oasis, a constrained wilderness that soothes even as it inspires curiosity and promotes wandering. Small though it is, it is impossible to experience the garden all at once, and it changes throughout each season.
Of course, maintaining that seemingly natural and effortless look requires vigilance. Fortunately, Duggal has taken to gardening with the passion of a true convert. She even ended up taking a course in garden design at Great Dixter. “A garden is all about patience. I didn’t understand that,” she says. “But now, there is always something in bloom. My weekend guests never leave without a bouquet.” Adds Fuller Marroquin, “I wanted to make it a sanctuary. That was the goal.”
