Yards turned into works of art by Long Islanders
Gardeners are nature’s true artists, painting their landscapes with the colors and textures of plants, trees, shrubs, vines and grasses. Patterns are created, often in groups of three or five, and repetition throughout the space contributes to a harmonic vista.
Bare patches of soil and fields of weeds are the gardener’s canvases, and on them, balance, movement, unity and variety are forged. Sometimes, however, it isn’t clear whether the garden inspired their art or their love of art inspired the gardener. French painter Claude Monet, after all, created both his gardens at Giverny, as well as their famed impressionistic paintings. And some believed he only planted the gardens to create the muse.
Similarly, gardens across Long Island inspire local artists, and they, in turn, use their creations to enhance their gardens and neighborhoods, sometimes even stopping traffic on their suburban streets.
Credit: Bruce Gilbert
Debra Sellitti is an artist who makes spinners and other objects and places them around her garden in Bethpage.
Credit: Bruce Gilbert
Debra Sellittiis an artist who makes spinners, which she then paints, to decorate her garden.
Credit: Bruce Gilbert
Debra Sellitti makes spinners of varying sizes, which she uses to decorate her garden in Bethpage. The largest are 44 inches across and 10 feet tall.
Credit: Raychel Brightman
Susan and Lou Cortese installed a gigantic train set in their Jericho backyard winding through a rock garden and small pond surrounded by tiny succulents, varieties of moss and trees just fit for the miniature town modeled in a 1940's style.
Credit: Raychel Brightman
The Cortese family's gigantic train set had grown to incorporate 200 feet of track, multiple buildings and a landscape, taking over a 20-by-30-foot section of the 40-by-100-foot backyard.
Credit: Raychel Brightman
The Cortese family planted ground cover, arborvitaes, dwarf spruces, yews, sedums, Japanese maples and Spanish moss to serve as to-scale vegetation.
Credit: Raychel Brightman
The Cortese family's train set includes three bridges and several trestles.
Credit: Bruce Gilbert
Ernie Rauch had to remove 25 large hemlock trees from his property. Instead of cutting them down completely, he left 3-foot-high stumps and got creative, building what he calls "fantasy houses" and perching them atop each stump to add a whimsical touch to the garden, Syosset.
Credit: Bruce Gilbert
To create a “whimsical fantasy” style for the homes, Ernie Rauch added unique touches such as crooked doors and windows made of cutup paint stirrers.
Credit: Steve Pfost
Joe Telese, of Westbury, stands next to his musician sculptures which he created and placed in his front yard garden in Westbury.
Credit: Jeremy Bales
Joe Telese says he changes the life-sized sculputres' clothes to match certain occasions, such as Christmas.
Credit: Jeremy Bales
Joe Telese says his front yard sculptures bring visitors everyday, and have led to him making several new friends.
