This Is the Landscape Architect Nantucket’s Elite Have on Speed Dial – Architectural Digest

Neighbors on Nantuckets eastern end have more than faded red chinos and a desirable zip code in common; many have landscape artist Marty McGowan, too. For 43 years, McGowan has designed some of the islands coveted properties helping to shape Nantuckets signature yin-yang of natural beauty, with elements like teeming bunches of hydrangeas and roses spilling over picket fences, along with the manicured European elegance of topiaries and imposing privacy hedges. But its the unexpected that sets his work apart, and that comes from a lifetime of study and observation both on and off the island.

I tell clients, whatever the earth will allow me to do I will do that for you, says McGowan, who is not a purist about native species but instead focuses on creating artistry and whimsy for his clients' gardens.

McGowan's Landscaping at Greydon House.

Photo: Douglas Friedman

For Nantuckets Greydon House hotel , a new 20-room inn off Main Street, McGowan worked with Manhattan interior designers Roman and Williams to create abundant gardens and window boxes that speak to the spirit of the hotel, its nautical roots, and Nantuckets worldly past.

We had a strong connection with Marty from the beginning and bonded over his idea of mixing vegetables, herbs, and flowers in Greydon Houses flower boxes and gardens," says Robin Standefer, principal and cofounder of Roman and Williams. "That intentionally unexpected variety became the foundation of our overall design inspiration for the project."

McGowan's Landscaping at Greydon House.

Photo: Courtesy of Douglas Friedman

Working to compliment the hotels interior color palette, he used plants from Germany, Asia, the Caribbean islands, and Portugal, including unusual black grasses from Florida, German geraniums, and a blue succulent that resembles ocean flora. McGowan created a landscape that reflects the life of a well-traveled sea captain like the one who might have lived in the hotels 1850s Greek Revival house.

No wonder the designers known for creating narrative hotel environments would find a kinship in McGowan. He is likely the only gardener whose farm was inspired by an abstract painting by artist Paul Klee. Pumpkin Pond Farm , his organic farm and nursery, complements the landscape-design business, providing produce for many of the islands top restaurants, and welcoming guests for tours and tastings like his annual heirloom Tomato Festival in August. McGowan planned the farms plants and vegetable fields by color to resemble Klees Cubist landscape Highways and Byways from 1929. Mica stone pavers, like the ones that paved historic Nantucket streets, bisect the center of the farm.

The "hydrangea park" at Pumpkin Pond Farm.

Photo: Courtesy of Marty McGowan

McGowan was exposed to art early by his mother, a master weaver with a masters degree in art. He gained a practical understanding of working the land from his grandfather who owned a 10-acre farm near his Rochester home. A chance invitation from a friend brought McGowan to the island for the month of August 1966 and for several other Augusts of his youth. When McGowan was old enough, he spent summers on Nantucket working for people like Earl Coffin, a gardener and descendant of an original English settler to Nantucket, who tended to the gardens of old-Nantucket families. Coffin shared his wisdom, which McGowan parlayed into his own business, called Sconset Gardener.

Moving to Nantucket allowed me to create my own identity and be creative from the beginning, says McGowan.

Today McGowans work takes him all over the world, researching at international conferences and events such as the Chelsea Flower Show , and working on Nantucket clients other homes in places like Mexico, California, Florida, Washington, and Boston.

The "Walk of Thyme" and "Apian Way" at Pumpkin Pond Farm.

Photo: Courtesy of Marty McGowan

Nantucket has a unique climate that allows for beautiful gardens, McGowan says, People come here and they see it and theyre enchanted. They want to have a beautiful garden, too.

McGowan credits his success to observing mother nature on the island. He spends much of his free time walking the paths and trails through undeveloped parts of Nantucket, which comprises nearly 60 percent of the island. His favorite is the walk past Miacomet Beach to Lady Beach for a swim at sunset or hiking along the paths at Hummock Pond and Sanford Farm through the woods and moors to the sea. It always gives me the sense of knowing Im in the right place.

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This Is the Landscape Architect Nantucket's Elite Have on Speed Dial - Architectural Digest