Southampton -- Meadow Club of Southampton, The

Located on eighteen plus acres The Meadow Club, founded in 1887, is a private tennis club where the gardens link the clubhouse and dining rooms with the thirty-six grass courts. The garden was established in 1902 with a footprint that is basically rectangular in shape, echoing the geometry of both the tennis courts and the clubhouse. The layout of the perennial and annual garden beds is described as "curvilinear."

A tightly clipped privet hedge in the "English Style," defines the gardens. An ovoid arrangement of Pee Gee hydrangeas, truncated in size and with trunks knotted and gnarled by weather and age, is the central focus. An archway punctuating the privet hedge is both functional and aesthetic. It provides a charming entry into the gardens from the tennis courts and, viewed from the clubhouse, focuses one's eye on the grass courts beyond. The "bones" of the gardens are the privet, hydrangeas and other perennial shrubs that thrive in the seaside environment situated 200 yards from the Atlantic Ocean. They serve as a backdrop for an annual border that is bold and distinctive in color, texture and shape.

Persons associated with the garden include: Arthur Fraser, architect (1992-present), Joseph Czelatka, grounds superintendent (1979-present).