This breathtakingly beautiful oceanfront garden in The Hamptons is one of the best examples of a formal garden that tore up the rulebook

The Hamptons is home to some of the most jaw-dropping gardens in the world, and this garden is certainly one of the most exquisite of them all. If you watched the latest hit TV show, Sirens, or, like us, were glued to the American mystery drama miniseries ‘The Perfect Couple’, this garden strikes the same paradisical punch as those dreamy gardens we all lusted after.

This garden, owned and tended to by Marshall Watson and his partner Paul Sparks, is a particularly showstopping sanctum, brimming with garden ideas and overflowing with fodder for the imagination. Of course, the garden's magic owes much to its pulse-raising location. Still, perhaps more interesting is its strategic planting.

This coastal garden has a fairly understated planting scheme that presents a counterpoise to the ubiquity of prettified, floral, feminine planting often seen across the Hamptons. Here, we look at some of the glorious garden rooms that make up the garden as a whole, and delve into the planting and landscape design that formed the aesthetic success of the garden.

Lifestyle writer and photographer Blue Carreon’s new book, ‘The Gardens of the Hamptons, available from Amazon’, features a plethora of some of the most extraordinary gardens dotted around this iconic area, including this coastal paradise.

The garden unfolds as a choreographed sequence, yet feels almost entirely accidental, uncurated, and despite its picture-perfect style, it feels entirely relaxed and unpretentious.

‘It is a formal garden, but not strict and rigid. Everything has been thoughtfully designed and laid out for leisure, entertaining, and enjoyment’ explains Blue Carreon. ‘It has a spectacular waterfront location and sits high on a bluff offering uninterrupted views. Being on the water, it is exposed to harsh environmental elements, but somehow Marshall was able to tame these conditions and has orchestrated a thriving and beautiful garden.’

Partitions in gardens can be very effectively used as methods of seduction, to tempt you to walk through to the next area.

The hide-and-seek of not knowing what happens next makes the whole experience that much more intriguing. Nowhere is this demonstrated better than at this Hampton's garden, which has made use of the classical visual play of extending views.

Large gardens tend to need divisions in order to give them intimacy.

‘Since Marshall is an interior designer, he designed the garden with various rooms as he does with interiors.’ Blue explains. ‘You arrive in the gravel courtyard, which he likens to a garden entry hall. A couple of wisteria varieties climb over the garage, and there are various potted David Austin roses.'

'Adjacent to the courtyard is the potager, which has steps that lead to a Belvedere gazebo, which acts as a lookout point where one can soak in the garden.’

‘From there, the gates open to reveal the central axis of the garden. A swimming pool that doubles as a reflecting pool leads to the Greek Revival house.

'This is the walled garden and it features a hydrangea walk, topiarized lilac trees, a variety of peonies, soaring pin oak trees, and what has become the hallmarks of the garden - the dappled Japanese willow trees.’

Technical understanding of plants and their vagaries will only take you so far when designing. At some point, it is important to cut loose. The reason this garden excites me quite so much is that it strikes the perfect balance between form and frivolity.

The owners have adhered to the necessary corsets all grand, formal gardens need to, whilst also letting the abandon and lushness of nature flow freely.

The beds are not overly manicured, and fat cushions of flower and foliage sprawl and spill over paths, pollinators graze happily, and roses sprawl unencumbered.

'Marshall comes from a family of gardeners, so he has woven his family history through the plantings.' Blue explains.

'There are varieties that came from his childhood garden, as well as plants that were cultivated by his siblings. It is a singular garden in terms of style since it has been created by a passionate gardener who is meticulous about details and symmetry and who laboriously tends to it with love.'

At this time of year, the garden throbs in a tidal wave of color, and the nearby ocean makes the space feel remote and untouchable.

Foliage underpins all of the planting, and acts as a wonderful prelude to the floral element, providing a base note to the entire scheme.

There are many spots to perch and absorb the garden, and its many views. This is crucial for making it a place that makes you want to slow down, kick back and stay a while.

Something of a hybrid between a comfortable, lived-in garden with naturalistic planting and a more formal garden with carefully measured reduction and a distinct lack of ostentation, that does nothing to make the space less impressive.

Whether you have a small garden, are researching sustainable garden ideas, or want to create the ultimate entertaining garden, there's inspiration in bucketloads to be found at this beautiful space.