The Dune Garden is a ritual sanctuary inspired by the wild, resilient beauty of Fire Island, New York, and its legacy as a queer refuge. Spartan and elemental, it invites quiet gestures of use: walking a thin sand path, rinsing under an outdoor shower, and resting on a reclaimed split-chestnut bench in the lee of a dune.
The garden is an act of consideration, of the dune, by presence and return, in our ritual of freedom under the sun. A bench, a shower, water gathers, orchids appear and creeping willow follows. What begins as utility becomes habitat. Burnet rose colonises the slope behind the bench, held by a dune stabilisation fence.
Bespoke Features crafted by Brandon Thatchers Film Services Ltd.
The planting responds to the site’s contrasts: soft grasses, primroses, and wild roses meet bristly thistles and the needled forms of pine, beneath which a mosaic of sea heath spreads. Blending personal memory with ecological intent, the garden showcases sand-grown planting, minimal water use, and considered intervention in the landscape.
