Landscape award honors Villa Artemis gardens

The extensive renovation of one of Palm Beachs most renowned estates, historic Villa Artemis, demonstrates clearly the advantage of bringing landscape designers into projects early.

The landscape, the house and a new guesthouse truly work as one, lending visual elegance and cohesiveness to the oceanfront estate, completed in 1917 for the Guest family but owned for more than four decades by the Rosenthals.

In recognition of its significant role as part of a greater whole, the garden design by Nievera Williams Design on Thursday won the third annual Lesly S. Smith Landscape Award from the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. The honor was announced at the foundations headquarters on Peruvian Avenue during the annual dinner of its Preservationist Club.

Designing one of the most iconic vistas in Palm Beach was never going to be easy, but, the garden design at Villa Artemis by Nievera Williams is a triumph, said Alexander C. Ives, executive director of the foundation, in a prepared statement. An example to all, it is a great choice for the award.

Villa Artemis is home to Michael and Jane Rosenthal Horvitz as well as to Cynthia Rosenthal Boardman, Jane Horvitzs sister. Prior to the renovation, the family had successfully worked with Mario Nievera on small projects at the beachfront estate.

It came as no surprise that they enlisted his services again when they began planning major additions and renovations to the Regency-style estate at 656 N. County Road two-and-a-half years ago. The architectural firm of Ferguson & Shamamian of New York City designed the renovations.

I worked with the architect and the owners to come up with a scheme based on the existing house and walls. This is the ultimate Regency house, said Nievera, whose business partner, Keith Williams, was involved in developingthe landscape plan.

From the start, the team agreed that the landscaping would showcase the classically-styled structures rather than compete with them. The result is a design respectful of the estates original grandeur, but with an emphasis on more updated plant choices.

While horticulture has changed over the years, I wanted the grounds to look like they did in my clients memories, Nievera said.

Hence, pittosporum, Australian pines and St. Augustine grass have been replaced with green island ficus, clusia, Confederate jasmine, dwarf podacarpus, hibiscus and zoysia grass. The existing sea grapes and sabal palms couldnt be touched because of protective regulations.

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Landscape award honors Villa Artemis gardens