Revitalizing Buffalo - One Neighbourhood at a Time

"Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful!' and sitting in the shade."

Rudyard Kipling

July 24 and 25 are quickly approaching as gardeners in Buffalo prepare for Garden Walk Buffalo, a great event in which gardeners share their private sanctuaries and knowledge with others of like mind (gardeners and non-gardeners alike). Recently while getting a sneak peek at some Garden Walk gardens, as we toured around Buffalo I noticed that many areas of the city were less than prosperous having lost the lustrous shine of Buffalo's heyday. But the City of Buffalo is working to turn the town around.

We were taken to a restoration project opposite an old Olmstead water feature that too will be restored. Our hosts likened it to Extreme Home Makeover - Neighbourhood Garden Edition. In this neighbourhood a group of 16 landscape design companies volunteered to do 19 front yard garden makeovers (donating time, labour and supplies) on some tarnished homes, and in consultation with the homeowners they created lovely new landscapes in just 4 days. The public is being invited to visit the neighborhood and select their favourite garden in the National Buffalo Garden Festivals Front Yard Garden Competition. And this is only the first step in the revitalization project. Next the homes will be painted (some already had started being painted). Once the water feature is restored by the Olmstead Conservancy this neighbourhood will have begun to achieve some of its former glory.

The city is hoping that this project is just the first of many, acting as a model that will be repeated over and over again throughout the city bringing Buffalo back to life. Many thanks to the garden industry for working to improve these neglected urban areas.

Garden Walk Buffalo - It's Touring Time!

"Every gardener has a strange and romantic tale to tell, if you can worm it out of him - of blue flowers that came up yellow, or of a white lily that sinned in the night and greeted the dawn with crimson cheeks. In the strong heart of every gardener some wild secret stirs."

Beverley Nichols, 'Down the Garden Path'

It's the middle of summer and what better time to take a break from your own garden chores and check out the gardens of others. This past weekend my husband Peter and I joined 70 other garden bloggers in Buffalo to get a sneak peek of Garden Walk Buffalo 2010. This is an annual program where 350 homeowners throughout the Buffalo area open their private sanctuary up for other gardeners to take a peek. This year the event will be held July 24 and 25.

We had a lovely time swapping garden stories and advice, and getting a load of inspiration and ideas. Most of the gardens we had the opportunity to visit where small urban gardens and I was surprised to see the amount of plant material that can be packed into a tiny space and the ingenious ways people incorporated summer living areas into small spaces graciously adorned with plants. I certainy loved all the jewel box gardens we viewed.

My husband, the tool and project guy, got great inspiration from the many water features he saw, like the one in the photo above, if only he could find three large rocks predrilled with a hole in the centre. He was also busy checking out water features with water falls as that is his next planned project.

As the plant person of our gardening duo I was impressed with the many beautiful window boxes combining unusual plant combinations and obviously loving tended as you can see by the overflowing abundance. The tiny cottages and historic homes in all their coloured glory gave one a glimpse into Buffalo's prosperous past.

So don't get so caught up in the work of your own garden that you don't take time out to visit others. July is the month when many areas host garden tours and you don't have to go far afield. You will be surprised to find how many fabulous gardens abound in your own backyard. And the benefit is that you can make friends with local gardeners with whom you can share advice and potentially plants. Check out your local horticultural society for the date for your local garden tour.

Garden Tour Mania

"The first object of a seat is invitation. Its position should be such that it should attract, whether because it offers rest at the end of a long walk, or because it is so placed that its surroundings may give rise to pleasant contemplation."

G.A. Jellicoe, "Garden Decoration and Ornament" (1934)

Well, its been two weeks since the garden tour and we have had a few moments to rest, relax and actually enjoy our garden. A few friends have been over for dinner as summer finally has blown in our way with some warm, dry weather.

Some would ask what in heavens name would possess someone to agree to be on a garden tour. First there is all that weeding and preparing and then having people walking (or some would say tramping through your private sanctuary). Welll, you see my husband, the hole digger and structure builder happens to be a procrastinator. He talks a lot about the things he is going to do or build but he seems to take his time in actually bringing his ideas to fruition. But give him a deadline (like saying, "honey guess what I've agreed to be on the garden tour), and suddenly you can see those projects actually taking shape and being accomplished.

Take for example the greenhouse he started last year. The cold weather came and the greenhouse had to be tarped over, so now the final windows are being installed and the gingerbread is on the top but he still has to fill in a couple of spaces and side the outside. He also talked about moving the fence to enlarge the garden and create a new seating area - mission accomplished as you can see in the photos above. Creating a waterfall into the big pond was also a motive for moving the fence and we collected so rocks but that project might acutally have to be put on the list for next year unless we get a long and warm Indian summer.

As for people visiting our garden, we love sharing our private sanctuary with others. I think it is the fact that when others enter the space they tell us how calming it is, how wonderful it is to hear the sound of water from the three water features as you wander around the garden. So as long as there are garden tours and we have projects to accomplish, we'll continue to participate and share our love of gardening with others of like mind.