Buffalo Spree Magazine

Cherish the garden

An unexpected pond in a shady Museum District
retreat (not on the Garden Walk).
Photo by Jim Bush.

By Elizabeth Licata

Normally, this space is devoted to wonderful interiors. This time, however, we’ve decided to show off some of Buffalo’s best exteriors, i.e., the amazing and imaginative spaces created by our area gardeners. All but one of the gardens shown in this article were opened to the general public in July during the Annual Garden Walk, which thousands attended.

The Garden Walk is an outstanding testament to the diversity offered by urban garden spaces. Unlike the acres of lawn usually found in suburban communities (and this was not a good summer for lawns), urban gardeners tend to convert former lawn space to perennial gardens, water gardens, secluded patios, and container-planted courtyards. Many of the spaces are quite tiny, traversed only by narrow flagstone walkways, shaded by overhanging vines and lush plantings. Often, an unsuspecting garden explorer might come upon a small gurgling pond, filled with brilliantly colored Koi and goldfish.

Ravishing pink hydrangea in Allentown.
Photo by Jim Bush.

In larger spaces, dazzling fields of color meet the eye—in July, the deep reds of Monarda (beebalm) and bright oranges of Rudbeckia (black-eyed susan) were everywhere, cooled down by fragrant patches of white Phlox and purple spears of Russian Sage and Veronica. In many places, too, the sweet musky smell of Oriental Lillium drifted in the air; the flamboyant waxy blooms were showstoppers wherever they were grown.

Not surprisingly, many of the highlights of the Garden Walk have nothing to do with nature. Manmade objects such as steel, marble, and stone sculptures are everywhere, as are ornamental fountains—from formal affairs featuring classical maidens bearing urns to found-object creations fashioned from washtubs, bathtubs, woks, and other interesting cast-offs. Ingeniously constructed decks, awnings, and children’s playhouses were also much admired by all.

Koi swim in a spectacular pond on West Delevan.
Photo by Jim Bush.

Another obvious trend in urban gardening is a move towards using containers with creativity. One backyard space on Little Summer had been completely constructed of plants in containers, hidden by a blanket of mulch—nothing, not even full-grown trees, was in the ground. I also talked to a gardener in the Museum District, who fills her space with tropicals and other tender plants, such as jasmine, bougainvillea, stephanotis, and small citrus trees. These plants must be stored in rented greenhouse space during the cold months, but all summer long, they fill her patio with fragrance.

Probably the strongest reason Buffalo’s Garden Walk is so rewarding is the elegant backdrop provided by the nineteenth century architecture of West Side neighborhoods—most of these exteriors are worth their own tour, but they are all the more beautiful surrounded by mid-summer flora.

Finally, this excerpt from a letter of appreciation received by the Garden Walk committee puts the event in a larger political context:

Despite all the publicity given casinos, convention centers, sports teams, and waterfront pipedreams, I truly believe that the allure of the City is found in events like Garden Walk...I assure you that we will be back next year, probably with more suburban dwellers.

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