A train garden to beat all train gardens…

There are probably many more great train gardens out there, but this is the best I’ve come across in my travels. Though I have to admit, not being a train person, I don’t seek them out. But I am impressed when someone’s passionate hobby mashes up with a nice garden.

I should have expected something was up when I saw this mailbox.

This garden in Hamburg, NY was on the National Garden Festival’s Open Gardens – 90+ Open Gardens throughout Buffalo Niagara on Thursdays and Fridays for the month of July.

Here at Dave and Barb’s Whit’s End, the trainscapes are so well incorporated in to the gardens that it doesn’t seem too train-y until you get in close. I didn’t see it when the trains were running, but I’m sure it ups the experience even more. This is the first garden among the 90 or so gardens on the Festival’s Open Gardens that I could see a kid wanting to stay in.

The area you first enter, in front of the garage is nice – and unassuming, considering the theme of the garden.

A former hot tub enclosure is now an enclosed sitting area.

Many fairy/miniature gardens can be found in pots and planters at the beginning of the garden.

They even made great use of a narrow dead-end side yard space.

LOVELY window box. Still no trains in sight.

More fairy gardens.

Looking down into the garden from the top of the stairs.

The garden’s change in elevation happens in stairs.

Even the garden shed is designed to look like a train ticket station.

All good gardens have good names. The owner’s last name is Whittemore.

All miniature trees are chosen to be in scale with the buildings surrounding the trains.

From the back of the garden looking toward the house.

The buildings and tell stories.

A collection of hosta lines the back fence. Can you name them? I know the one on the right is Niagara Falls. Is the one on the left Guacamole?

A wheelbarrow and wheelchair friendly ramp gives an alternate access to the back of the yard.

Any hill in the back yard is camouflaged by the raised beds, stairs, and wheelchair-friendly ramp.

The sitting area even looks sort of like a train station waiting area.

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