Buffalo has Show Gardens galore…
You’ve probably been to or heard bout many of the popular Garden Walk Buffalo gardens…the Cottage District’s charming tiny houses, the Delavan Avenue’s grand Victorian (not on the tour this year!), the park-like calm of Arlan & Dom’s garden at the end of Norwood, Mary’s Garden, the kid-friendly and creative garden on Richmond with the tree house, the colorful garden tended by the colorblind gardener on Sixteenth Street, the bowling ball totem garden on Highland, the 15′ tall spherical Bucky-ball gazebo on Linwood, or the “it” garden this year at the intersection of Argyle Park, Potomac Avenue and Bidwell Parkway (with the beautiful posts!), and you may have even heard about my shed. All of these can be found in this post.
This is not about them
Here’s some other gardens worth checking out this weekend. Many are not where there’s “lots a’ dots” on the Garden Walk map (printable PDF here). Many have one overwhelming feature that makes it a dramatic garden. Many are just nice to stand in for a few minutes.
They all have in common the personality and charm of the gardener that lives in them.
You have more than 300 choices to make this weekend. Even the most intrepid garden walker will not see half the gardens on view. I think your best bet is to find the list on the map that reads Are you looking for anything in particular? On the list gardens are by feature – art/sculpture, natives, vegetable gardens, rain barrels, structures, wheelchair friendly, etc. I suggest to visit what interests you.
But, if you can, these might be a few good gardens to see if you’ve hit up the “big hitters” too often. And make sure to visit the gardens around them. I’ve not seen all the gardens and find new and fascinating ones every year.
Feel free to add your favorite Garden Walk Buffalo gardens (even if it’s your own!) in the comments here so others can explore them and fall in lust with them too!
677 Prospect. What do you do with that awkward area between two garages when you live in the city? Fill it with old tires, leftover lumber, things you’ll get out for heavy trash pick-up some day? Kevin & Ricardo made it a retreat. Step on to the bridge and over the stream and the sound changes. The air is different. You’ve left Buffalo and have entered your Valhalla. 
94 Windsor. The Arts & Crafts house with its Arts & Crafts front-facing garden are the face. The almost all-green back yard with its rustic fountain and cozy seating, together with the sound of the fountain will give you a moment of repose in your day. 
122 Ashland. Come for the classic head stones (one for each season) and rusty, old outdoor chandelier. Stay for the bee-friendly garden, fence paintings, labyrinth, and custom-made sunflower gate and collection of heart-shaped stones. 
84 Woodward. Another garage, another creative solution for a blank wall. This curio wall gets shuffled around each year – always with new additions. Visit the wall, but stop and listen to the birds. This serious birder is known to every bird in Parkside. Creative touches are all around this garden. 
56 North Pearl. Another Allentown beaut. Jam-packed with collectable plants and art with a curator’s eye and a writer’s expressiveness, this tiny gem punches way above it weight. Look for the new garage door painting by artist A.J. Fries! 
41 Ketchum. See what two architects can do with a small space. Ever-evolving, the house and garden are well-integrated for this young family. And peek over teh back fence and look over and own onto the Summer Street Cottages behind them! 
22 & 24 Livingston. Color and cold drinks. Isn’t that enough? 
92 Prospect. If you haven never been in Rob’s garden, this may be the year. His amazing wall of vines and hanging “half-planters” is startling when you round the corner to the back yard. A garden feature you will not find in any other garden, anywhere. 
110 Johnson Park. A bohemian vibe sets this garden apart from others – especially in Johnson Park, one of Buffalo’s oldest (still stand) neighborhoods. As a matter of fact, at one point Johnson Park was at the village of Buffalo’s outermost limits! There are witty and creative vignettes of plants and art to contemplate. And, rumor has it (okay, Facebook), that the gardener has also created a tiny scale model of the tent and seating that will be on display. 
98 Johnson. Well, I mean c’mon. Just look at it! Winding paths take you along this raised-bed jungle of color and scent. 
138 Bryant. It’s only the front – but what a front it is. It pairs the E.B. Green designed home with the perfect bespoke beds and “hello strip” plantings. It all seems so…architectural. 
165 Mariner. Allentown has many small gardens – not many smaller than this garden jam-packed full of whimsical art and great use of plants. This garden is also on Gardens Buffalo Niagara’s Open Gardens on Thursdays and Fridays in July. 
131 Mariner. See what a plant expert (read: nerd) does when she owns a plant store and designs a garden. The house, named Valinor (she’s a nerdy nerd), with a straw-bale-constructed addition is also a certified nursery for her plant store, Put A Plant On It, on Elmwood Avenue. Look for the fence – but follow the sounds of water to the water fall made from architectural remnants. I guarantee you won’t find a garden with more air plants in it in Buffalo. 
154 Lancaster. This Asian-flavored garden will bring the Zen right out of you. Study this garden for its details, it’s like a master class in garden design. You’ll be smarter for having visited. 
191 Lancaster. (Also the lead photo on this post) Do you have a shade garden? Or a shady area in your garden? This is a must-see for you. You may even needs shades, it’s so colorful. Bracketed by tall trees, grounded by cocoa shells, this is a study in shade-happy plants. It’s exquisite. A few years back he actually woke up to two wayward deer (presumably from Forest Lawn Cemetery) in the garden – and he panicked. Hosta are deer candy!
More Garden Walk Buffalo gardens…
- Garden Walk Buffalo gardens to visit
- Having a ball in the garden
- A Cottage District Before & After
- A garden named Valinor
- Garden art – a brilliant wine bottle wall
- I covet my neighbor’s garden…
- What I saw on Garden Walk Buffalo
- [Video] New Buffalo Garden Video!
- Buffalo gardens are the best
- An oasis in the city. Really.
- The Numbers on Garden Tourism
- My favorite garden discovery of 2014’s Garden Walk
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