For Toronto garden lovers, the biggest open garden tour in North America is only a two-hour drive (and a wee wait at the border) away. In 2010, that means the chance to see more than 350 open gardens in one weekend. And admission is completely free!
It’s Garden Walk Buffalo, always held on the last weekend in July – which falls on July 24-25, 2010. Garden Walk culminates a five-week long National Buffalo Garden Festival, with more open gardens and other garden events. Who knew that Buffalonians were so serious about gardening?
They’re serious all right. The city’s residents have seen that gardening can transform run-down, frayed urban neighbourhoods into vibrant, desirable communities. It’s catching, too. A single homeowner will create a garden and, before you know it, entire streets are getting into the gardening act opening their homes and gardens to the open garden tours. Property values go up. But, even more, than that; the sense of community and civic pride skyrockets. It’s grassroots gardening as effective urban renewal.
Judging by the gardens Sarah and I have seen during the Buffa10 Garden Bloggers preview, these truly are real gardens by real people. Really great gardens by really generous people. We’ve been blown away by Buffalo. We think you will, too.
Have a look at these gardens in the Cottage District alone. And there’s plenty more where these came from.
11 comments
Great points about neighborhoods and community growing through gardens. Loved your pix. Talk about over stimulation…I can't imagine trying to see 300 gardens!
Helen, I'm blown away by Buffalo too! Great slideshow. It's so nice to see gardens used to bring communities together.
helen and sarah,
what a priviledge to meet the two canadian sisters…tonight. i really enjoyed getting to know a little more about both of you. buffalo has been great and you have captured the cottage district perfectly. i really loved those gardens and all the vivid colours.
see you in the morning.
What has struck me about both the Buffalo Garden Walk and all of the bloggers is the way gardens give us all ways to be generous, to our communities and to our friends while we enrich ourselves with beauty, delicious food and friendships.
Thank-you for all those photos! I keep reading about #Buff10, how fun to see some of it. I can't imagine how one would chose which of all the 350 gardens to see! And how to process all the input.
Hartford, CT has a neighborhood renovation project going on via gardens as well. It has brought out community pride and lowered crime by getting people to talk and work together.
I love the white iron work! Gorgeous! Front yard beautification spreads like wild fire. I put my garden in about 5 years ago, the neighborhood's landscape has changed drastically since then. There are multiple front yard gardens on my street now, and I sense more to come. Bring it!
Looking forward to hearing all about it. Toronto needs a big garden festival like this!
just breathtaking!
lovely photos Helen and it's great the communities are getting together through gardening.
aloha,
i loved the slide show and the amazing gardens, what a special place….don't you love whole communities that really foster this ideal…wow!
It's neat that you saw some gardens I didn't see and noticed some details I overlooked. Each garden was like a little jewelbox I could have spent an hour discovering.