Black Rock and Riverside shine during nighttime garden walk

house on nighttime garden walk in Buffalo NY“I love the lights,” said Rosie Dubravac of 74 Simon St., Buffalo.

That’s why she opened her yards for the Starry Night Garden Tour, the evening portion of the Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens on Saturday, Aug. 6.

It was the last garden walk of the season in Western New York.palm trees on Black Rock Riverside night garden walk in Buffalo NY

Dubravac welcomed many visitors, who enjoyed the well-lit front and back yards. The tall lighted ornament you see in the front yard above left  is a sunflower. You can see lights along the left side of the driveway, and Dubravac also placed lights on top of the posts along the fence that runs along the right side of the driveway.

During the daytime, the real sunflowers in the backyard, shown at right, dominate the scene. Dubravac said that many of the sunflowers in her yard were planted by squirrels who frequent her bird feeder.

lights on pool on garden walk in Buffalo NY 2011As the sun begins to set, the lighted palm trees began to steal the show. Also notice the lights that are strung along the top of her garage.

Even her above-ground pool, left, is trimmed with lights. Strings of lights accented by fish decorate the outside walls, while other lights circle the bottom edge of the pool. Pictures of tropical birds add to the Caribbean theme.Candles on Black Rock and Riverside walk in Buffalo NY

She has solar lights, which go on by themselves when it’s dark enough and change different colors. She also used torches.

Rather than have a hot fire lit while visitors were walking around the yard, her sister suggested setting candles in the fire pit, which is pictured above right. Brightly colored mugs held the tapers.

“As you can see, I love color,” Dubravac said.sitting area on Blackrock Riverside garden walk in Buffalo NY

Her love of color is exhibited in her seating area. The chairs are cushioned with pillows, each in a different neon color. Dubravac painted the patio tiles in corresponding bright colors. Even though she uses special paint, she has to repaint the tiles each year.

The flowers you see around the patio are cleomes or spider flowers. You can see a close-up below right. Dubravac planted one in each corner, and now the patio is lined with them. She has them in several different spots in her yard because they spread so easily from seed.cleome in Buffalo NY

If you plant them, “You’ll have them every year,” she said. “You’ll have ten times as many next year.”

One visitor noted that when wet, the flowers smell like cat urine. Dubravac said she noticed that, but it didn’t dampen her enthusiasm for the pretty blooms, nor did it deter visitors who gratefully accepted seeds and plants from Dubravac.

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9 Comments on “Black Rock and Riverside shine during nighttime garden walk

  1. I’m an old neighbor of Rosie’s going back to the 70s, although I no longer live there it’s wonderful to see how nice she keeps here little piece of Heaven. It was presented so beautifully I’m very proud to know her and see she’s keeping Simon St. beautiful.

  2. Ann,
    I would love to see photos of your yard! Yes, please send them.

    Rosie gave me seeds, too. I planted them in my next door neighbor’s garden, which adjoins mine. My neighbor needed something in that spot and I think she will love the cleome.

    I loved visiting Rosie’s yard. What a fun bunch of people!

    Best,
    Connie

  3. Hi Connie, I meant to write sooner, but time slips away too quickly. You really did a wonderful job photographing my sister, Rosie’s yard. That was a very fantastic night. “Very Starry” Rosie’s flower seeds really added quite an abundant amount of flowers to my yard this year. These “Cleome” also known as “Spider Plants” are amazing. It only takes a small amount of seeds to acquire so many beautiful flowers that are so easy to take care of. After you plant the seeds, you just never know where they will pop up. I will send you pics of my garden and if you like feel free to post them. Ann Bednarek (Rosie’s sister)

  4. In addition to attracting wildlife to her garden, Rosie Dubravac has dogs that are very special to her. Yes, critter-loving is a good description for her yard!

  5. wonderful ! esp w/the use of solar lights-so beautiful and kritter loving w/the beauty of life all around….
    pauline

  6. Judy,
    The nighttime gardens are very beautiful. You get a different view when you see them at night. There are two garden walks now that offer a nighttime tour– Black Rock & Riverside as well as Ken-Ton.

    People in the Buffalo area are definitely avid gardeners. We have something like 17 garden walks, with two offering nighttime tours, and we want more!

    Thanks for the comment.

  7. Connie,
    The gardeners in the Black Rock and Riverside Nighttime Walk had some very creative methods of lighting their gardens. I wish that more of the “walks” would consider a nighttime edition. The lights provide another way to attract new visitors to an already established venture.

  8. Rosie,
    You should be proud of your yard! Thanks for sharing it on the garden walk, and thanks so much for the seeds. It was great talking with you!

  9. Connie- thank for the beautiful articles & pics of my yard. I have never been so proud of it! Rosie

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