by Connie Oswald Stofko
We gardeners in Western New York are spoiled. During the height of the National Garden Festival, we can visit beautiful gardens– many, many beautiful gardens– four days a week. It’s been less than two weeks since the last event of the National Garden Festival ended, but many of us miss it already.
There are still lovely gardens to visit in Western New York.
One of them is the Joan and Victor Fuzak Memorial Gardens at the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo. I photographed it on the Fourth of July, but I think it’s still worth a visit. It was listed with the open gardens of the National Garden Festival, but it’s a public garden and you can still stroll though.
Not only is it beautiful, it’s a test garden for companies that hybridize flowers for the home gardener, explained Stan Swisher, the horticulturist who has been tending the garden since 1970. He worked first for the City of Buffalo and is now employed by Smith Boys marina.
It’s referred to as a university trial garden because most of these gardens around the country are associated with universities, though the one in Buffalo isn’t, Swisher said.
Many of the flowers in the garden now are plants that will be introduced to the market in 2015. Get a sneak peek at next year’s flowers while you enjoy a view of the water.
Erie Basin Marina always has such a beautiful display each year. I visit each year.