by Connie Oswald Stofko
We can be wowed when we walk into a landscape on garden walks or Open Gardens in Western New York. The overall view is magnificent and there is so much to see.
Tip: Take a breath. Then take a step back. Look at the details and think about how you might work those details into your own landscape.
The gardens in the backyard of of Kevin Lickers and Ricardo Arce in Buffalo are beautiful, but there is more to see. Notice the pots on each side of the door. So welcoming!
Here’s another interesting item from Lickers and Arce’s landscape. It’s part of an old wine press that has been repurposed to hold a plant. What cool item do you have that could be used in your garden?
Don’t rush; just stroll. As you’re leaving the backyard of Jim and Leslie Charlier in Buffalo, notice the window boxes hanging from the fence and the lovely stand holding the pot. The Charliers’ landscape is also home to the most famous shed in the world.
There is much to see in the Cheektowaga landscape of Beth and Brian Kreutzer–I promise to show you more in a later article. Here is just one detail: the bar on the deck. Specifically, the bar top and a table, inlaid with 14,357 pennies, built by Brian and a friend.
Sometimes we overlook even large things, such as a garden bed. We might be so distracted by the flowers that we don’t notice the bed’s shape. I visited Terry and Debbie Calway on the Ken-Ton Garden Walk in 2015. I was impressed by the flowing lines of these paired, C-shaped garden beds. See more images of their landscape here.