By Lauren Newkirk Maynard
Cosmos sway near peach-colored roses, mingling with hosta and lavender at the corners of Saranac Avenue and Hertel, while arborvitae flank a brightly colored sign reading “A Strong and Safe Community.”
The Saranac Central Block Association Gardens were the passion of gardener and neighbor Vincent Gregory, who passed away last fall. Since establishing them in 2022, Gregory expanded and maintained them with funding from Gardens Buffalo Niagara’s (GBN) Lunenfeld Beautification Grants program.
“The gardens are a source of joy and pride for those of us who live and work in the Hertel-North Park area,” says Eileen Giancarlo, who took over the project. She recently organized a memorial event for Gregory at the gardens, which include four corners between Saranac and Tacoma.
GBN’s signature grant program, named for Garden Walk Buffalo founder Marvin Lunenfeld, has provided more than $200,000 for more than 300 beautification projects for block clubs and community groups throughout Buffalo since 2004.
Projects can range from small block clubs purchasing small sidewalk planters, to neighborhood-wide non-profit organizations expanding their established community green spaces.
In 2026, Gardens Buffalo Niagara distributed $39,695 in community garden grants to 33 projects throughout the city, from North Buffalo and the West Side to South Buffalo and the East Side.
Ten projects were located in the Garden Walk footprint, and three were outside the footprint (two in North Buffalo and one in South Buffalo).
Applicants don’t need to be non-profits, they can have churches, businesses, and other community groups serve as fiscal sponsors. Saranac’s block association partners with the Hertel Business Association for their gardens.
Increased support
Gardening is hard work and increasingly expensive. This year, GBN used several strategies to maximize its support for local projects, including $20,000 from the Buffalo Together Fund for East Side gardeners, bringing the total on the East Side to $23,725 in funding for 20 projects.
The maximum grant amount also increased to $1,500. “This lets people do more and buy more for more ambitions projects,” says Mara Montante, chair of the Lunenfeld grants committee.
The Muslim Society’s new East Side Medicinal Lavender Garden along Genesee and Forman boasts 120 lavender plants that transformed a bare sidewalk border (left) into a blooming oasis for monarchs and other pollinators (center and right). Photos courtesy of the Muslim Society of Buffalo.
Every grantee receives a year’s membership at The Tool Library for affordable tool rentals, or funding can be used to purchase small hand tools. “We’re try to be more flexible because people come up with creative ideas for community projects,” says Montante.
To make the application process easy for everyone, GBN uses a simple Google form, which is sent again at the end of the summer to report out on the project. Project leaders submit their receipts, responses and before/after photos directly to the form.
Every project is also assigned an experienced gardening coach for support. “We had a lot of people with questions this year, including new grantees,” said Montante.
Not all goes to plan
At the Coles House Project and Studio on Humboldt Ave., the historic home of former architect and activist Robert Traynham Coles, is beginning a multi-phase restoration, inside and out.
The gardens still need a lot of work, but project leader Albert Chao wrote in the application, “We believe that the gardens and landscaping are an integral part of the historic design.” This year’s grant went towards stabilizing and maintaining the landscape, he said, “with the ambition to revitalize the gardens as areas for pollinators and native plants.”
Their plan included planting in the front flower and vegetables gardens, and rebuilding wooden pathways that connect the street, front and rear of the property. Time and manpower ran out to do it all, which happens to many new projects, but Chao said, “the team was very kind and helpful,” especially GBN’s coach, Margaret Lamonds-Moss, who helped source gravel and soil for the project.
“This past summer was incredibly busy, so the rebuilding of the garden bed wood edging was difficult to organize and plan. We are hoping to be more prepared for spring 2027,” Chao wrote in the final project report.
In South Buffalo, the Seneca-Babcock Community Block Club was awarded a $1,500 grant for a new shade garden, an extension of established beds built by Grassroots Gardens.
As part of the grant, the block club committed an additional $1,500 in matching funds, including volunteer “sweat equity.”
What resulted went beyond new flowers and a peaceful spot for rest and reflection.
Wrote project leader Dorrie McClain in an email, “Our beautiful community garden, right in the heart of our neighborhood, is so much more than plants, lights, and a pathway. It’s a source of pride and joy, a place that brightens our surroundings, and a reminder of what we can accomplish when we come together.”
The Lunenfeld Beautification Grant applications open on January 15, 2027 and are due on or before March 15. For more information, visit Gardens Buffao Niagara online.
Lauren Newkirk Maynard is editor of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com and a former Lunenfeld Beautification Grant committee member.
