Category: Garden Walks

Buffalo in Bloom to begin, more volunteers needed

If you live in the City of Buffalo, keep your front yard mowed and weeded during July and you might be rewarded through Buffalo in Bloom. And whether you live in the city or suburbs, you can help by becoming a volunteer scout and choosing yards that deserve an award. Here’s how it works. Volunteer scouts, working in a team of two to four people, are assigned a several-block section of the City of Buffalo. They scout their area between…...

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Jun 28, 2011
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Parkside garden has evolved from play area to outdoor living room

by Connie Oswald Stofko Patience. That’s what you need if you want a yard and gardens like those at 84 Woodward, Buffalo, the home of  Melissa and Bill Maldovan. The Maldovans’ gardens were decades in the making. The couple shared their lovely landscape with visitors during the 14th annual Parkside Garden Tour on Sunday, June 26. Both husband and wife have gardening backgrounds. Melissa has taken horticulture classes and Bill did landscaping in high school and college. When their three…...

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Jun 28, 2011
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Container plantings add to charm of Lewiston garden

by Connie Oswald Stofko “Right now there’s not a lot of color with the perennials,” said Marlene Craft. She remedies that situation by making great use of clever container plantings. “I can move things around and get color where I need it,” she explained. Above, the large watering can is filled with licorice (light green) and coleus (red). The yellow plant in the small can is creeping jenny or goldilocks.  Marlene also uses bird cages, carpenters’ tool boxes and other…...

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Jun 28, 2011
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Glen Falls in Williamsville NY

Williamsville house came with natural water feature: Glen Falls

by Connie Oswald Stofko Marilyn Dempsey told her husband that she wanted to build a pond in their backyard. “I already bought you this,” Dennis told his wife, pointing to Glen Falls, located just behind their yard. The natural beauty of the majestic falls certainly would have eclipsed any man-made water feature they might have created. The Dempseys shared their view of the falls as well as their lovely gardens during the eighth annual Village of Willamsville Garden Walk on…...

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Jun 28, 2011
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statue with bleeding heart flower in Lancaster NY garden

Statue collection decorates gardens, ponds at home in Lancaster

by Connie Oswald Stofko When Janice Hetrick sees a statue that reminds her of one of her kids, she buys it for her gardens. Janice has six children, but the statues outnumber the kids 36 to 1. Her collection includes more than 220 statues, which are displayed in a number of gardens and around a couple ponds at her home on Schwartz Rd. in a rural part of Lancaster. She and her husband, Jeff, have just finished putting the ornaments…...

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May 24, 2011
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swing set in large Buffalo yard

Surprisingly large backyard is hidden in Buffalo

by Connie Oswald Stofko There’s plenty of room for the Thomson children to play in this huge backyard in the City of Buffalo. From left are Hunter, 11; Mackenzie, 5, and Evelyn, 8. The Thomsons shared their yard during Garden Walk Buffalo on July 24 and 25, and visitors were amazed that such a large expanse was located at 55 Hodge, not far from Children’s Hospital. The L-shaped yard extends approximately 180 feet away from the back deck, then actually…...

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Sep 7, 2010
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tall grass in median garden in Buffalo NY

Medians get makeover on Minnesota Ave. in Buffalo’s University Heights

The median gardens that were started 10 years ago on Minnesota Ave. in Buffalo had begun to fade. Residents who had been active in maintaining the gardens “moved, passed away or got tied up with their busy lives,” said Yvonne Brown, a member of the Minnesota Avenue Block Club. The median gardens got new life this year with funding from a City of Buffalo Livable Communities Block Grant, private donations and donations from the residents themselves. “Now we’re working on…...

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Aug 24, 2010
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water feature in Tonawanda NY

Water features highlight garden on Ken-Ton Garden Tour

A waterfall, pond and giant water wheel beguiled visitors to the backyard of John and Joanne Perrello at 2674 Colvin Blvd., Town of Tonawanda, during the Ken-Ton Garden Tour on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 7 and 8. While they grew vegetables for about 30 years, the Perrellos started the water features just three years ago, beginning with the waterfall, which you can see in the background of the first photo. They put in the pond, which you can see in…...

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Aug 10, 2010
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Carlos and Susan Gartin of Buffalo

Gracious patio garden graces once-abandoned lot in Buffalo

What was once an abandoned lot is now a lovely backyard patio for Susan and Carlos Gartin. They shared their creation during the Black Rock and Riverside Tour of Gardens on Saturday, Aug. 7. The lot is on East St., just behind their home at 169 Dearborn St.  It had been a dumping ground for asphalt, concrete and bricks, and the weeds grew seven feet high, Carlos said. The Gartins bought it in August 2009. Now flower beds are tucked…...

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Aug 10, 2010
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sculpture garden Elmwood Ave. Buffalo

Buffalo sculptor shares tips on cheap gardening

Gardening doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. “I didn’t spend one cent on this garden,” said Dave Derner, who created a backyard retreat at 1088 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, where he lives above Half & Half Trading Co. He got plants that nurseries or co-ops were going to throw out. Friends gave him plants as well. Many of the plants flourished. “I just put things in and let them grow,” Derner said. “It’s amazing how things just want to grow.”…...

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Aug 3, 2010
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