“It’s like an extension of your house, an outdoor room,” Russ Polvino said of his fabric gazebo. “I love to sit out here and listen to music.” I visited during the Saturday Night Lights portion of the Ken-Ton Garden Tour held July 21 and 22, and visitors could see his gardens during the day as well. Polvino shares the home at 1237 Tonawanda St., Tonawanda, with Doug Dedman. The gazebo at the back of the house really does feel like an…...
“You can put anything in containers and you can put containers anywhere,” said Walter Kozlowski, who grows even apple and peach trees in pots– and harvests fruit! Kozlowski shared his unusual container plantings, vegetable gardens and flower beds during the Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens on August 4. The event also featured a Starry Night Garden Tour in the evening. Kozlowski grows colonnade apple trees, a type that grows straight up and stays short. You can see them…...
Kathy and Ed Burke moved to their home on Argyle Park in Buffalo about eight years ago. “We moved from a home with a huge garden, but it had become more of a chore than a joy,” Kathy said. Their current backyard is small, but flowering perennials in the sunny beds and colorful foliage in the shady beds make it feel joyful. The Burkes shared their gardens during Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden walk in the nation, on July…...
The awards in the National Garden Festival’s Front Yard Contest were announced Wednesday in Riverside Park. From July 9 to July 13, 15 front yards along Crowley Avenue in Buffalo (bordering the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Riverside Park) were transformed by professional landscapers, Master Gardeners of the Cornell Cooperative Extension and teams from the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, who donated their time and materials and competed to create the most impressive yards. From July 14 to July 20, the public had…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Feeding wildlife started with feeding her own family, explained Molly Goldthwait of 78 Woodlawn, Lancaster. She and her husband Leon used to buy organic produce, but that got too expensive to do when they had their children, Beatrice, 10, and Henry, 7. By creating organic gardens for their own food, they created a supportive environment for wildlife. The Goldthwait Family shared their yard during the Lancaster Garden Walk on July 21 and 22. To qualify for…...
The first thing you notice about the yard of Brian and Linda Blyth is how beautiful it is.The next thing that surprises visitors is how large it is. “It goes back and back and back,” Linda said. The Blyths showed their yard at 939 Delaware Road, Tonawanda, during the Ken-Ton Garden Tour on July 21 and 22. You can also see their garden from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, July 26 during the Open Gardens of the National Garden Festival…....
Carl and Doris Swan bought a house with three acres of land on Center Road in West Seneca as an investment property. After 43 years, they’re still there. “I figured we weren’t going to stay long,” Carl said, “but we did.” Over the last 10 or 15 years, areas that formerly were used by the children and grandchildren for playing ball are becoming gardens, and the Swans have developed different gardening styles. The Swans showed their gardens during the first…...
When Jim Hachick bought the house at 112 Autumnwood in Amherst 12 years ago, the yard was overgrown. But little by little, it has been transformed into a tranquil space that can also be used to entertain friends. Hachick showed visitors around during the Amherst Garden Walk on July 21. “The pool was already here,” Hachick said. “That is probably the only thing that hasn’t changed.” He even planted the trees, including a tall columnar oak near the pool. At…...
“I’ve always had the best flowers and best hanging baskets on the street,” said Melissa, the tenant at 75 Crowley St., Buffalo. But after the staff from Lockwood’s Greenhouses finished the makeover of the front yard, she was happy to see that they had outdone her. The Front Yard Contest is part of the National Garden Festival in Buffalo. A block facing the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Riverside Park was chosen, and professional landscapers, Master Gardeners and teams from the Buffalo…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko An iron headboard and foot board give another meaning to the term “garden bed” in this yard at 224 East Prospect Ave., Hamburg, where Kathleen Winter shared her gardens during Buzz Around Hambug on Saturday and Sunday, July 14 and 15. This part of Winter’s front yard is one of the few sunny spots on her property. Her side and back yards are under a canopy of tree branches, which is delightful during the hot weather…...
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