The Buffalo report - Garden Walk 2009

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

My weekend in Buffalo was fantastic, I can speak about it only in superlatives. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I've been involved with during my time with the magazine, so forgive me for gushing!
Garden Walk Buffalo is the largest garden tour in the country, with over 340 private gardens open for viewing for free. I only saw a small portion of them but I enjoyed seeing the gardens and meeting the gardeners so much. Everyone on the walk was so appreciative and supportive and all the garden hosts were friendly and generous with their knowledge and experience (and often with their plants, too!). Here are a few photos to give you an idea of it...

(I took over 700 photos on this trip, so this is just a tiny sample!)
It was great to see that Garden Walk was so well attended. The weather was beautiful for the most part, except for the torrential downpour that hit just before the walk ended for the day on Saturday. We happened to be on Garden Walk hot spot Little Summer when the sky opened up:

and luckily, ducked into a garage with several other garden walkers to wait out the storm:

It was kind of fun! Especially since it cleared up and became a beautiful evening right after (though the night saw more torrential rain later on...).
Though Garden Walk is primarily about private gardens, we saw an interesting public garden too - the Erie Basin Marina test gardens:

All across America, there are sites where the public can see new varieties of plants (mostly annuals) being tested. The big breeding companies send these gardens the seed or plants, and their skilled gardeners grow them on, subjecting them to similar (or sometimes, worse) conditions as they would experience in the containers, baskets, and backyards of gardeners across the country. The gardener at Erie Basin was a joy to meet, so knowledgeable it was scary! What was especially fun was that as you enter the garden, a volunteer gives you a flag that you can place at your favorite plant as a vote. I tried to look beyond the flowers for great form, attractive foliage and disease resistance...it looks like there is some great stuff on the horizon for us!

Both my husband and I fell in love with Buffalo. Everywhere you go, you see beautiful homes:


and amazing architecture. Here is Kleinhans Music Hall, designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen:

And this is Frank Lloyd Wright's incredible work, the Darwin Martin house:

Not only is it beautiful, it is in the middle of a fascinating, inspirational restoration involving all sorts of talented local craftspeople. See it now, because once the restoration is complete, it is going to be nearly impossible to imagine what it once looked like!
The thing that impressed me most about Buffalo is the people and their level of community involvement. The Martin house has 400 volunteers, for example. There is the individual citizen-funded 21st Century Fund. There are all sorts of community gardens and community beautification projects like the 16th Street Block Alliance (a very cool stop on the Garden Walk).
As a gardener, though, I was absolutely floored by Urban Roots Community Garden Center:

Conceived by a gardening couple who got sick and tired of going to the suburbs to get plants and gardening supplies, they gave their community the gift of a truly local nursery that meets their unique needs as urban gardeners. It is open to anyone who wants to shop there, but gardeners can also become members which play a tremendous role in supporting the shop and their mission. Many Urban Roots members were on Garden Walk and proudly displayed this cute little sign to help spread the word (it's in the bottom right corner there):

Urban Roots sells soil, mulch, plants, tools, decor, pots...all the same stuff you'd find at one of the big guys. They are committed to helping residents get information about composting, rainwater harvesting, green roofs, and raising chickens (which is currently, unfortunately, against city ordinance right now but they are working on changing it...which I only bring up to show you a gratuitous baby chicken photo:)

Places like Urban Roots are great signals that gardening is becoming more popular (and necessary). By the time I walked out of there, I was completely in love with Buffalo!
As for the food, every meal was interesting and tasty - here's the run down: Friday dinner was at Ulrich's, where my husband enjoyed local specialty, Beef on Weck (I had the German plate, delicious sauerbraten and outstanding potato salad). Totally loved Ulrich's - maybe the only bar I've been to that prominently displays its "closed by order of prohibition" sign (and Kennedy campaign poster, for that matter!).
Saturday: grabbed a quick but relaxing lunch at Brodo, then had dinner at (sorry, but it's true!) Anchor Bar. Go ahead and groan, I know, but we had the "suicide wings" and thought they were delicious - skillful, complex spicing.
Sunday: managed to get a quick breakfast at Betty's before hitting garden walk, lunch at the unexpectedly beautiful Gabriel's Gate, and dinner at Hutch's (an amazing wine list!). Thank you everyone for your recommendations...can't wait to go back and try more restaurants! 

Most people wouldn't think of Buffalo as an epicenter of American horticulture, but it looks like gardening may be their official pastime. It's definitely not too early to put Garden Walk 2010 on your calendar -  it's always the last weekend in July. 

Comments

[commonweeder]

An excellent report of an amazing event. This kind of thing makes me so optimistic about cities. I wish I could have been there, but we were enjoying our own bouquet of local garden tours

[Catherine Kurczynski--Cathybytheriver]

So excited to see this post--haven't read it all yet but had to comment. I've been doing the Buffalo Garden Walk since it started--amazing isn't it. I'll peruse you report and comment again. So glad you came to Buffalo.

[NJP]

Great article, thanks for loving our beautiful and humble city. Consider also visiting Buffalo during its three other seasons - autumn is gorgeous and every season has a bevy of festivals.

[Amir FaSaad]

Thanx for your honest reporting about a much maligned and bad-mouthed city and region. Our Music and Arts scene is also happenin' ! Please feel free to post more of your pix and thanx again !

[Catherine Kurczynski--Cathybytheriver]

Urban Roots is worth a trip from the suburbs to the city--the staff is so helpful. I've been wanting an Escargot Rex Begonia for a long time--found one on Saturday. And I couldn't resist the Five Points bakery next door--bought some goodies including a quart of maple syrup made in East Aurora--a village southeast of Buffalo.

I love your pictures--hope to see more of them--perhaps you are considering doing an article in Martha Stewart Living--will be thrilled to see it if you do.

You did get to some good eating places and we have a lot more just as yummy--come back anytime.

[LF]

Thanks for the post Stacey! I'm really excited about Urban Roots as well, and so glad you were able to check it out. Buffalo does have a wonderful energy. Good things happening all around...cheers!

[Amanda]

Thank you for such a wonderful review of Buffalo! We love our city too! The City Common Council voted 6-3 today to allow raising chikens in the city. 5 per household. no roosters. license required.

[Stan Sacha]

Thanks for the kind words, Stacey. As you could see, the city has a lot to offer, and is much different than the image portrayed in the national news. Garden Walk is the kind of yearly event that can change that tired image. It's not only the gardens, but the amazing architecture from famous architects house after house, and unique streets that once made this city one of the biggest in the early 1900's. Please come back next year, and see how much further we have taken this. We have big plans in store.

[Rachel]

Chicken ordinance was changed today. Chickens now allowed in Buffalo!

[Terry]

Glad to see you talked about the Marina garden...too few people know about it. It is fantastic. Also, on the outskirts of the city, the Buffalo Botanical Gardens are lovely and right across the street from a bascilica that is a must-see.

[Siobhan]

Stacey- Glad to meet you at elizabeth's. your take on buffalo is the same as mine is- wow! From a person who left 15 years ago- I can't believe how a small grass roots group has transformed a beaten down city. Bravo buffalonians. Go Jim and your generous, gaggle of gardeners.

[Peter]

Buffalo is the greatest and most beautiful city in the country. So under appreciated. People who come here for the first time can't believe what they see. I'm lucky enough to live in the this great city.

[Donna Hobbs Conner]

I am from North Carolina and did the garden walk in Buffalo two years ago. This year my plans got changed and I couldn't attend, but this amazing event really captures the spirit of much of the city, a re-blooming of sorts of not only beautiful and cheap homes, but the artistic nurturing of the quality of life there. I am so lucky that having daughters that live in western N.Y.brought me an inside glimpse to this city. It is a pleasure to visit. Yes, they get a bad rap, but they shouldn't. It makes you wonder about all the other places and people the world decides to malign! Martha Stewart and HGTV should feature the treasures that many don't know about in Buffalo.

[Stacey Hirvela]

HOORAY for the chickens! More proof that Buffalo is a great city that cares about its citizens and the environment.

Thank you, everyone, for commenting...it really demonstrates how wonderful the people of the Buffalo are!

[Robert]

Garden walk is a wonderful event that showcases the city at it's finest in a slantet way, visit our city for an extended stay another time, venture off the Garden Walk Trail and see if you gush.

[Dave]

I have done that and I do

[Jennifer]

So glad you enjoyed our city!

And thank you for the mention of Kleinhans Music Hall!

Kleinhans is slated to be a major venue for the National Historic Trust’s Conference in 2011, and we would be delighted to have you back to enjoy our great historic buildings!

[Sue]

You made me appreciate my city even more! Yes, Buffalo is about more than weather. It's a great place to live.

[Judith]

A delightful group of images so very different from the defunked industrial areas as well as the rundown area around the American side of the river as we traveled through on our way to see the Falls. It has been a very long time since that day so I am hoping we Americans can now hold up our heads when we visit the Falls and look across to the beautifully manicured Canadian side.

[Anna]

Thanks so much for this great article! Its nice to hear praise for our city instead of the the typical comparisons to Siberia and the like!
Glad you had a good time!

[Mary]

I must also commend our city for allowing a relocated farming family to take several parcels of unused land on the East Side of Buffalo and lease it to use as farm land. They will farm the land and sell the produce locally. See this link: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/666082.html

Buffalo isn't all snow and cold. Thank you for proving that!

[Melanie]

Thank you for showing off our beautiful city! Spend some more time here and you will realize why people live here - beautiful architecture, fabulous culture and excellent cuisine!

[Pete Pilliod]

Thanks for the great review! Buffalo truly is a GREAT city. Summer is filled with terrific festivals and the food is out of this world. The people here are friendly....It's almost like walking back in time when people on the street wave and say hello. Ask anyone about a place to go eat and you'll get responses that would put Wikipedia to shame.
This is a place where you can also purchase a beautiful home for a fantastic price. No sticker shock here. Buffalo truly is a very wonderful place to live.

[Rob Hummel]

Thanks Stacey for your awesome review!! It's not often we get to read something so positive from someone on a national level.

[Linda]

Thank you so much for being independent enough to bring a fresh eye to our beloved city. If you do do a story based on your expereince, you might also highlight some other pluses -eg., from Little Summer, you can walk to work downtown in about 20 minutes; walk the other way and you can be in Canada in about 20 minutes. Biking is even faster. In 10 minutes you can walk to the Elmwood strip with all its great shopping, dining and socializing with your neighbors. In September, we host one of the nation's largest theatre opening nights. There truly is no better place to live than Buffalo and we appreciate your spreading the word. See you again soon!