Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Great Weekend!

Country Girl and I spent the weekend in Buffalo for Garden Walk and we had a great time despite the fact that she was tired and I was cranky. We got to meet Jim and his wife, Elizabeth and her husband, Susan, Michele and lots of very friendly gardeners. We really think Garden Walk would be a great place for a big bloggers meet up.

We started off Saturday morning at Jim's and he has the most unusual planting that we've seen to date. He has an espalier of fruit trees and of course I forgot to take a picture because I was too busy talking, but take at look at his blog.

The weather was a bit iffy Saturday afternoon and we thought that would cut down on the crowds and we could have the gardens all to ourselves. Everyone else had umbrellas too.


For the most part the walkers are polite but there were a couple of incidents that made me wonder if some of the gardeners will say "never again"! I don't know how this lawn held up. When we were there people were swarming all over it even though you could easily see this gorgeous bed easily from the sidewalk. Maybe I'm just cranky because I couldn't get a good picture without any backsides.

Several gardens had areas that looked trampled and there was no need for it. People were in a hurry and couldn't be bothered waiting to use the garden paths, sidewalks and driveways. One house sat on a teeny tiny lot quite close to the sidewalk and still had an incredible number and variety of flowers. We were appalled as an older couple boldly walked up to the house and started looking in windows! We're fairly certain someone was home. It would have made our day if the homeowner had opened the door just as the couple was trying to look in!


This fountain made us think of Annie in Austin.

A buffalo in Buffalo!

While my sister was engrossed in beautiful plantings I kept distracting her by making her look at various architectural details. What's not to love about this house? It was the chimney that held my attention.

Buffalo is full of churches.
The sun really washed out the dark stone facade.

This house didn't have a garden
but look at the harlequin design.

I would love to have a porch. Country Girl has a small one.
I loved most of the ones we saw but especially several rounded ones.
Over the next few days we'll share some of the garden and flower pictures we took.

6 comments:

  1. Yay for Apple and Country Girl! You got to meet a nice bunch of garden bloggers!
    The round porch is really pretty - and the detail around the top is fine. It seems less massive than a rectangle but you could still fit a table and chairs on it.
    Thanks for thinking of me while you toured the gardens - the fountain looks a little fancier than mine with two layers of stone but it has that natural look.

    Jim's blog said he had 1000 people - that's 2000 feet in one garden!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  2. Yikes! Didn't I tell you I'd be nervous with that many people traipsing through my gardens? I'm sure the majority were polite and considerate and why put so much trouble into a garden if no one is to enjoy it along with you? Maybe I'll go on the Garden Walk next year...

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  3. That fountain is my neighbor's. The Buffalo belongs to friends- they won it in a raffle! The rounded porch house belongs to a neighbor. The house next door to him burned down three years ago, he almost lost his house too. The patch of flowers with the butts around it was on the cover of two magazines last year - People Places Plants and also Garden Gate. The weekend was a blast. Glad you were part of it!

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  4. @ Annie in Austin -

    It was 2,000 people! That's 4,000 feet!

    Fortunately, I have eliminated all but a couple square feet of lawn and everything can be seen from the paved driveway.

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  5. It was great fun meeting everyone and well worth the trip. We hope Annie, Martha and others can make the trip sometime.

    I can't imagine having 200 people tour my garden, never mind 2,000. It's wonderful that there are so many friendly gardeners in Buffalo!

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  6. There are some really lovely houses and gardens in Buffalo. Love those porches, especially the round one.
    I can't even imagine 2000 people tromping about my garden. Argh!
    Glad you and CG had such a nice weekend. Thanks for sharing it with us :)

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