We took a bazillion pictures of the public and private gardens which I’ll post later. We spent our copious spare time finding Buffalo’s other beauty. There is beauty in Buffalo’s history. The Old Northwest owes its industrial and agricultural greatness to Buffalo. The cities on the Great Lakes would still be villages if it wasn’t for Buffalo and the Erie Canal. Buffalo was the gateway to the rest of the world. I went to look for this beauty from its industrial past.
We toured off the beaten path. Neighborhoods all tell a story if you only listen. The names of old churches and social clubs tell you about who built the neighborhood and toiled in the nearby factories. We saw front yard gardens everywhere we went. Maybe there is something in the Buffalo air or maybe, just maybe, the Garden Walk movement has a longer reach than expected.
Amidst the industrial decay I found a tree growing on the roof of a long abandoned plant. Eventually, this factory will be overrun with vegetation.
Nearby the decay of the past is a glimpse of the future, a small wind farm along the shores of Lake Erie.
Notice the vegatation on the tower.
9 comments:
Welcome back Jim - sounds like you and Pat had a very worthwhile time when you shuffled off to Buffalo. Bet you are buzzing with ideas for your garden now. And the architecture is very interesting and varied too.
Laura
Welcome back, glad you had a great time. I am waiting to learn from your experience.
Eileen
Wow. Some of those buildings are fantastic. I hope they plan to keep them up and not let them get overrun with seedlings... although I like the idea of abandoned ruins in any context. Something so melancholy and peaceful in them.
I'm glad you got to go, Jim, and I hope you had a blast meeting the other bloggers!
Thanks for an interesting post on the city of Buffalo. I enjoy photos of old buildings (and also new ones!), and some of the architecture you show is amazing. I am fascinated by the tree growing on top of the factory. That's an essay in itself!
It must have been great meeting other garden bloggers, and I look forward to your posts on the gardens you saw.
I'm glad you all had a great time and took great pictures to share. Excellent post. Thanks for sharing.
It was most pleasurable to meet you and Pat at this event, Jim, as well as so many other nice folks. There were no strangers there, for the common bonds of gardening and blogging make us all part of a large family. Buffalo was magnificent, your photos do it justice.
Frances
I'd have never thought of going to Buffalo; it looks nice. I did once meet a bloke from Buffalo on aflight from New York to Rochester, and he kind of undersold the place.
Still, you have reversed that negativity!
Hi Jim, I love this post, it honors the past and those fantastic buildings. Weren't the churches magnificent. It was good to meet you and I wish we'd had more chat time. gail
Wonderful post...I enjoy your blog very much!
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