Tuesday, July 13, 2010

"Horto in Urbe' means Buffalo

Way up in the sky the little birds fly. While down on the ground garden bloggers descended upon the streets of Buffalo NY like bees on flowers. Buffa10 was a wonderful experience. Friday started with a tour of the cottage district in the rain. Gardens look so nice in the rain and who hasn't gardened in the rain? The neighborhood dates from the Civil War. It was a wow moment. We went from one wonderful garden to the next. It seems that critical mass has been achieved. I've never seen so many wonderful gardens in a neighborhood. This record lasted all of one day till we saw more great neighborhood gardens.

The street curbs are cut stone. The city could have replaced them with concrete years ago. It is a tribute to the City of Buffalo that they did not. The cut stone curbs enhance the neighborhoods look.







I am jealous of tree lawn gardens. These narrow gardens next to the street were prevalent where ever we walked. We also saw them during our off hours touring. If Pat and I tried this we'd be taken away in cuffs by the yard police.




The Urban Roots Garden Center is the only coop garden center in the country. What a place. One of our hosts, Jim Charlier sits on its board. He told us that Urban Roots is the only garden center in the city and it caters to the local population in plant selection. It also has local artists' lawn ornamentation. There were a couple of pieces that were calling my name as soon as we got off the bus, so I gave them homes.



We stopped at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society to visit the Japanese Garden. The Historical society has a bronze statue of Lincoln. As a native son of the Land of Lincoln, while Pat toured the garden I investigated the Lincoln story. Lincoln visited Buffalo twice. He stopped in Buffalo on the way to Washington after the election and his funeral train stopped on the way back to Springfield 4 years later.

10 comments:

BernieH said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BernieH said...

Fabulous photos ... and what beautiful gardens. What a treat for you to be able to enjoy this first hand ... lucky you.

Shady Gardener said...

It's not hard to tell that you two had a wonderful time! :-) I'm glad you could go!!

Noelle Johnson said...

I am so glad you are having such a great time and I imagine a welcome break. I love the hostas by the way :-)

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Thanks Jim, loved your tour of Buffalo. I had a street garden in my old old house, someone came by in their car went up over the curb and turfed it! That was the end of street gardens for me.

Eileen

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Buffalo great - I'm amazed Jim and Elizabeth were able to pack all the great gardens and fabulous food into a few days!I like that expression "tree lawn gardens" - a lot of people call them hellstrips, I call mine a sidewalk garden. Nobody's shown up with the cuffs yet!

Is the Wiz said...

Trust you to spot the hosta!
I always thought American front gardens were just lawn, so this was a pleasant revelation. Really loved the Japanese garden, so tranquil.

Meredith said...

Wow, that last bit about Lincoln's second stop in Buffalo is so poignant.

I have to tell you, I've seen a lot of the garden bloggers' shots of the Japanese garden in Buffalo now, and this was by far my favorite. You captured something mystical, evanescent there, Jim.

It does seem the city has achieved critical garden mass. How wonderful! I'm glad you shared it with us. :)

Joan said...

Okay, I am a fan! Loved looking rhru your blog and taking the tour of Buffalo along with you. Cool captures of old and new, birth and decay. You're pretty clever!

Also dig that summer and fall photo compare of the same spot in your yard. Good job.

My sister lived in Cleveland suburbs for a few years. I remember big fabulous trees. Which means lots of shade and hence, hosta plants.

Lovely site.

JCharlier said...

We've also got another statue of Lincoln as a young man that sits in the Rose Garden in Delaware Park. It couldn't be seen from where we were in the Japanese Garden, but it is just across the lake. Nice photos! Glad you had such a good time. Come back (and bring friends) for Garden Walk sometime!