A rite of mid-summer in Buffalo has returned, as Garden Walk Buffalo brought thousands of people from near and far this weekend to see what city residents can do with a green thumb and the right yard.
The event is so prominent it has spawned a string of other garden walks across the region and even in the city.
Sponsors don’t count visitors, but there were clearly a lot of them on Sunday. Headquarters Committee Chair Dorothy Weitz said they even included the former head of horticulture at Disneyland Paris.
“He's been following us on social media and he's here in person now,” she said. “:So, that's cool.”
Brandy Tedesco was in from Orchard Park looking for ideas.
“We saw these beautiful rainbow-colored daisies in oranges, reds, yellows and their heads kind of like it's almost like they're popping up toward the sun,” she said. “Those are my favorites.”
Johanna Dominguez was an exhibitor of her yard.
“I'm a big plant person. I also own a plant shop,” she said. “So, for me, it's a lot of fun to work on it all the time and I don't do a lot with it. Usually, Mondays are my day to work in the garden but not usually more than just Mondays.”
Jack Hopkins said he picks his flowers personally, not from a catalog.
“I won't buy online. I want to see what I'm buying. I want to visually see what the plant looks like, so I know what I'm getting,” he said. “I've been burned before on buying things and not happy with the stuff. So, I depend on nurseries, local nurseries.”
In the city’s Allentown neighborhood, Mark Fruhlinger reserved his front yard for native plants.
“For the native garden and not having it pristine for more wild-looking,” he said. “It's very easy to maintain.”
Melisa Holden was just looking.
“Guess I'm looking for ideas,” she said. “But, also I was told to come over and check out some of the houses on 16th Street, especially this one.”
There’s a lot of that gossip among visitors, as they gave each other quick suggestions about which gardens were most impressive.
