Making the Most of Garden Walk Buffalo

There are more than 400 gardens to explore this year! How the heck do you see them all in just two short days?

Well, you don't. Garden Walk Buffalo is the largest of its kind in the nation. While it's one of few that is walkable, it would take a week to peek into the backyards of all of the participating gardens in neighborhoods from Erie Basin Marina to Delaware Park!

There are as many ways to "do" Garden Walk Buffalo as there are personality types. Consider the following strategies as the biggest garden weekend of the year approaches:

Be Methodical: Study the map, read the descriptions, circle must-see gardens, devise a route and strategically plan the weekend. Bike or drive to economize on travel time, with the understanding that parking a car is going to be a challenge.

Be Serendipitous: Just park somewhere and blindly follow the foot traffic, visiting gardens with the shortest lines. Have a beer at the end of the day.

Connect the dots: Choose three neighborhoods, devote two hours to each, see as many gardens of as possible, and catch the free trolley to the next neighborhood. Repeat on Sunday. 

However you choose to do Garden Walk Buffalo, be sure to get out and do it. Take breaks, drink water plenty of water, and be sure to flag down an ice creamcycle dude for a $1 ice cream at some point - just for energy, of course.

And here's a tip: Whenever you see a QR code on a Garden Walk Buffalo garden sign, scan it to hear an insider's perspective on that space. The Building Stories Program, a delightful collaboration between Garden Walk Buffalo and the Buffalo Architecture Foundation, is in its second year. What a treat to be able to listen to the stories behind some of Buffalo's amazing and unique spaces.

Kick off Garden Walk Buffalo weekend Friday evening at the Art in the Garden Party in the beautiful, historic "European Villa" style Twentieth Century Club garden--a unique opportunity to see this Delaware mansion. And then close it in style Sunday afternoon at the Tower Garden Party at First Presbyterian Church on Symphony Circle. This fundraiser to support this E.B. Green masterpiece is premiering its very own craft beer: E.B.'s Tower Power, crafted by Flying Bison especially for this event.

As you are making your way from garden to garden in Allentown, keep an eye out for street performances and installations. The Buffalo Infringement Festival is already underway and takes place right over the top of GardenWalk, bringing the streets of Allentown alive with seemingly random acts of wonder. It's a brilliant juxtaposition. 

The Big Picture

There are two ways to look at these festivals that bring our streets alive. They're free entertainment. You can have a blast without having a cent in your pocket. But turn that looking glass around and recognize that what's free to you and me actually generates millions of dollars in additional revenues for our community. GardenWalk Buffalo alone will attract tens of thousands of visitors from all 50 states and dozens of other countries to Buffalo. According to Jim Charlier's ArtofGardeningBuffalo blog, they will spend in the neighborhood of $4.3 million during their stay, eating in restaurants, sleeping in hotels, buying keepsakes. Add the economic impact of the 17 other garden walks, open gardens and tours, and you're not talking chump change. But wait, there's more. The positive press generated by our gardens and the events that showcase them is worth millions, but actually monetizes to some serious numbers - good press that cannot be purchased; it must be earned. 

And then there are the intangible, qualitative returns on these investments made by our gardening community. When one homeowner on a block takes the time and makes the effort to plant a garden and care for it, neighbors take note and are inspired to do the same. When a garden graces a house, a fresh coat of paint often follows. Sidewalks are swept, trees are trimmed, and civic pride spreads. Entire neighborhoods in Buffalo have turned around in this unplanned yet systematic manner. And more are swept into the "development by gardening" movement each year. GardenWalk Buffalo started with fewer than two dozen gardens in 1995, and this year boasts 406 participating gardens. There are now 17 garden walks and tours throughout WNY, and more than 100 Open Gardens. 

Jim Charlier has been a passionate, hands-on organizer in this charge. A gardener himself (don't miss his Taj-ma-potting-shed, checkerboard pavers and fabulous gardens at 215 Lancaster), he is also an excellent graphic designer and a very skilled ad man. Just the ticket for taking a grassroots effort to national reknown. He would say that many others have contributed over the years, and he would be right. But for me, Jim Charlier is GardenWalk, the genius who has guided a good event to greatness. 

And don't forget to be just as good an ambassador as our hundreds of gardeners are this weekend. More than 60,000 visitors from all 50 states and more than a dozen other countries are expected in the City of Good Neighbors for this massive event. Help with directions, provide restaurant suggestions, and tell them how glad we are that they made the trek to Buffalo.