Garden writers & bloggers LOVE Buffalo gardens

70 garden bloggers from 23 states and Canada visited Buffalo for a "sneak peek" of Garden Walk Buffalo. There are now 70 gardeners that have fallen for our gardens and gardening community (and art and architecture). Most wish they had something like Buffalo has in their own communities. Organized by Garden Walk president Jim Charlier and Buffalo Spree editor, Elizabeth Licata (both garden bloggers), it may be the first garden tour to ever get a standing ovation. The bloggers have been writing and posting photos about their trip to Buffalo. Jump to the next page to see what they're saying.

Previous garden blogger meet-ups have been held in Austin, TX and Chicago, IL. Sponsors included The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, Troy-Bilt, Garden Rant, Wildflower Farm, Cool Springs Press and Your Garden Show. Goodie bags were given to each blogger which contained gloves, seeds, hats, books, magazines, the Garden Walk Buffalo book & DVD and more. Door Prizes were given away, with the largest prize being a Troy-Bilt tiller of $800 value.

The itinerary included:

Self-guided tour of Allentown area gardens
Drinks in the garden of host Elizabeth Licata
Dinner in the garden of the 20th Century Club
Self-guided tour of the Cottage District
Tours of the Japanese Garden in Olmsted's Delaware Park
Lunch at Rue Franklin
Visit to Urban Roots Community Garden Center, the nation's only cooperatively run garden center.
A visit to the National Buffalo Garden Festival Front Yard Competition on North Parade (19 front yard makeovers, created by local landscapers, on one block).
Happy hour in the cabana bar of in the private residential garden of Gordon Ballard & Brian Olinsky
Dinner at the 20th Century Club
Visit to the Erie Basin Marina Test Gardens (and voting for favorite plants)
A visit to the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens, where also on hand was a professional photographer to take photos of the bloggers to use on promotional materials - their blogs, upcoming books, columns, etc.
A visit to Lockwood's Greenhouses, complete with tours of the greenhouses and a lunch, catered by Curly's
A visit to the enchanting gardens of Kathy Guest Shadrack & Mike Shadrack, expert hosta and daylily collectors and authors, complete with cream tea, clotted cream, jam & scones in the middle of a forest.
Dinner at the Bijou Grill in Buffalo's Theater District
Self-guided tour of Lancaster Avenue gardens, many of which have been appeared in national gardening magazines.
Lunch, catered by the Lexington Co-op, in the Garden of host Jim Charlier

And here's what they've had to say:

"...put Buffalo and Garden Walk on your bucket list!" -Susan Reimer, The Baltimore Sun

"Buffalo, New York. The quintessential snow storm city, forever pictured in the minds of out-of-towners as a place where snow is ever present. Forget about all of that! Now it's Buffalo, New York. The quintessential gardening city, forever pictured in the minds of gardeners and other people as a place where gardens are everywhere. Remember it that way!" May Dreams Gardens

"...these truly are real gardens by real people. Really great gardens by really generous people. We've been blown away by Buffalo. We think you will, too. " Toronto Gardens

"Buffalo has charmed me." Patty Craft, Horticulture

"We all know I love buildings, but in Buffalo I swooned." - Susan Cohan, NJ, Miss Rumphius' Rules

"Who knew that Buffalonians were so serious about gardening?" - Helen Battersby, Toronto Gardens

"Greetings from Buffalo, one of the best-kept secrets among garden cities in the country!" Susan Reimer, The Baltimore Sun

"There is an energy surrounding Buffalo which is palpable to gardeners in particular." - Layanee, RI, Ledge and Gardens

"One of the richest cities in America at the turn of the 20th century, Buffalo has Frederick Law Olmstead-designed parks and Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings to spare, as well as charming neighborhoods and the most attractive housing stock of any city I've ever visited. Getting "oohs" and "aahs" out of even jaded gardeners in the midst of this 18-carat setting would probably not be hard under any circumstances. But Buffalo's gardeners are an amazingly high-spirited, playful, and brave group. One of my favorite gardens cheekily mixed a David, a Diana, a stone Buddha, and a big honking garden gnome." - Michele Owens, Saratoga Springs, Garden Rant

A single post may appear under many categories, depending on images and mentions within the post. (Note: there are no references to chicken wings, and nary a reference to snow!)

Categories are divided into Allentown Gardens, Cottage District Gardens, Lancaster Avenue, Lockwoods Greenhouses, Urban Roots, National Garden Festival Front Yard Garden Contest, Erie Basin Marina Trial Gardens, Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens, Olmsted's Delaware Park's Japanese Garden, Shadracks Hosta & Daylily Garden, ACS Hope Blooms Gardens, 20th Century Club, Bird Avenue Ballard/Olinsky Garden, Comments on Buffalo, Garden Walk Buffalo, Cary Street, North Pearl Licata/Bigelow Garden, Lancaster Avenue Charlier Garden, Niagara falls and Photo Collections.