Design

It was a delightful time experiencing Buffalo gardens for the last few days, but just as nice was interacting with fellow garden bloggers and gardeners.  Fabulous.  And our hosts, Jim Charlier and Elizabeth Licata were amazing -- a great weekend. Lancaster Avenue (Jim's street) was different from the others that we saw, and totally interesting.  The sunlight blew out many of my images, but I'll be using some of them in programs, regardless. And now, heading home, I'm traveling through Western Pennsylvania, exploring an area I haven't been before, and it's lovely.  Falllingwater (Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous house) is on the agenda tomorrow. The farmland and vistas in Western Pennsylvania make for a nice drive.

Respite garden for AIDS Community Services Succulent house at Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens It's been a great time in Buffalo visiting gardens, with fellow gardeners and garden bloggers, during Garden Bloggers Buffa10. It's delightful to get to know many fellow garden bloggers in person, whether I 'knew' them before from their blogs, or not. I love the sense of exuberance and celebration in the Buffalo gardens that we've seen and enjoyed the diversity of architectural styles in the neighborhoods and districts that we've visited (and am inspired by Garden Walk and the sense of community that it encourages). Visiting the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens was delightful, both for the plants and the historic nature of the conservatory. I could barely restrain myself from buying LOTS of plants at Lockwoods, an excellent garden center with an impressive diversity of plants. Lockwoods display And do click on the photos for larger images ... A beau...

Summer Street cottages The Cottage District (Summer Street and 16th Street) was our morning destination for the Garden Bloggers Buffa10 meet-up. These areas are totally packed during Garden Walk, for good reason. Apparently, there are lines to visit every garden, and the streets are mobbed with visitors. We made an enthusiastic group despite the showers. Aren't the color combinations remarkable? (But the garden designer is color-blind!) Uh, my photo doesn't do justice to the artistry of this garden vignette. A vibrant seating area A remarkable use of shelf fungi as planters for sedums -  they're attached by screws to the fence. Charming houses and cottages, mostly rehabbed, with delightful gardens made for a great time.  Even the bit of rain just cooled things off.

I've spent 35-odd years or so encouraging people to learn about plants and nature. The first incarnation was as a TA in graduate school, for classes in General Biology, Plant Ecology, California Flora, and Evolutionary (Plant) Ecology. As a young college professor, I taught General Biology, General Botany, and People and the Environment. But for the last 15 years or so, I've been a botanical garden educator, which means that I get to encourage folks (of all ages) to learn more broadly about plants, gardening, gardens, natural history, nature, birds, etc. etc. It's been a gift to be able to have as 'work' the mission of educating folks about the natural world. (There are PLENTY of non-idyllic aspects, to be sure, but I won't list them here.) I've thought about this recently in the context of blogging, as I'm planning on going to the Garden Bloggers Buffa10 gathering this summer (the third of these informal gatherings). It sounds like it will be gre...