Buffalo's Architecture and Artsy Garden Vibes

It's mid-autumn, and I'm still reflecting on July's amazing Garden Fling in Buffalo, N.Y.! Our final day included visits to Draves Arboretum, Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, several private gardens, and a self-guided walking tour of Buffalo's Cottage District.

Lasting memories of this last day of the Fling include the homes, themselves, and the gardeners' plant choices that so artfully complimented Buffalo's architecture. Other highlights included:

The Draves Arboretum, home to a tree collection including more than 900 woody species from around the world.

 




The arboretum is a luscious 30-acre property, featuring peaceful wooded pathways, and open areas with water features and wetland plants.



It was fun to explore the many tree varieties, including Redbud cultivars (Cercis canadensis),



Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora), and



This Sweetgum cultivar (Liquidambar styraciflua), which I believe was 'Variegata.'

Next, we headed to the beautiful home and property of Brenda Fox:



The house, featuring pointed arches along the roof line, was beautifully designed and landscaped.



This fun, tunneled pathway and arbor connected unique garden "rooms."



A simple rock-bordered micro garden gave me ideas for future garden plans.



A quaint garden shed was surrounded by more expertly placed rock borders and fun plants and shrubs.



This winged, horned gothic statue seemed perfectly at home in its spot.



Even the work areas included artful, resting benches and impressive trees.

Next, we headed to Joseph Bove's "Bove Grove," an English arts and craftsman-style property and private garden:



It included another nifty cottage-style garden shed.



A beautiful Rose arbor was flanked by towering Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea).



And an artful, rounded trellis was crowned with a gazing ball.



My favorite part of this garden was the alley arbor:



Flanked by beautiful, lush Roses.



The Bove property also boasted an impressive display of Dahlias.

Next, at midday, we visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, designed and built in the early 20th century and restored in 2019:



I'd visited this house and many other Wright-designed buildings in the past, but this time I focused on the plants and their placement surrounding the building. It gave me a new appreciation for the lines and geometry of Wright's vision.



The landscaping made it feel welcoming to visitors.



At the same time it drew the eye to the angles and creative features of Wright's design.



Some areas were simple and sparse.



Other areas celebrated the lacy effects of plants as "dressings" for the building's simple "prairie style." Examples included Lilies (Lilium var.) and Big Leaf Geraniums (G. macrorrhizum).



A perfectly placed line of Astilbes (A. chinensis) dressed this little corner setting of the house.

Finally, in the afternoon of our last day at the Buffalo Garden Fling, we explored Buffalo's Cottage District, the heart of the city's annual Garden Walk event. In addition to the quaint and creative 19th century homes, themselves, highlights of this tour were the nonstop, creative touches gardeners offered as inspiration. Here are just a few:

If you have a chance to visit Buffalo, N.Y., in the summertime, I highly recommend it. Thanks, again, to this year's organizers and to the Fling sponsors! (For more information on this and future Flings, visit the Garden Fling website.)

Scouting for Fabulous Fungi

It's that wonderful time of year when cooler air temperatures and autumn precipitation encourage the growth of fungi. Here are several examples I've noticed recently during hikes and at home. I'm including this post for "Six on Saturday," hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations.

I'm not a mycologist or a fungi expert, so please correct me if my ID here is errant:

Giant puffball
Calvatia gigantea

Atkinson’s fungus
Cortinarius atkinsonianus

Bonnet fungus
Mycena inclinata?

Giant funnel
Aspropaxillus giganteus

Shaggy ink cap
Coprinus comatus

False turkey tail
Stereum fasciatum

Here's a great resource describing the benefits of fungi--in our gardens and beyond: Ten reasons why fungi are crucial to the planet.

For more fabulous "Six on Saturday" entries, visit Garden Ruminations.

Native Plants That Shine Through Autumn

Over the years, I've been slowly adding more native plants to the garden, and encouraging volunteers. In fact, going forward I'm avoiding planting non-native perennials--with a few exceptions. It's not a full-scale redesign, but rather a slow adjustment. (Annuals that die in our cold winters are another story.)

At this point in the season, most of my native plants have finished blooming, and the ones that still bloom have seen much better days. (Perfectly normal, of course: It's part of the natural seasonal progression, and soon most will go dormant after the first frost.)

With that said, many native plants here are still attractive garden highlights--with colorful foliage, berries, and garden structure. They're holding their shape and adding beauty and seasonal wildlife value to the garden. In one way or another, all native plants benefit the local ecosystem, and some remain attractive, active highlights right through autumn and into the winter. While books could be written (and have been) about the ecosystem benefits of each native plant, I'm focusing here mainly on the garden aesthetics. Here are a few examples:



Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum): These attractive blue berries persist for months, and the arching stems resemble feathers in the wind.



White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda): Bold, Maple-shaped leaves frame "doll's eyes" berries that branch out from bright red stalks.



Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum): This shrub holds its beauty through four seasons. The foliage shifts to multicolored shades of bronze to bright red in autumn, and the berries often persist into the winter.



Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa): An excellent substitute for invasive Barberries (Berberis spp.), this shrub is still settling in here in my garden. It had a tough year with strange weather, but the edible, dark berries and the colorful foliage are worth the patience and effort. I will cut it way back in the spring to encourage more growth.



Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa): This plant is the star of the garden in midsummer, with its tall, spiky, fluffy white flowers that tower over the understory plants. I've clipped the seeds in this particular grouping and placed them in the woods to encourage new plants. Even when clipped, they provide an attractive, shrub-like form next to the Oak trees.



False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides): These plants bloom from mid-June through early October. What can I say? The pollinators enjoy the nectar, the birds eat the seeds, and the blooms offer garden beauty until the first frost.

These native plants and so many more make autumn a special time in our little corner of the world.

I'm linking in with "Six on Saturday" at Garden Ruminations. Thanks to Jim for hosting!