"Beautiful music for our beautiful yards!”

I've been following the blog postings for the National Garden Festival's Front Yard Contest. And, as great a job that Matt Biddle has been doing writing posts, shooting videos and interviewing landscapers, homeowners and people that grew up on the street, I've been even more intrigued by the comments being left on the site by one of the residents getting a front yard makeover.


Ginny Kessler-Bunt has been leaving comments about the landscapers re-doing her front yard -- as seen through the eyes of her seven-year-old grandson, Ian. You can see in the photo above, Ian, at the screen door. Here is what Ian's observed this week, and his comments about team of landscapers coming in and radically changing the front yard:

Day 3 was so exciting that Ian (77 Newman Place), after watching from one of his well used perches (the front screen door) for the last three days, came running in to me, overflowing with excitement, “Ahnyah, Ahnyah, you’ve got to come and see what’s happened to our team!! Our team, our team! We’ve got two new members to our team! And one of them is a girl.” Of course, for the excitement of a child’s enthusiasm, I came running to see. Mike Frank’s wife, Sue Frank (Chevalier Outdoor Living) had joined “the team” to work on the plants. Could things be more exciting?

Seriously, this is dynamite entertainment
for a seven-year-old boy.

Next door’s stone cutting and “our orange team’s” spraying of the walkway put a mist of dust into the air. But could 7 year old Ian miss any of the excitement? No. He ran to the back yard to get his goggles from beside the pool, came back with them in place, sat down to continue watching the process.

Seven year old Ian (77 Newman Pl.) is just having a blast with the whole process, from “destroying the stairs,” to pouring the cement and all the “struction” equipment, to watching “our team – the orange team (Chevalier),” to trying to guess at what will be next…….
 
When he heard the BPO was going to be here on Saturday to celebrate, sad that he will be out of town and will have to miss Saturday’s events, he commented; “Oh, I’ve heard them. They play beautiful music. I mean, really, beauuuuutifullll music. They have violins, and basses, and flutes. It’s going to be so nice. Beautiful music for our beautiful yards!”

Loud, colorful machines that do cool things.
When you're seven, there's nothing better.

The gardens are done as of today (though some were done even earlier in the week). Before and after pictures are up on the Garden Festival's website. Voting is beginning. You can vote too. It's really tough to tell what the landscapers have achieved from the photos posted. You can vote in person by stopping by visiting Newman Place this coming week. I'm not advocating any one garden win the public vote over another, but I'm really hoping Ian is among the winners.

Winners will be announced at the annual WNYS Landscape & Nurseryman Association's picnic, to be held July 26 in the Cazenovia Park, just across the street from the homes -- and the homeowners are invited to attend.

And you cannot tell from the photos what they've done for the street overall -- or for the greater community. They've not only connected neighbors, beautified a street and instilled pride in a neighborhood -- they have, once again, improved Buffalo as a city overall, proving we are a city of good neighbors.

Tonight at 7 p.m. to cap the week of Front Yard Contest, the Buffalo Philharmonic is playing across the street from these homes. Afterwards, fireworks. How many garden events end with fireworks and"beautiful music for our beautiful yards?"

To a seven-year old, isn't this the ultimate job? He gets to play in dirt all day long.

Team "green" hard at work.

Team orange gets to play with life-sized Tonka trucks.

Ian being interviewed by the Buffalo News' Anne Neville.
See/read his interview here.

Ian was transfixed on watching the landscapers work.
He'll make a great supervisor one day.

Ian and his Ahnyah. And and an onlooking "Orange Team" member from Chevalier Outdoor Living crew.

Who are a seven-year-old's super heroes this week?
And who are Buffalo's heroes this week? It's these generous professionals:

Beaver Landscaping, Inc. (716) 759-7044
Beyond the Basics Property Services, Inc.

Chevalier Outdoor Living

Dore Landscape Associates
Elbers Landscape Service, Inc.
The English Gardener, Ltd.

Murray Brothers Nurseries, Inc.

Restorff's Landscape Service

T. O'Donnell Landscaping