"Buffalo's Favorite Gardens" motorcoach tour

The only Asian-inspired garden among our travels on Friday.

I had the pleasure of being tour guide and host for last Friday's National Garden Festival and AAA/Horizon Club Tours' garden-themed motorcoach tour, "Buffalo's Favorite Gardens." We had an avid and rabid group of 15 that were enthused to get to see some of the popular gardens and hidden gems of Buffalo's gardens. My co-host was Master Gardener Marlene Liberti, who also coordinated the tour. She ably answered all the hard questions that I cannot answer, like, "What's that plant?"

A stag head fern collection hanging on a fence.

We started off with two gardens on Lancaster Avenue and then were off, to Bird and Delavan, Baynes and Ashland. On Ashland we had two bonus gardens to view, as neighbors of our planned garden were expecting a bus tour of garden fans from Pennsylvania and were, "tour-ready" and invited us in.

A nice lunch on the outside back patio garden of La Ti Da on Allen street, and we were off visiting gardens on Park Street, Norwood Avenue, Summer Street (where four gardens OTHER than our planned gardens, had generously opened their gardens for view.

Last garden of the day was on Sixteenth Street, and that garden is always a pleasure to visit. Below are photos from our day.

My apologies for the harsh lighting in the following photos. It was a bright sunshiny day - not a cloud in the sky.

The National Garden Festival, along with AAA/Horizon Club Tours is offering different garden-themed tours every Friday during the six weeks of the Festival (and one Thursday too!).

A cool arbor on a hot day.

Here's a list of the upcoming tours:

Friday, June 28
Flowering Suburbia - Landscapes outside the limits—Fine Suburban Landscapes

To reserve your seat, call 800-242-4244 or book online here.

Friday, July 5
Great Architecture – And Fine Gardens—with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House, Forest Lawn, Rose and Japanese Garden and new plant introductions at the Buffalo Marina.

To reserve your seat, call 800-242-4244 or book online here.

Friday, July 12

Fine Homes and Gardens—Beyond the amazing gardens, owners share their extraordinary homes (art, antiques and decorator styling)

To reserve your seat, call 800-242-4244 or book online here.

Friday, July 19

First garden of the day. There was no time to sit down.

Farm Tour— Includes cut flower production and fresh produce.

To reserve your seat, call 800-242-4244 or book online here.

Thursday, July 25
Southtowns Bouquet—with the famous gardens of Mike & Kathy Shadrack, luncheon & tour at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, and new private gardens of Hamburg.

To reserve your seat, call 800-242-4244 or book online here.

Friday, July 26

AAA Motorcoach Tour:
The Buffalo Style Garden—Featuring art and intimate outdoor living spaces.

To reserve your seat, call 800-242-4244 or book online here.

The first garden of the day. The second garden of the day is the brown house across the street.

I swear Alec vacuums his grass twice daily.

The party garden.

Construction in the party garden.

Commissioned sculpture on Baynes.

Park-like setting on Ashland.

A heavenly hellstrip.

This garden was an oasis for grand kids!

Yes, that's a red barn in downtown Buffalo.

Park Street sophistication.

The candle, bead and airplant chandelier over the dining table.

Fairy garden with moss and miniature hosta.

Great color combos.

Everyone should have a candelier in their garden!

Great collection of trees and shrubs around this grand home.

A braided Rose of Sharon in a pot. It blooms in three different colors!

The healthiest specimen of Donkey Tails I've ever seen.

One of my favorite gardens.

Strawberries planted in the riser "troughs" of the stairs.

The moss garden landscape - complete with a mister to keep it properly damp.

Narrow garden alleys intrigue me.

The Little Summer Street cottages always impress.

This is the former driveway! There is an apiary (beehives) on the top of the garage roof.
My wife and I used to rent this house (and garage!) back in the late '80s. It looked nothing like this then!

New landscaping in front of three small cottages tucked in and behind the other cottages, only accessible by a narrow walking lane.

The Lemke garden ALWAYS captivates.

Succulents grown in dried mushrooms, attached to the fence's gate.

I will call him Hopkins.

You can only see arrangements like these at garden centers - and on Sixteenth Street.

Yes. The gardener here is colorblind. Imagine what he would do if he could see color well!

Fine gardening!