Where Gardens Thrive, Connections Blossom, Spring 2025 Newsletter
The connections sparked in the gardens go beyond a shared love of plants.
From the very beginning, Garden Walk Buffalo and the programs that followed have focused on neighborhood revitalization and bridging divides.
Where Gardens Thrive, Connections Blossom, Spring 2025 Newsletter
By Audrey Clark, GBN Executive Director
Everyone in Buffalo knows we live up to our reputation as the City of Good Neighbors. While this is most evident in winter—who hasn’t helped push a car out of a snowbank or cleared a neighbor’s sidewalk?—the spirit of kindness and connection thrives just as much in summer, especially in the gardens.
For more than 30 years, Gardens Buffalo Niagara (GBN) has been fostering these connections. In 1995, Marvin Lunenfeld and Gail McCarthy launched the first Garden Walk Buffalo with 29 gardens in the Norwood/West Utica neighborhood. Over the decades, the event has grown to feature more than 300 gardens, while the organization has expanded, launching events such as the East Side Garden Walk, Open Gardens, and Urban Farm Day reaching all corners of Western New York.
This kind of organic growth doesn’t happen just anywhere. Buffalonians have a unique way of building connections, and GBN helps nurture them. Take the Corona Family Garden as an example; the parents include their children in the process, saying, “Our girls always make little pins for our guests out of petals from the garden - it's become a wonderful way to get to know more neighbors as well as spread the love of gardening!”
These gardens don’t just bring together neighbors. They attract people from all walks of life, creating opportunities for meaningful connections beyond the local community.
“Big Gathering Table” at Bolyard Garden
Ben Bolyard, one of the owners of the Bolyard Garden participating in Urban Farm Day, invited attendees to gather at his “big gathering table.” Reflecting on the experience, he said, “Everyone felt important and everyone left with at least a little bit more than what they arrived with. Whether it be confidence to do it on their own homestead, plants, a broader network, or a sense of wellbeing that our world is not as much as a dumpster fire as the news and other social outlets would make it out to be.”
The connections sparked in the gardens go beyond a shared love of plants. From the very beginning, Garden Walk Buffalo and the programs that followed have focused on neighborhood revitalization and bridging divides. Initially, this divide was between urban and suburban communities, but over time, it has grown to encompass much more.
Photo of Mr. Walter Myles & Felicity
Last year, East Side Garden Walk gardener Walter Myles made headlines for his unlikely friendship with a seven-year-old girl who shared his passion for gardening. "I met more good people in my life in my garden. Everybody got a good sense of humor and flowers are the answer," said Myles. "I don't think there's anything in this world that would do people the way flowers do, other than sports, because it's universal."
Verona L. Moody, East Side Garden Walk gardener and committee co-chair, sums it up best: "The love of gardening transcends race, geography, economics, politics, and age."
Help us keep growing the connections that make Buffalo bloom. Consider making a gift today to support community, beauty, and belonging in every garden across Western New York.