BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — With beautiful garden blooms now at their peak, you have a chance to enjoy them. This weekend the East Side Garden Walk returns to Buffalo.
You can check out more than 70 gardens throughout the community. Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley spoke with one homeowner who hopes her garden can reverse a negative image about East Buffalo.
“It’s my happy place. It's my peace,” declared Cynthia Brown, Buffalo resident.
This is Brown's 'secret city garden'. She lives on Sycamore Street and is part of this weekend's East Side Garden Walk.
“This is something that I’ve always done since I was a child growing up with my dad. this was something he enjoyed. it spread on over to me,” Brown recalled. “It's just the blossoming, the caring, and the nurturing of the flowers that really puts me in a peaceful place.
Brown has participated in past garden tours and tells me she's surprised how many people have flocked to see east Buffalo in full bloom.
“I was really stunned, and to see the reaction. It's like a little hidden little place in the city that most people are not aware of, especially when you venture off into my back backyard,” replied Brown.
“The gardens on the east side are phenomenal, but I’ll tell you that people are better,” remarked Samantha White, chair, East Side Garden Walk.
White tells me this is a chance to begin removing the negative image some have of east Buffalo.
“What is the message to someone who lives in the suburbs, who refuses to step into the city, who refuses to step into east Buffalo?” Buckley asked. “Now we call ourselves the ‘City of Good Neighbors’. The way to be a good neighbor is to physically be there,” responded White.
Far too often, you do see images of east Buffalo, like a vacant lot directly across the street from the Brown’s home.
But Brown's husband, Terry, works by her side to beautify their entire property.
“What’s the narrative that you want to set forward for east Buffalo with the garden tour?” Buckley asked. “How hard me and my husband work. To make sure that it's a beautification, not only for ourselves, it's a beautification for our neighborhood, and it reflects on our neighbors as well,” reflected Brown.
There is a full map of all the homes participating in the East Side Garden Walk. You can pick up a map at MLK Park or at the People’s Park or online at the Garden Walk website.
“When you get your map, pick a fold, and then go from one house to another and that'll make it more manageable. And remember you have two days to do it from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” explained White.
White also noted the Garden Walk will also bring “social action” into the east Buffalo community with a backpack giveaway.
"We are giving away 500 book bags to youth in need. If you come to the Box Avenue Community Garden, you’ll see me over there – it’s 67 Box Avenue, between 12 and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday – each day we’re giving away 250 book bags,” White said.
Rain or shine, the free walking tour will take place.
“If you happen to be around Saturday or Sunday, please come down, and we'll have some lemonade and some fruit and cheese and crackers and come down and just enjoy looking at all the beautiful flowers,” announced Brown.
And even though you will be walking through city streets, Brown says she often spots deer in her neighborhood, who even at times have been a nuisance in her garden.
“Since we got the fence, I don’t have to worry anymore about the deer eating my plants. Yes, we have deer in the city – all over,” described Brown.
Brown says it takes a lot of water each day to keep her flowers looking so powerful and gets it down with the help of her husband.
“We’re a tag team. We're both at it all the time, and days I don't want to water he'll get right out here. He'll water up everything, but I’m peeking around making sure that he doesn't overwater,” laughed Brown.
