Buffalo? Why?

That's the reaction I got every time I told someone that we planned to spend our summer vacation in Buffalo.  A long complicated explanation about blogging, gardening, and Niagara Falls usually followed.  "Okay, hope you have fun," was the most often heard response.  WE DID!  The whole trip kind of felt like this photo--out-of-focus, off-kilter, but awesome all the same:

 

I came home with over 600 photos and I didn't even take any on the first day of Buffa10.  60+ new people, temps in the mid- to high-90s, and standing in Elizabeth's garden after all these years of viewing it on-line rather threw me.  This reluctance to take a photo is a trend that continued through the garden portions of the trip.  I just kept thinking, "There are at least 50 other people taking this same exact photo," and I wouldn't snap.  Luckily, Pam of Digging summed up her impressions of the first day much better than I could mine, complete with photos.

I've spent ages trying to cull my photos down into just the best, most relevant, or unique while still trying to cobble together an accurate narrative of our experience in Buffalo, but really I think the only way for me to do it is just to show you our trip in photos in chronological order.  It's going to be silly long (split up over at least 2 posts, probably 3), but I can't come up with a better way to do it.  I've already said I'm a separate-from-the-pack kind of gal in one of the two quick posts I did from Buffalo and that we opted to drive our car rather than ride on the bus.  I might have missed some camaraderie, but throughout our trip I was glad that's the choice I made.  First thing on Friday we all set out for Buffalo's Cottage District.  An overcast morning with a light drizzle off and on provided the perfect light for taking photos of these beautiful little jewels (mostly on the same street).  I think I took this because I was amazed by how much the gardener had done with the narrow passage between the houses:

I was clearly drawn to beautiful window boxes all morning:
 

Another striking window box.  What are they feeding these plants?  I admired this home's use of color: 

This is the same house and I just adored this grouping of coleus:

This next property has been written about by many people who attended Buffa10, but it's so amazing I can't leave it out.  My first look at Ms. Ellie's garden:

Hanging on her fence:

 

Lee gets credit for spotting this fantastic touch:
 

The path curves through Ms. Ellie's garden so it's impossible to get a shot of the whole thing:

But maybe close-ups will convey what a special place it is:

And of course her trash can has a floral motif too (credit to Lee again for poking me):

Directly opposite her wood pile and trash can she had this awesome table with potted herbs on top and tools and gloves aplenty below:
 

I mean, common on, how does she get her garden to grow this way?!  And note how tiny her house is:

 

I won't say her garden spoiled the rest for us, but we did compare each garden to hers for the remainder of the day.  I love the colors of this shot.  I wonder if neighbors consult before painting their buildings a new color:

I can't remember neighboring houses that clashed.  And there are a lot of colors every where you look:

I so wanted to walk into this garden, but they had it roped off:

I love the grass between the paving stones under the table:

The containers they put on the fence and all the sculptural pieces...well this was one of my favorites:

Look at all the colors here, but I took the photo because I thought these borders were probably the most like what I have in my garden and I loved them:
 

Lee and I finished up pretty quickly here and this was the first time (but not the last) that I was really happy that I had my car.  We left about 30 minutes ahead of schedule for the Japanese Garden at Olmsted Parks' Delaware Park.  I think this was the best thing that happened to us all weekend.  We ended up spending a full hour here without the rest of the crowd (they were running late), but Lee and I loved the solitude to really enjoy the garden: 

It was instantly inviting:

 

I snapped away with abandon:

 

The side of the path:

Around the path:

Back up the path:

 

And then down at the lake, the island...oh the islands:

 

UPDATE: I've chosen the above photo* as my entry in Gardening Gone Wild's Picture This photo contest.  This month's theme was a tough one "Intent of the Gardener" -- I believe the intent of the gardener was to invite me to sit on that bench and view the islands in the lake.  This month's judge, Rich Pomerantz, gave some great information on what he wanted.  I think this photo has a unifying principle (the Japanese garden), puts the viewer in the scene, only has that one slight unwanted element, doesn't try to include the whole world, and has good application of the photography basics.  Let's hope he agrees! 

Here's the same view from in front of the bench, on which I certainly would have sat if it wasn't soaking wet:

 

We walked around the lake to another bench:

 

And shot some more photos of the islands from there:

 

Including this one, my favorite:

 

After a lovely lunch we called it a day.  Pouring rain and exhaustion from the previous day's drive made me opt for a quiet afternoon.  And the whirlpool tub in the hotel was calling my name.  A peanut butter cup, Coke Zero, and last year's Star Trek movie on the laptop equaled one very happy Heather: 

 

And there's still another day and a half to share with you!  Are you starting to see why Buffalo?

*Link to full-size original: View this photo

Comments

[Susan aka Miss R]

I'd say you did a pretty fantastic job of showing us your experience through your lens. Sure some of everyone's shots are similar or even the same, but each of us have a unique point of view and therefore experience. I, however, can totally relate to your statement about Elizabeth's garden. I only have one hasty bad shot of it. Same with Jim's. They've chronicled their own way more eloquently than I ever could.

[Pam/Digging]

I know what you mean about the photo-taking. I took many fewer photos than last year because of the larger crowd and smaller spaces. Which was actually OK because that gave me more time to just BE in the gardens rather than always trying to compose that perfect shot. Thanks for the link love, BTW. And I *love* that new Star Trek movie, don't you?

[Blackswampgirl Kim]

Okay, I'm totally a garden girl... but that first photo IS FABULOUS! I love how you caught the lights--that's definitely print-and-frame-worthy, Heather. :)

Miss Ellie's garden is a stunner. She packs it all in together so well! Makes me think that maybe I DON'T plant too close together after all... lol.

[Eliz]

There's a new Star Tek movie? I wanna see it!

Great shots, Heather. (They certainly speak to our hydrangea discussion, BTW. See the variation?)

I am all about Miss Ellie. She is my favorite for so many reasons.

[Heather's Garden]

Susan -- Thanks, I love your post about the architecture. We had the same feelings, but not the knowledge. And I have one photo of Jim's garden, though I sat in it for hours.

Pam -- There you go expressing my feelings better than I can again! And yes, I've watched the new Star Trek movie at least 5 times and each time it's like the first. Fantastic movie that should have been Oscar nominated.

Kim -- I actually thought of your garden a few times as we toured. Some day I have to see yours in person. You must get to Buffalo, you will love it!

Eliz -- You must see the movie immediately! Thanks for the compliment on the photos, and yes I see the variation in color on the hydrangeas. Ours are like that here too. Across the street my neighbor gets the most fablous dark purple. I love them all!

[commonweeder]

This is a wonderful tour! I love seeing everyone else's photos. Although many are similar, I am amazed to find the things I did NOT see in some of those gardens - like the potting shelf in Miss Elly's garden.

[Mummer]

Amazingly vivid photos - I feel I was there.
And now I have two driving reasons to go!

[Heather's Garden]

Commonweeder -- I've had exactly the same experience. A few times I've wondered how I walked right past something without seeing it.

Mom -- You really should go, you'd have a great time.

[meemsnyc]

It looks like you had a great time! Buffalo looks so amazing!

[Gail]

An excellent tour~Am I reading the poster right (I missed the poster on the tour) a lot of the garden is containerized? How did I miss that~Oh,yes, it was raining hard when I wandered into her garden~I have found myself taking fewer and fewer photos at tours; I want to experience the gardens more then capture the look. gail ps The look on friend's faces when I said I was going to Buffalo makes me laugh out loud now. But I had a marvelous time.

[Heather's Garden]

Meemsnyc -- Buffalo is amazing and we did have a good time. In fact a much better time than we thought we would. We're kind of jaded and have really low expectations generally.

Gail -- The poster does say everything is in containers, but I think raised beds on top of pavement might be more accurate. One of the benefits to touring quickly was that we were pretty much done by the time the rain started. Even now after the trip everyone keeps saying Buffalo? with that strange look. But we may have talked a few poeple into making the trip. We had a wonderful time too and we're very hard to please.

[Mr. McGregor's Daughter]

It was hard not to be overwhelmed by everything in the Cottage District, but yes, Ellie's garden was outstanding. I love the photo you've chosen for the contest. It's so atmospheric and lovely.

[healingmagichands]

But of course the intent of the gardener was to get you to sit and contemplate! You captured it perfectly.

And I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Buffalo.

[Heather's Garden]

Mr. McGregor's Daughter -- Thanks, I so enjoyed our quiet hour there before you guys arrived on the buses.

Healingmagichands -- Thank you, I'm pretty happy with this one and I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. I just wish GGW would link to the larger format photo, but they probably will eventually.