I’ve visited Buffalo, NY two times: once for the Garden Bloggers’ Fling 2010 and again with GardenComm: Garden Communicators International 2017. The two times I visited Buffalo, NY, I was able see many of the most beautiful gardens at Garden Walk Buffalo without the crowds. Garden Walk Buffalo takes place in July, when thousands of homeowners invite the public to view their gardens.

Buffalo Style Gardens, by Sally Cunningham & Jim Charlier, features the best gardens that display creativity, originality and ingenuity. This book is full of inspiring pictures and stories about how the gardens were created by their owners.

You can learn from their mistakes and solutions to design challenges. A good portion of the book explains design principles, showing you how Buffalo gardeners use those principles in different ways. The book is full of design principles, as well as examples of how Buffalo gardeners apply them in different ways. You can learn from the mistakes they made and their solutions. The opportunity to see so many local gardens inspires them to do better and more in their own gardens.

The bowling ball garden is what visitors call it.

The most important thing I learned was that people, especially non-gardeners, remember and see the things more than the plants. These “things” could be anything from an elegantly crafted gazebo to an eccentric tower of bowling ball.

This beautiful gazebo represents the upper end of the Buffalo style garden spectrum.

The authors fail to mention that it can take some time before you find the perfect art or junk to express your personality and make a garden yours.

The final chapter asks how to bring this gardening enthusiasm to other cities and to your town. Cunningham & Charlier describe briefly how Buffalo achieved this and offer suggestions on how other locales could do it differently. The authors also talk about the benefits of gardening for both the individual and community. This information is worth the cost of the book if you are or aspired to be a community activist.

P.S. P.S.

Who doesn’t want to save some money?

Yes, I’m a frugal and thrifty gardener who is always on a budget, but I also know that quality can be worth it, as well as my time. It’s great to know that Kerry Ann Mendez is also aware of this. She wrote The Budget Wise Gardener. She has a book full of strategies and tips to help you get the best plants for your money.

I knew perennials were often sold in pots of three or four, to make them appear fuller. They can be easily divided when you arrive home. The small perennials that are often used as containers in garden centers can be found in the annual section at a lower price. You should always look at the entire display before making your choice.

Where You Plant can Cost You Money. Mendez offers tips to avoid costly mistakes such as planting the wrong plants too close to utilities or in the path for snow removal.

My favorite chapter is about shopping strategies. It includes what to look for online and where to find unusual plants near you. At Easter I bought a hellebore at the grocery store for 25% less than what I would have paid in a big-box store. The plant was originally intended as a holiday indoor decoration, but after hardening it off I was able to plant it outside.

She also points out that the value of different species and cultivars can differ greatly, depending on their size or behavior. She discusses the varieties of heucheras and coneflowers that are not thriving and provides reliable choices of each. She also points out that a large-growing specimen such as ‘Alexander’s Giant’ can fill in the space needed by multiple ‘Jack Frost’ Brunneras and both plants are sold at the same price.

You may already know some of the tips, but you can still learn something new! Mendez won’t waste time telling you to grow lettuce in egg cartons, or that you can plant seeds in them. These tasks are possible but could cost you in terms of time and money. Her tips are practical and informed, and if they don’t save money, she might save your sanity.