Last week I attended a garden communicators’ conference in Buffalo. Why would we go to a town known more for its epic snow than gardens, you may ask? Well, because quite simply, Buffalo has great gardens. Lots of them.

The city hosts Garden Walk Buffalo one weekend in July, where more than 400 gardeners graciously open their garden gates to more than 65,000 visitors from near and far. It’s all voluntary and free. We arrived after this year’s event, but were welcomed into a number of the gardens in three parts of the city: the Cottage District, Elmwood Village, and Lancaster Avenue.

Can you believe that the gardener who created and maintains this garden is color blind?

These small, urban gardens were a delight, all brimming with gorgeous flowers, foliage, and creativity. The passion, care, and skill each gardener put into their tiny space came through loud and clear. Most were there to greet us and tell us the story of their garden. It all felt wonderfully personal and warm.

However, something even more magical unfolded on the streets. Like most cities, Buffalo has had its share of problems. But as we walked from garden to garden along charming streets, it quickly became apparent that whole communities have embraced gardening, and the result is some astonishingly effective urban renewal.

House after house was graced with lovingly tended small gardens and overflowing window boxes, hanging baskets, and containers. These gardeners even planted the hell strips (space between the sidewalk and street).

Even the hell strips are colorful and fun!

The homes were modest but neat and maintained. Common spaces were clean. Residents had also taken responsibility for planting and maintaining beautiful gardens in the islands between streets. Buffalo is living proof that

gardening can be a powerful force for grassroots urban renewal and community building.

Aside from Garden Walk Buffalo, there are additional open gardens and garden-themed tours, festivals, exhibits, and education events in the Buffalo-Niagara region from June through August. It’s also fun to cruise around the many parks, parkways and traffic circles designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the father of U.S. landscape architecture. The Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens is lovely, and Frank Lloyd Wright aficionados can enjoy the Martin House in Buffalo and Graycliff, just 20 minutes south of town. Niagara Falls is just 40 minutes north of Buffalo too. Wherever you go around Buffalo, you are bound to run into great gardens and friendly gardeners.