Garden Walk a perennial treat
They took notes. They took photos. Most of all, they took their green thumbs for a tour.
With map in hand, garden gurus hit a dozen horticultural hot spots in Niagara Falls Saturday for the 22nd annual Garden Walk. Offered by the Niagara Falls Horticultural Society, the $10 tour, ranging from backyards to B&B’s to church properties, attracts about 150 to 160 people per year. Organizer Shannon BolesTollar, whose garden at Ashton Heights condos on Drummond Road was the second stop on the tour, says “inspiration” is the main criteria to be included.
As in, inspire others to do their own garden.
“It can’t be just a few shrubs, it’s got to have some sort of element that would inspire others,” she says. “It’s not specific, it just has to look appealing.”
The Horticultural Society usually approaches property owners to be on the tour, which involves visitors checking out their gardens for six hours. But few garden buffs offer to be on the tour because they aren’t confident enough.
“They don’t feel that their garden’s worthy enough,” she says.
The society is looking for amateur gardens instead of professional landscapes.
It can’t be just a few shrubs, it’s got to have some sort of element that would inspire others. It’s not specific, it just has to look appealing.” Organizer Shannon Boles-Tollar
“They want something that is homegrown,” she says. “They want to see something they can relate to... something they can do themselves.”
The tour included homes on Jepson Street, Dennis Lane and River Road. There was also Christ Church on Zimmerman Avenue and a B&B at a historic home on Culp Street.
Boles-Tollar and husband Rick were among the original tenants of her condo unit — a former union hall — and offered to create a garden outside her unit shortly after moving in. She had to sign a contract promising to maintain it.
She not only maintained it, but expanded it across the length of other units.
“It’s a huge draw for the tenants that come here,” she says. “Otherwise, they’re looking at what this was before, all weeds. Who wants to move into a place that has no appeal?”
Funds raised by the Garden Walk allows the Horticultural Society to support beautification projects throughout the city.