Community members can see if the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence Saturday and Sunday when Lockport in Bloom opens 25 private properties and five community gardens to free tours. Participating gardeners in and around Lockport will receive visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We want to showcase Lockport for the beauty that it is in the summer,” said Dawn Lambalzer of the Lockport in Bloom committee. “We just want to show it off.”
More than 1,500 people attended Lockport in Bloom last year, with the busiest gardens getting 500 visitors. The event offers plenty of discoveries for garden guests.
“People who don’t necessarily garden themselves go for landscape ideas,” said Kyle Lambalzer of the Lockport in Bloom committee. “People that do garden go to find things to do in their own garden. I think people like to see what they can’t buy at Home Depot. They like to see what is hard to find.”
This includes custom fountains, fish ponds, patios, structures, ornaments, and spectacular plants.
“People love fairy gardens and upcycling,” Dawn said of when people make items like sinks, shoes, and bird cages into planting spaces.
Some people visit a different area within the event each year,” Kyle said. “I think if you’re a new garden and people on the tour have never seen your house, you’re likely to get a spike in visitors.”
The Lambalzers said visitors get a chance to see plants fully grown and in flower, compared to how they look at the store or in photographs.
“For a lot of people, if they’re moving into a house, they can go on the garden walk and see a tree at its mature size,” Kyle said. “They can see it and notice “I need this much space.’”
Some homes show that garden features can be recombined in a fresh and personal way.
Instead of just parking their camper, Ron Tuohey and Bill Russell of South Street featured it in their backyard as a glamping spot with its own deck, grape arbor, and natural pond with ferns and cattails. The camper is used as a guest house with running water and Wifi.
Tuohey said they didn’t plan out the garden in advance.
“We just pick stuff we like and find a space for it.”
Tuohey said the most frequently asked visitor questions have been the name of their arching red Crocosmia flowers, and why there are no weeds.
“When I get home, to relax I just pull weeds,” Tuohey said.
His advice for gardeners is “don’t be afraid to try something. Plants are pretty tolerant. But they do need water.” Tuohey’s fearlessness has proven that kiwi bushes and grocery store miniature roses can thrive when planted outdoors in Western New York’s climate.
James Schoenle’s home on High Street is bordered with brightly colored petunias, coleus, and coneflowers. A flowered passage along a side fence opens to a 100-foot bubbling backyard stream that places a pond at the foot of patio chairs. Schoenle’s original plan was to keep koi, but now describes the pond as the world’s most expensive dog pool.
“The day we added water to the pond, our dog took it over,” Schoenle said of his Labrador retriever. “It’s her pool. She would eat the fish and destroy the plants.”
The stream’s multiple steps of cascading water form a border along which Schoenle has planted Shasta daisies, acanthus, snap dragons, and other brilliant flowers.
With local gardeners, flower borders become a way to connect with neighbors rather than divide property. Schoenle’s driveway flower bed is shared by his neighbor. The South Street gardeners have been helping their older neighbors renovate their yards and planting beds. Rose bushes are cropping up around corners.
Other Lockport gardeners are treating the Canal Street gazebo and locks viewing area like they would their own homes. Dave Kinyon, chairman of the Lockport Locks Heritage District, said more than 20 volunteers tend the gardens.
“This year we’ve seen a number of new faces,” Kinyon said. “It partly has to do with the growing community pride in how attractive Canal Street and the Lockport locks have become.”
The volunteers prepared and planted the public spaces in May with more than 70 different varieties of annuals and perennials in 13 different garden beds, Dawn Lambalzer said.
“It’s one thing to plant the flowers, but the real important thing is to water, weed, and maintain those flowers,” Kinyon said. “That’s an everyday type of task.”
Maps for Lockport in Bloom are available at Tom’s Diner, the Lockport Discovery Center, Steamworks, Badding Farm and Garden Center, and Pecoraro Salon. On the weekend, maps will be available from the Kenan Herb Club behind Kenan House.