By Sandra Wilkins
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo is gearing up for the Garden Walk July 24th & 25th. It is one of of the largest garden tours in America. 350-Buffalo gardens are part of a self-guided tour. Listener-commentator Sandra Wilkins is excited about the annual event. She shares her story about becoming a gardener and growing her own, organic veggies.
Ah, summer in Buffalo. The joy it can bring in simply arriving is only amplified by the many summer festivals that we all look forward to! Allentown was wonderful (though overshadowed by my English husband's need to watch the world cup), The Taste of Buffalo - another delicious success, The Italian Festival, another five pounds but up next is my favorite: The Garden Walk. I have been a gardener myself for many years now and it is something that happened by accident - almost against my will - but has brought me so much happiness since!
I bought my first house on a city block in Niagara Falls. The entire back of the house was a vegetable garden like most of the other back yards in this little Italian-American neighborhood. I'm sorry to say that as soon as I moved in I pulled up everything and planted grass. I did, in my defense, have two small children who needed a place to run and I had no feeling of loss thanks to Mr. DeGregorio who brought me tomatoes and zucchini regularly! I did decide to keep the grape vines and the eighteen rose bushes along the side fence. They were so beautiful! I had no idea that they would change my life.
One day a little old man showed up at my door with a bucket and some pruning sheers. I opened the door and he said "I coma to show you how to pruna the roses".
"Excuse me?" I said.
Joe was the brother of the woman who had owned the house before me. He explained that his sister, rest her soul, had loved her roses and he was happy that I kept them - scolding me only slightly for taking out the vegetables. My children sat on the porch watching as their 25 year old mother struggled to keep up with the 85 year old man who went through each rosebush and expertly deadheaded, pruned off the "suckers" and, disgustingly enough, debugged them with his fingers. "You no usa the sprays," he said, They killa you kids."
I have to admit that I thought I only took care of those roses because Joe walked by my house almost daily on his way to Latina's or the City Market. But when I re-married and moved to a sprawling suburban neighborhood, I quickly planned my garden and in the end had 42 rose bushes. Unlike Joe, however, I sprayed the begeeez out of those poor things because aphids are ugly and those little green caterpillars gross me out. 20 years later though, another local gardener talking about organic gardening, had me thinking about Joe.
I met Sally Jean Cunningham, a local Master Gardener and author, when she spoke at one of the Saturn Club's Speaker Series events. She spoke about organic, companion vegetable gardens. I had since moved to Grand Island and planted a lily garden in lieu of a rose garden because it was so much less maintenance and almost as beautiful. I still had plenty of room and loads of time saved by not pruning roses. I needed more work! I spoke to her a bit about my plans for my first organic vegetable garden and was happy to see that my delight in composting was only exceeded by her excitement in knowing that I delighted in composting!
I bought a copy of Sally's book, Great Garden Companions and over the winter I read it again and again. When spring came Paul and I excitedly put in four raised beds. My grandchildren helped me plant their favorites - beans, peas and cantaloupe, and they love to walk around the garden and look at everything growing. They marvel as they touch all the different shaped leaves and they can eat tomatoes right off of the vine because I use no spray whatsoever! I have Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, beets, carrots, beans, potatoes, zucchini, asparagus and more and all organic. So thank you Joe and Sally. It took me a while to learn and happily I did not end up sacrificing my children - but I can assure you - "I no killa my grandchildren".
I'm Sandra Wilkins