A Blossoming Movement
By Renata Toney
East Side Garden Walk Co-Chairs Samantha White and Renata Toney invite you to dig in!
Gardening mushroomed during the pandemic. Even with the coronavirus outbreak nationwide, the spring and summer of 2020 saw record numbers of homeowners gardening, and those with green fingers of all ages returned in 2021.
According to the “Black Gardeners Find Refuge in the Soil,” published in the New York Times, with the proliferation of Instagram accounts like Black Men With Gardens and Black Girls With Gardens, initiatives like Black Sanctuary Gardens, garden-centered podcasts like Black in the Garden and even a boom in Black-owned seed companies, this is a moment in which Black gardeners are turning — or returning — to traditions of sustenance, solidarity, and sanctuary. They are finding a new sense of refuge in a traditional act of horticulture.
Last year, storyteller and horticulturist Abra Lee launched the 2023 Garden Walk series with a speaking engagement at the Nash House and toured beautiful East Side yards. She is the author of Conquer The Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country’s Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers, which profiles 45 hidden figures of horticulture—the Black men and women whose accomplished careers in the plant world are little-known or untold. "I tell everyone I meet what a world-class garden city Buffalo is,” boasts Lee. “Beautification truly feels like a community project, and I don't think that I have experienced that type of commitment in any other major U.S. city. What a special place, with special people, who have curated the most special gardens."
Scientific evidence has shown that gardening is incredibly beneficial to those living with anxiety and depression and teaches us important values such as hard work, determination, and caring for others. Since most plants do not grow overnight, connecting to nature offers lessons in patience. It also involves physical activity, social interaction, and exposure to sunlight, which can lower blood pressure and increase vitamin D levels during the summer.
Seeded by Gardens Buffalo Niagara, East Side Garden Walk co-chairs Samantha White and Renata Toney invite you to join the blossoming movement. Registration is now open for free self-guided garden tours on Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no charge to enter; the sign-up deadline is May 15, 2024. Register online at EastSideGardenWalk.com.