Garden Q&A: Jim Charlier, President of Garden Walk Buffalo

UR: What is your favorite spot in your garden?
JC: The hot tub. In winter.

UR: Do you have a favorite time?
JC: After dark.

UR: When did you really get into gardening?
JC: After buying my first house with land. Always interested since childhood, helping my granddad Art with his immense garden. He gave me watering/weeding duties. That's where my blog name "Art of Gardening" comes from.

UR: What is your favorite product from Urban Roots in your Garden?
JC: My cone-shaped planters along the arbor on my patio.

UR: What is the value of gardening to you and the community?
JC: Gardening is solitary, but when neighbors garden, blocks change—walkability, safety, home ownership, values improve. When neighborhoods improve, the city improves. Garden Walk Buffalo (largest free garden tour) promotes Buffalo gardens, encourages out-of-town visitors, returns funds via grants. National Buffalo Garden Festival builds on that—five weeks of walks, talks, tours, speakers, workshops, concerts, parties, front yard contest. More people visit gardens yearly than Disney World and Disneyland combined (40+ million). Our task: show Buffalo as a leading garden destination. Visit Garden Walk Buffalo and National Buffalo Garden Festival.

If you'd like your garden profiled on Urban Roots' blog, answer the same questions and submit with photos to feedback@urbanroots.org.