The book is done, the book is done!

Tomorrow, a bunch of us will be stopping by designer Jim Charlier's house to take our first look at the completed Garden Walk book and DVD. This is coming at just the right time. In retrospect, I think it's much better that the project debuts now, as we head into the dreary days of late fall, rather than in early summer, as we had originally planned when we first conceived of the book.

We could all use some cheering up! Many have lost trees and many others have huge clean-up jobs still ahead of them.

Here's the book announcement (sorry—it's way too long):

Garden Walk Buffalo - The Book & DVD
This large-format, high-quality, soft-cover volume offers 120 pages of words and pictures that capture the best of Garden Walk Buffalo. Selected gardeners discuss their gardens and why they feel it is so important to share them with visitors every year. Professional photography captures highlights of all 260-plus gardens on the Walk, while sidebars on the architecture and history of these exceptional neighborhoods explain their unique ambiance. New and fascinating aspects of Garden Walk are illuminated, including the behind-the-scenes story of how the gardeners prepare their properties for the weekend onslaught of thousands of visitors.

The book includes interviews with 27 gardeners, as well as photos of more than 80 additional gardens, adding up to over 225 photographs. It also includes a section on the gardens of Frederick Law Olmsted's Delaware Park; a spread on community gardens; a selective list of plants grown in Western New York (Zone 5); a history of Garden Walk Buffalo, its impact on local urban gardens and how it helps rejuvenate city streets; and even a brief how-to on starting your own garden walk.

But there’s only so much a book can do to depict an experience as interactive as Garden Walk. With the addition of the DVD, still pictures start to move and the viewer moves with them. Follow the cameras of our videographers as they walk through gardens and talk to more than 20 master gardeners who have created these exceptional spaces, each accessed by selecting a dot on an interactive Garden Walk map. The interviews include expert advice on all aspects of gardening—from individual plants to overall garden design.

The book was photographed by Don Zinteck, of Photographics 2; written by Elizabeth Licata, editor of Buffalo Spree magazine; and designed by Jim Charlier, of JCharlier Communication design. The DVD was produced by Cheryl Jackson and Brian Milbrand. The book and DVD are published by Buffalo Heritage Unlimited, Inc., which also published Classic Buffalo (under the Canisius College Press imprint) and which will soon release Oakland Place: Gracious Living in Buffalo.

Garden Walk Buffalo is of the largest garden tours in the U.S. More than 260 private Buffalo gardens open on the last weekend of July each year, welcoming the public to some of the city’s most beautiful and creative urban gardens. Garden Walk Buffalo has also been a major force in neighborhood revitalization, encouraging residents to combat urban blight through grassroots beautification. It is important to note that this book documents and preserves for posterity many of the gardens, parkway circles and old growth trees of Buffalo prior to the damage incurred during the devastating snowstorm of October, 2006.

Books and DVDs can be ordered at:
www.buffaloheritage.com

We hope to have a viral video to pass around soon; the stress of production made a rest period necessary for our DVD authors.