2026 Buffalo Garden Fling, the rest of Sunday morning

After we finished up at the Fox garden, the Fling buses took us to the Bove Grove...

From the Fling program: This property spreads over more than three acres, bordered by Elliott Creek...The gardens are English Arts & Craftsman-style, complementing the 1920 Sears Craftsman bungalow home. Emphasis has been on structure, improving sightlines, and creating four-season interest. All garden beds and features are carefully placed among the existing trees, some more than 100 years old. Features include a Fibonacci spiral garden, English parterre, allee of potted hydrangeas, five different shrub hedges. Garden structures include a pergola, gazebo, “heart” shaped trellis, domed rose trellis, rose arbor, and a “dollhouse” garden shed. 

Nice color echo between the cordyline and window box flowers.

While I missed many of the features called out in the garden's description, I did notice the black and white pattern repeated on garden structures and pots. I love design consistency throughout a garden so this fun touch spoke to me.

Hmm, not sure this one had (yet) received the black and white treatment.

Agave! I believe it was an Agave desmettiana.

And I'm betting these are its pups.

Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush. 

How cute is that?

One more photo from The Bove Grove...

... and then we were off to our lunch spot, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House. Years ago (pre-blog) I visited Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ. It was a memorable experience. 

It wasn't until we pulled up in front of the house that we learned we'd have to pay extra to be allowed inside the home, our lunch visit only included walking around the grounds. So odd.

Love the planters. 

From the Fling program: The Martin House’s historic landscape, a collaboration between Wright and Walter Burley Griffin, was restored in 2019. Correspondence reveals that the expansive gardens were a specific request, reflecting Isabelle Martin’s love of flower arranging and Darwin Martin’s passion for landscape design. A raised terrace with dual-sided floral and shrub borders flanks the pergola and links the estate grounds to the Barton House. The primary courtyard features peonies, lilies, and an English-style border of perennials. Original Japanese-imported wisteria climbs the pergola trellises and adds a distinctive and historically authentic touch to the restoration. The landscape’s most distinctive feature is an arc of seasonal blooms, known as the floricycle, encompassing the east verandah of the house. I missed the floricycle, perhaps you could only see it on the house tour?

Luckily the conservatory was open for exploring even without a tour ticket.

From the Martin House website: The conservatory is an indoor glass-enclosed garden for protecting, cultivating, and showcasing rare and tropical plants. It is composed of a series of concrete planters with built-in watering mechanisms, as well as a hand-crank system for opening panels in the skylight.

More from the website: The conservatory also features a dramatic, full-size replica of the classical sculpture of the Winged Victory of Samothrace—a commanding presence that is visible from the front door of Martin House.

I wouldn't mind a conservatory with a hand-crank system for opening panels in the skylight. How fancy.

A few close-ups of the plants...

The texture!

Microsorum diversifolium, I believe.

Pola-dot Begonia.

Phlebodium sp.

Asplenium nidus, perhaps?

The wavy version.

This looked a lot like my Drynaria (Aglaomorpha) coronans.

After walking through the conservatory you step up to the pergola... (from the website)... the pergola is a long open air, covered walkway extending from the principal Martin residence to the conservatory. There are eleven openings on either side of the elevated structure, which serve as “windows” with framed views onto the surrounding gardens and outdoor rooms.

After that I stepped back out into the landscape and came across some fellow Flingers waiting for the bus. Left to right; Heather, Anny, Pilar and Debbie. Only one more Fling post, and that's coming up on Friday.

The Bit at the End

These ceiling fans—shown on the McMansion Hell blog—are so completely not Frank Lloyd Wright style that I had to  include the link here, just for the extreme contrast. Check them out!

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Sunday morning of the Fling kicks off at the Fox garden

Brenda Fox's garden was the first private garden we saw on the last day of the Buffalo Fling. 

It looked like the front garden was being reworked, what with the gravel and bricks around the edges. Later on I would come across bricks laid out in the driveway.

This was the first of many dark statuary we'll see in the garden.

Here's the garden description from our program: This large, country garden features extensive color-themed perennial beds, including a red bed, purple patch, and a yellow and white border. A separate hosta garden has over 100 varieties in the shade of mature maples. The gardens are on a gentle slope with woodchip paths. There’s also a viburnum hedge and over the years, many specimen trees have been added.

The bricks in the driveway I mentioned.

Seating area and containers adjacent to the driveway.

This fellow lost a wing, and I suspect might also be waiting for a coat of black paint (a theme for the garden's statuary).

Lot's of land to explore! I didn't choose to go towards the pond however. 

Instead I followed Emily into the shade garden.

I think this is the hosta garden mentioned in the description.

 

We were being watched wherever we went.

Looking towards the back of the house.

That's something you don't see everyday. A spray painted tree, I think maybe a contorted flibert, Corylus avellana 'Contorta'.

From the other side.

Vanessa virginiensis perhaps? (the butterfly).

Not one, not two, not three, but four metal moon gates.

Heading the other direction...

Many a portrait was taken here.

Heather at the end of the path.

Well gosh. We're not alone in this garden are we?

Somehow the blue sky background just seems wrong. He should be backed by a grey stormy sky.

Across the path there were these large gazing balls. 

And another dark winged creature.

We'll end this tour here...

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.