THE FLOWERS STEAL THE SHOW
There is an Arts and Crafts-style house just outside of Buffalo, New York, with a spectacular garden that is celebrated all season long not only by the owners but by passersby who marvel at its beauty and drama.
On full display is a harmonious blend of flowers, plants, grapevines and pear trees, all carefully cultivated to create an ever-changing aesthetic that reveals nature in all its glory.
Matthew and Agnes Smith are the creative forces behind the garden, which they say explodes with color and variety like a “slow-motion fireworks display.”
Here you’ll find ornamental alliums, pinkish-purple coneflowers, zinnias, begonias, magnolias and showy hydrangeas. There are bell-shaped snowdrops, black-eyed Susans, petunias, vividly-colored gerbera daisies and classics such as geraniums and New Guinea impatiens.
The “peony peninsula,” meanwhile, is an elevated section of garden that provides a stage-like platform to show off these bountiful perennials.
“People say I have a green thumb but, really, we just try to have plants that are so vigorous and strong that they’re impossible to kill,” Matthew joked. “We take it one wheelbarrow at a time.”
The natural world is what it’s all about for this couple, who purchased the two-and-a-half-story brick house in 2007 and immediately recognized the potential of the generously sized lot. They dreamed of a sophisticated English garden but, inspired by the house’s distinctive style, they changed direction and step by step created the lush spaces seen today.
“I think that the exterior is integral to the interior; the two go hand in hand,” Matthew explains. “This is an Arts and Crafts house and the philosophy of that is even the color palette inside reflects nature. We have an expanse of windows to bring the outside in. It’s connecting with nature as part of that Arts and Crafts philosophy.”
They make it look easy but fellow gardeners know the challenge of coaxing plants from seed to bloom, with symmetry desired but also a touch of whimsy for a truly unique look and feel. On summer days, you might find Agnes out there weeding at 5:30 a.m. Matthew often ends the day with a swipe of the mower to keep the carpet-like lawn in top form.
“This is my sanctuary,” Agnes says. “It’s a place where I can meditate and lose myself. There is orderliness out there but colorful chaos, too. I like working in the garden and seeing it evolve through the different seasons.”