It’s always fun to search for inspiration for your garden. I have a collection of gardening books to which I refer again and again. Gardening magazines have beautiful spreads featuring fabulous real-life gardens and, of course, the Internet and social media provide a limitless forum for the exchange of ideas and visuals that will help you make your own yard a little piece of Eden.
Visiting local parks and public gardens is another great way to get ideas.
One place I’ve enjoyed gleaning first-hand inspiration for nearly two decades now is the Erie County Fair held each year in early August in Hamburg, NY.
My husband is an Erie County native and going to the fair was an annual event for his family and friends. It was inevitable that the tradition would continue with our own family. We’ve gone to the Erie County Fair nearly every year since I was expecting our first child.
I grew up in Genesee County and was stunned with the size of the Erie County Fair – it easily rivals the size of the New York State Fair. 2013 Erie County Fair attendance set a record – 1,160,184 according to the fair website and even though we spend a full day there (11-12 hours), we never are able to see everything.
The extensive grounds and buildings are very well kept and from my first years of visiting, I was totally wowed by the lush plantings of annual flowers both in beds and containers which are everywhere.
This year was no exception. We did not get to the fair last year due to an out-of-town wedding and this year we found that many additional improvements had been made to the grounds including the plantings.
Huge slabs of rock were brought in and used throughout the grounds to create hard-scapes including a stunning retaining wall near one of the entertainment stages.New fences set off various display areas and were surrounded by shrubs and other plantings. I was especially charmed with the landscaping around one of the “wine gardens” – where you can sit and enjoy a glass of wine while taking a welcome rest from walking the busy grounds.
The “wine garden” was surrounded by a fence and arbor entrance which had been planted with lush grape vines – which were thriving, climbing along the fence and over the arbor. Planters flanking the arbor featured a mix of stunning varieties of coleus with frilly-highly textured foliage cascading beautifully down the sides.
Perhaps you can plan a trip to the Erie County Fair sometime in the future. Their website (www.ecfair.org) is full of information as well as directions – it’s not much farther than going to a Bill’s football game.
The Erie County Fairgrounds are located at 5600 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg and can be reached via Thruway Exit 56. Turn left onto Route 179 and then right onto McKinley, the fairgrounds are less than four miles on the right.
Next year the Erie County Fair celebrates its 175th anniversary. The dates are August 6 through 17, 2014.
Photos by Kristina Gabalski
9/1/13
