I'm a firm believer in backyard composting. I love the idea of recycling what you have from your own garden, property, and kitchen scrapes into your own personal compost recipe. It is especially important to compost when you have backyard chickens. In fact, I really delve into this subject of backyard composting and backyard chickens in my book, Gardening with Free-Range Chickens for Dummies. See also my previous post, How To Compost In Your Backyard.

I call backyard composting a personal compost recipe of your life, because it is the layering of greens and browns, essentially by-products of your cooking, gardening, and property which create this custom compost mixture. My husband, John, and I have a small backyard vineyard. We use the grape pomace in our compost each fall. Grape pomace is the skins, seeds, and stems of the vineyard grapes after the wine making process. Grapes are a form of green or the fire that heats up the compost mixture, where the browns such as our chicken bedding, or rice hulls is considered the browns and fuel for the compost. Grape pomace heats up our compost to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, an incredible temperature for a backyard compost mixture. Composting with our grape pomace creates a rich organic material called humus, which will go back into our garden soil, and flowerbeds.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit Annie's Annuals and Perennials with my fellow garden bloggers attending the three day San Francisco Fling. One of the highlights of this three day adventure was Richmond east bay nursery, Annie's Annuals and Perennials. If you are ever in the Bay Area, make a visit to Annie's Annuals. A truly incredible nursery. Plants can be purchased online and shipped, too. While visiting Annie's Annuals, I noticed a sign and display, that grape pomace is one of her favorite compost materials.

This was the middle of summer, and not Halloween, as this sassy and colorful mannequin greeted you at the nursery entrance. I can only imagine how she is costumed this week, two days before Halloween!

Annie and I know a good thing, composted grape pomace. Try contacting your local vineyards in the fall, for possible sources of grape pomace. It is a great way to enjoy the colorful autumn season, maybe have a quick wine tasting, and purchase wonderful grape pomace for your backyard composting.

If you haven't ever been to Buffalo, New York, or haven't been back since that visit to Niagara Falls, you must plan to visit Buffalo in July for their impressive and innovative annual Garden Walk which attracts tens of thousands of garden lovers each year. Garden Walk is usually hosted the last weekend of July and at the height of Buffalo's glowing garden season. Buffalo's 19th century architecture and Victorian neighborhoods is a stunning backdrop for these gardens and its hospitable citizens.

Buffalo Garden Walk is a free, self-guided urban garden tour which has expanded from 19 gardens initially in 1995, to over 350 gardens in 2010. From the beginning, this special garden tour was founded without prizes and competition. What has blossomed from all of this is a celebration of urban gardens, gentrification of neighborhoods, and pride of community. Frequently, home-owners are on hand to talk about their homes, gardens, and plants.

Marvin Lunenfeld and Gail McCarthy were the original founders and garden pioneers of Buffalo Garden Walk. Fifteen years later, Buffalo Garden Walk continues to grow and inspire everyone, and is a model all of us could start in our own communities. It has become the largest garden tour in America.

In 1868, Buffalo had the good fortune and foresight to enlist Frederick Olmstead (the architect of New York City's Central Park)  and his partner, Calvert Vaux, to create a series of parkways and parks for Buffalo and the beginning of Buffalo's recreational park system. Olmstead  also championed for  land preservation from industrial development and encroachment surrounding Niagara Falls. It is evident that Buffalo has been passionate about its parks and gardens for a long time.

Besides Buffalo's Garden Walk, there is a lot more of Buffalo to explore in the way of its parks, botanical gardens, architecture, fine dining, local nurseries, colorful shops, and warm hospitality.

Please share if you have been to Buffalo's Garden Walk. Please comment if your local community hosts a free garden tour.

VintageGardenGal Tibit Thyme....

I was visiting Buffalo for Buffa10, a national gathering of garden bloggers, hosted and organized this year by Elizabeth Licata of Garden Rant, Allentown Gardener, and Jim Charlier of Art of Gardening. Many thanks for an incredible visit and experience of Buffalo!

I'm in awe of my fellow garden bloggers, and new friends representing all different growing zones, geographic regions, and voices of gardening. The Buffalo News happened to catch up with our group and wrote, Plant It, Grow It, Blog It, with an honorable mention of VintageGardenGal, and new friend Dee's Red Dirt Ramblings.