BUFFALO, N.Y. — Nicole Johnson of Lewiston is getting ready to stand in her garden all weekend and talk to people about her plants.
"I like to plant perennial plants that are bee and bird friendly for pollinators and also milkweed for the monarch butterflies," she said. "It's a lot of work but a lot of fun. It's very rewarding."
This is her second year opening up the gardens in the front and back of her home, which she and her husband bought in 2020, for the Lewison GardenFest.
"Last year I had, I would look up and there would be about, oh it felt like a hundred people, but it was probably like 30 people, in my little yard. Everyone wants to talk about plants which was great," she said. "I can't always remember all the plant names, but I try to provide as much information as possible, and if you like plants, it's a good time. Even if you don't like plants you're going to get ideas of things you can do to enhance your yard."
The Johnson's home is one of twelve open gardens in the village this year. There's also a vendor market down Center Street.
"The great thing about the GardenFest is it's everything garden all in one place," Chairperson Mary Ann Yates said. "The money that we get from doing Garden Fest, we use that to help with beautification in the Village of Lewiston."
If you visit the Johnson's house, look for details like the goldfish pond and the mosaic mural of Mother Nature on the garage — all features Nicole and her husband built themselves.
"All this hard work, I need to share it," Johnson said. "It's so rewarding to have people come and just be delighted, and see that I have a small yard, and this is something that they could do. Something similar, or just a little portion of this, with a small yard and use every space of it."