One Evening, Two Penfield Gardens!—August 20, 2025

On Wednesday, August 20, 6:30-8 pm, FCGN will be visiting two next-door properties in Penfield, the gardens of Carol and David Southby and their neighbors Cindy Reiss and Michael Buczko.

Carol and David Southby are naturalists who share a passion for plants, butterflies, birds and all wildlife, both in gardens and in the wild. They have been gardening on this property since 1991 and have been greatly influenced by the gardens they grew up with in England. Their yard is bordered in back by mature mixed woodland with oak, hickory and tulip trees, home to wild turkeys, red foxes, many birds and butterflies and some ever-hungry deer. Over time more lawn has been removed, flower beds were added and extended. Favorite ornamentals like hellebores and primulas now rub shoulders with a wide assortment of native plants.

This is a cottage garden, with many plants shared by friends or grown by Carol from seed. Favorite plants like swamp milkweed, cardinal flower and great blue lobelia are allowed to naturalize and fill spaces. By trial and error, they have learned to grow plants that the deer usually avoid eating. Vulnerable plants are fenced for protection, though the deer always manage to munch a few plants anyway.

Among the unusual trees, the lovely paperbark maple and stewartia were planted as small trees over 30 years ago. A large kousa dogwood began as a seed that Dave collected back in 1991. Yellowwood, fringe tree, and two Japanese umbrella pines were added later. There is a vegetable and soft fruit garden, and a wildlife pond. Shade gardens have lush ferns, spring wildflowers and spring-blooming perennials that cover the ground. In sunny places the focus is on plants for pollinators, including a recently developed border overflowing with native summer-blooming perennials like phlox, asters, and goldenrods.

Cindy Reiss and Michael Buczko’s garden is a contrast to Carol and Dave’s in that deer rarely venture in, as their yard is protected by a picket fence with large shrubs planted just inside, including a huge hydrangea, bridal wreath spirea, rhododendrons and ninebark, and by their pet dog Myla. Cindy has been developing their garden for 13 years. It has mostly full sun, and lots of native plants to attract pollinators. There is a large border of summer phlox and an island bed of mixed shrubs and perennials. A former vegetable garden has now been converted into another island brimming with bold perennials. Native shrubs include redbud, fothergilla, Carolina allspice and a huge oak-leaved hydrangea that billows out to the lawn. Bordering the deck, the chartreuse/orange leaves of candy corn spirea glow, even on cloudy days. A whipcord western red cedar and bold container plantings provide vibrant contrast. A small pond attracts singing toads in spring.

NOTE: The event starts at 6:30. Try not to arrive before 6:30, so that the owners and our volunteers will have time to get ready for you. Open to members and one guest, registration required. To register, respond to this email or mail flowercitygardennetwork@gmail.com. You will receive the addresses by email at least a week before the event. It is not generally possible to respond to each registration individually; however, if you don’t hear back with the address by a week before the event, please email. This, and most of our events, will take place rain or shine.