Craig Coyne and Gary DeNezza's garden, a Fling stop on Saturday morning

Part of the Buffalo Fling experience was the commentary from the bus captains. As we approached Craig Coyne and Gary DeNezza's home and garden, Sally Cunningham was the one sharing information and anecdotes. While I was only partially paying attention (there are lots of conversations on a Fling bus) I heard language that took me back to my early 2000's job in Spokane, WA—I worked for a vintage lighting company. Spokane is rich in historic homes built from the late 1800's to the 1930's or so. I have such vivid memories of working with the home owners, helping them to be sure their light fixtures were a good match for their house. This is Craig Coyne and Gary DeNezza's home...

I would have loved to see inside, but the garden will have to do. From the Fling program: "Over the past 25 years, this 1924 stone English cottage-style home and its yard have been reclaimed from their overgrown state. The formal beds in the front were expanded to be in better proportion to the house, so the house appears as part of the gardens. These gardens are comprised of evergreens, weeping lace leaf Japanese maples, ink berry, rhododendron, hydrangea, and large hosta. The curved lines of the rear cottage-style gardens are filled with sun-loving perennials, including daylilies. A Lyman Whitaker wind sculpture, dry-stack stone wall and concolor firs were added, and a rock fountain near the side porch contributes to the sights and sounds."

There's either Craig or Gary (I wasn't close enough to hear when they were introduced) talking to our group before we started wandering the garden. Oh and yes, those Hosta really were that big...

A pair of sizable planters flank the front entry.

We learned they planted in hessian which made the entire thing easy to lift out before a hard freeze.

The covered side porch was my favorite part of the whole place.

Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern) I believe...?

Such a great space! 

With perfect plantings all about.

This is where I spotted one of my Fling crushes, Caladium 'Burning Heart'.

Looking towards the back garden from the porch

Stepping off the porch I had to include another shot of the Caladium and friends.

Another angle...

The vine growing up the back of the house caught my eye, and I worked my way over.

Stopping to admire the well-grown Hosta I encountered on the way.

And Ligularia too!

But to the vine, I believe it's Aristolochia macrophylla?

There were no flowers to confirm that ID, but I asked Anny who also grows this plant in Portland, she thought that's what it was too. We were in awe. Our plants look NOTHING like this.

Walking around to the other side of the house...

While Hosta were definitely king during the Fling, Coleus were not far behind.

Flingers mingling about the garden.

I don't think they have slugs in Buffalo...

There was a picture-perfect shed in the back garden.

I couldn't resist taking photos inside, it was so organized.

The hanging string holder of my McCoy dreams!

I caught Jane, the Mulchmaid checking to see if this Hosta was real.

It was!

What a great garden, thanks for welcoming us Craig and Gary! (and I admit to peeking in the windows to see some of the home's interior)

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It's in the ground!

When last we saw my new tree fern (a Dicksonia antarctica) I was working out exactly where I was going to plant it...

I tackled the planting job on August 15th. Removing the container I was curious to see what the root mass would look like.

Wow, it had definitely been in that pot for awhile.

I cut a slice off the bottom, about an inch, inch and a half thick.

Sometimes when you cut away the roots at the bottom of container the soil just falls away, because the roots were only circling at the edge of the container and not growing in the center. I was glad to see that was not the case here...

So which of the potential spots did I decide to plant in? The one I'd always thought would be a great location. The one I abandoned earlier in the spring when I decided not to plant out my oldest tree fern (I wrote about that in the middle of this post). 

X marks the spot...

Of course my biggest concern was Clifford's roots. You can see in the photo above that I was planning to dig a good size hole just 5-6 feet away from the Magnolia macrophylla trunk. 

Tying up the tall Adiantum pedatum fronds at the back of the planting area, next to the garage wall, revealed a bit of empty space.

I started digging. The ground was quite dry, even though I'd been watering the area all week in preparation for planting. I ended up with a hole roughly 14" deep and 13" wide. It doesn't look that big in the photo does it?

As you can see there were lots of roots damaged in the process, thankfully none larger than my index finger. I hope Clifford won't be too upset.

Andrew helped me pick up the tree fern and drop it into place.

Here the Adiantum pedatum fronds were set free...

Then I returned the tall bromeliad to it's pipe pedestal against the garage wall.

Finally it was time to untie the tree fern fronds...

It's interesting what an impact the small Dicksonia antarctica I planted this spring (on the left, with only a 4" trunk) has in these photos. The new plant on the right is a double, twins, with a 12" and 14" trunk, yet the small one isn't being overshadowed.

This is also where I should share that we've named the new twins; Fern.

There's the oldest of my Dicksonia antarctica, around the corner, at the back of the garage, in the metal container. It's put on a lot of new growth this summer, thanks to a brighter spot, some new soil and fertilizer.

I decided not to fertilize Fern, since we're heading into the colder part of the year. I'll wait until spring for that. She has however thrown out a couple of new fronds since being planted in the ground.

I've been talking with local gardening friends with Dicksonia antarctica planted out, ones they've overwintered successfully. I'm thinking on my winter protection strategy so I won't be caught unprepared. Who knows what lies ahead for winter 2026-27?

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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.