The abandoned house at 20 Orton Place was demolished in November 1999. Most of 2000 was spent on the various tasks required to convert the vacant lot into a community garden which the Kleinhans Community Association (KCA) calls Orton Gardens. As might be expected, there were many issues to be addressed during the process. The initial tasks requiring resolution were obtaining the proper permission for land re-use, formulating a workable plan and soliciting resources by partnering with the community and appropriate agencies to accomplish the conversion.

The lot is only 27 feet wide, but quite deep. Urban planners call it a "missing tooth" lot - part of a block where there is a house on either side of the vacant lot. Although "missing teeth" lots can be eyesores, the demolition of 20 Orton did not significantly negatively impact the street's density. When 20 Orton was built the neighborhood was an extremely desirable location, so the house was built on a lot perhaps too narrow to support a structure of its size. In any event, the house was constructed at the expense of sunlight accessibility both to its own structure and that of 16 Orton Place as only about three feet separated the houses. The space created by the demolition of the house appears proportionate to the extant houses at either side - 16 Orton to the south and 22 Orton to the north. The creation of the lot provided for ample sunlight and space to both remaining houses. It is hoped that a lovely garden at 20 Orton Place will not only beautify the street, but also help the long-term sustainability of the two houses on each side of the garden.

January-March 2000
Planning The Garden
In January, efforts focused on achieving a workable plan and partnering with Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo as well as reaching out to the immediate community for support. The KCA's outreach included contacting adjoining property owners to the south (16 Orton), north (22 Orton) and west (17 and 21 Plymouth Avenue). All adjoining property owners were supportive of our plan, especially Mr. Swift, owner of 17 Plymouth Avenue.

Because the neighborhood is in the Allentown National Historic District, the KCA sought to create a garden plan based on an authentic Victorian era precedent. The general garden layout closely follows a plan for a cottage garden designed by horticulturist A. J. Downing in 1842. Buffalonians were ardent fans of Downing and implemented many of his designs in the city. Among Downing's devotees were Millard Fillmore and Lewis F. Allen, president of the Buffalo Horticultural Society, although better known as Allentown's namesake.

In Downing's design, a house was backed by an ornamental garden, then a kitchen (produce) garden in the rear. Downing separated his ornamental garden and produce garden with the use of a trellis and flowering vines. In addition to this precedent, the KCA also researched the writings and plans of Frank J. Scott, a landscape gardener active in the 1870s and 1880s who specialized in suburban horticultural development efforts, appropriate for the neighborhood.

In February and early March, time was spent soliciting donations and preparing a Mayor Masiello's Neighborhood Matching Fund grant application, which was submitted on March 10 for consideration. Also in February, Ellicott District Council Member Barbara Miller-Williams submitted a resolution to Council for our group to use the city-owned lot as a community garden. The resolution was approved by both the Buffalo Common Council and Community Development. A letter stating that the KCA was approved for this use under the auspices of Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo was received in March. Under the general guidelines of the program, the city retains ownership to the lot and issues a five-year lease to Grassroots Gardens. As a community, the KCA is responsible for the day-to-day use and management of the garden. During the year, the KCA continued to meet with Coco Wozniak from Grassroots Gardens to ensure good communication on the status of the project and solicit input on the sustainability of the KCA's garden plans based on real-world experience.

Neighborhood residents were very supportive of Orton Gardens and donated time, labor, in-kind materials or financial contributions. Often individuals gave a bit from each category. Those who contributed financial resources to the project in 2000 included: Cyndy and John Allen, Joyce Berg, Donna Levin, Paul Lachacz and Michael Rooney, Chris Brown, Gina and Kevin Varney, Harvey Garrett, and Ray Scharrer. Peter Covey has offered to donate a bench in 2001 which should greatly beautify Orton Gardens.

April-June 2000
Initial Work Begins
With the permissions granted to use the lot as a garden, the KCA waited for the snows to clear to begin the physical work involved in the vacant lot's transformation. In the meantime, the KCA continued planning meetings from January through early April at the Allentown Association and fostered our relationship with Grassroots Gardens.

On April 22, volunteers Joyce Berg, Chris Brown, Sue Byron, Janet Fowler and Debbie Olear participated in Grassroots Gardens' transplanting days at the Botanical Gardens, transplanting annual plants started by seed into individual containers for eventual planting into Grassroots' community gardens. On April 30, Cyndy Allen, John Allen, Joyce Berg, Chris Brown and Beth Kauffman cleaned the lot, discarding plastic panels along the fence on the north side of Orton Gardens and removing rocks and other debris remaining from the demolition.

The demolition contractor was behind schedule filling a sizeable hole left by the house razing. They had hoped to have the lot leveled by the end of May, but the effort was foiled by weather. Buffalo was pummeled by torrential rains in the late spring and summer. Because the lot was muddy, the demolition contractor could not get their equipment into the lot to level it. Despite these challenges, Bob Sienkiewicz from the Mayor's Task Force was very helpful and worked with the KCA by managing the remaining tasks assigned to the demolition contractor and communicating target dates to us for planning purposes.

It is also worth noting that during the time the KCA had begun to plan the gardens in late 1999, the owner of 16 Orton, the house immediately south of the garden, had put the building up for sale. The house was owned by an absentee landlord and the dwelling has had a lengthy history of criminal activity. In May 2000, 16 Orton Place sold to Diane Drummer along with longtime neighborhood resident, Dr. Susan Persico. This event immediately changed the character and disposition of the property because Ms. Drummer took residence in the house. The recognized value of the garden was increased because Ms. Drummer advocated and supported the project and one of the two adjoining properties had the stability of being an owner- occupied dwelling as opposed to a tenant-occupied dwelling with residents who had historically had very short periods of residency. Overall, while the change of ownership at 16 Orton Place had a positive impact for both the gardens and the neighborhood, it did present some unforseen challenges when the new owners began rehabilitation of their home at 16 Orton during the time the KCA was planning the construction of the gardens at 20 Orton Place.

In June the KCA received donations of annual flower plants and several rose bushes from Grassroots Gardens and the Symphony Circle Steering Committee but since the garden was not yet ready, they could not planted. The Symphony Circle Steering Committee's contribution was cosmos, transplanted from Symphony Circle by Sue Byron, Joyce Berg and Chris Brown. Joyce Berg and Cyndy Allen became custodians of the flowers until they could find their home at Orton Gardens. Significant too, was the garden's $3,000 grant award notification from Mayor Masiello's Matching Fund based on our application submitted in March. It was also in June that Grassroots Gardens notified us that the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo agreed to be an ongoing Orton Gardens sponsor.

July-September 2000
Taking Form
After the lot was filled in late June, the KCA needed to procure topsoil and create the planned annual flower beds. By mid-July the KCA received lumber to create the beds through Grassroots Gardens. John Allen worked with the Buffalo Parks Department to solicit a load of topsoil which they donated to our project. The topsoil was delivered at the end of July, later than anticipated, again due to inclement weather. The garden was entered as a site to visit during the annual Garden Walk held during the last weekend of July, but was not as far along as the KCA had hoped. Our block club erected a temporary identification/under construction declaration sign and prepared an informational flyer about the neighborhood describing plans for our garden, which was distributed to Garden Walk attendees. In addition, the garden was registered in the community garden category of the Buffalo In Bloom city-wide annual gardening contest. Because of the delay in our schedule, it was not a worthy contender, yet participation in both events increased awareness to interested parties of our work-in-progress and vision for the beautiful and productive reclamation of vacant urban land.

Also in July our community erected a wooden fence in the rear of the lot. Candace Church and Dinah Gamin contributed materials and David Hand along with many volunteers donated the time and energy required to erect it. Originally it was planned to have a contractor erect both the back and front fences, however the KCA had to escalate the construction of the back fence in response to drug dealing issues which had raised their head in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, an apartment located in the house at 22 Orton Place, immediately north of the garden, had been rented to a well-known crack cocaine dealer. The dealer was also trafficking between known drug user/dealer sites on Plymouth and Cottage streets, immediately west of the garden. Erecting the fence did cease the foot traffic between the garden and Plymouth Avenue and while it took months of working with authorities to resolve the drug problem, trafficking was significantly minimized through this singular effort.

In early August, armed with raw garden materials, the KCA conducted our first group garden development effort. A layer of topsoil was spread on the first 25 feet of the garden, rolled, planted with grass seed and covered with hay. Due to the very wet summer Buffalo experienced in 2000, the grass grew quickly. In addition, the KCA also constructed one flower bed on the north section of the lot. The plan called for two flower beds, but construction of one was delayed because the new owners of 16 Orton Place, immediately south of the garden, were replacing the roof and conducting other renovation work. Enough annual flowers were provided by Grassroots Gardens and the Symphony Circle Steering Committee to make a pleasing and dramatic display. In addition, Chris Brown provided marigolds and zinnias, nurtured from seed earlier in the year. Flowers were also planted in an old whiskey half-barrel, adding height to the garden perspective. In addition to making these improvements, volunteers spent time weeding the lot so that it would not become overgrown. Due to the wet summer, many unwelcome plants were growing in the rear of the garden, including stinging nettle!

Volunteers who assisted with weeding and planting during July and August included: Cyndy Allen, John Allen, Chris Brown, Joyce Berg, Candace Church, David Hand, Paul Lachacz, Beth Kauffman, David Martin, Michael Rooney, Carl Schade and Rick Turnage.

Planting the grass was important because the garden is steeply pitched and the vegetation ceased the soil erosion which had been occurring. Fortunately, the garden's steep pitch allows it to be easily visible from the street and encourages passers-by to admire the flowers. In the fall, through Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo a fencing contractor was engaged to erect front and side chain-link fencing with a gate to secure the garden, in accordance with our plan.

October-December 2000
Autumn Planting and Planning for Next Season
In October, the KCA was presented with a new opportunity: daffodil and crocus bulbs were made available to community groups through the Keep WNY Beautiful project. The KCA took advantage of this opportunity and obtained both daffodil and crocus bulbs. The KCA also created the second planned flower bed on the south side of the lot and planted both beds with hundreds of daffodil and crocus bulbs provided by Keep WNY Beautiful and additional donations from Allentown Association Board Member Elizabeth Licata. Dan Greenway also provided additional bulbs from Keep WNY Beautiful allocated for the Symphony Circle Steering Committee.

Also in October ten perennial shrub bushes were planted as well as a dwarf spruce and a superior plum tree. Additionally, a large central ornamental bed west of the two flower beds was created. The KCA was able to procure the trees as a result the Allentown Association, Inc.'s gift in support of Orton Gardens.

In preparation for installation of the front fence, the KCA obtained a copy of a 1980 survey through an effort stemming from calling various surveyors in the city. Also in November, the housing demolition contractor returned to install new sidewalks in front of the garden. The original sidewalks were cracked and damaged during the demolition process. A tarp was placed on remaining unused topsoil to protect it from eroding during the winter months.

2001 Plans and Objectives
In the first year since the house at 20 Orton was demolished, the KCA has made tremendous strides in obtaining legal permissions, engendering community support and partnering with experienced gardeners and organizations to provide suggestions and guidance during the process of converting a vacant lot into a community garden. In addition, the KCA has also achieved many tangible garden infrastructure objectives during the first phase of the conversion. While the KCA is thankful to the many people who contributed their time, energy and financial resources that have allowed us to be successful thus far, the KCA recognizes that 2001 will be a critical year for the garden's evolution. The KCA has the good fortune of several experienced horticulturists including Sharon Webber and Tony Krayna who have assisted us and provided recommendations for screening devices to placed on the south side of the lot. Once the budget has been firmly established it will be helpful to select the plants and devices desired tempered by the funding realities.

During the winter of 2000-2001, planning will continue and it will be important to reconcile efforts with our funding partners, the Mayor's Matching Fund and Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo. It will be important to identify key improvements still required and applicable funding sources. In 2001, our primary objectives are to secure the garden, complete the garden's infrastructure, complete the ornamental plantings and begin the produce garden.

The following is a list of Orton Gardens key items to be accomplished in 2001:

• Solicitation of adopters for vegetable plots
• Fence with gate to be installed on front and north side of garden
• Vegetable plots created and adopted (6 plots, each approximately 60 square feet - 5 X 12)
• Second plum tree planted for cross-pollination purposes
• Annual flowers planted in beds
• Additional perennial bushes planted, especially those that offer both interesting winter and summer scenery, such as evergreens, conifers and dogwood
• Permanent identification sign erected
• Brick in the muddy berm or "hell strip" that surrounds the existing maple tree in front of the lot Installation of bench or gazebo in ornamental section for gardeners to rest while working or visitors to relax while enjoying its beauty
• A plan for continued maintenance for shared garden area - cutting grass, watering and shoveling snow in winter
• Planting of screening devices (ornamental grasses, trellis work, or evergreens) on south side of lot (16 Orton)
• Pruning/removal of maple saplings on southwest boundary of lot (16 Orton)
• Continued planning for sustainable garden water source