2025 Star Gardeners

We’d like to put a face on GardenWalk Cleveland and introduce you to some of the gardeners! More than 400 gardeners have opened their hearts and homes for you to explore and enjoy. When you visit them, please say hello and be sure to thank them for their generosity! It feels so good to know your neighbors!

Clifton-Baltic / Edgewater
Jeon Francis and Bryan Bostic
1311 West Boulevard

Monet said “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” From meticulously manicured to wild & unruly gardens throughout Cleveland, we gratefully adore the advantages GardenWalk affords to enthusiasts of every level. To marvel from afar is pleasurable, however, to be invited to step beyond the threshold into someone’s personal space is a wonderfully intimate and enriching experience. With our own thriving and ever-evolving outdoor space (situated near a lively intersection), friends are often surprised at the space that rests beyond our dense flowering trees, salvaged barn stone, rescued wrought iron gates, and custom Arts & Crafts fencing & opaque rain glass panels — providing a place of refuge for us from the bustling world happening some few feet away.

With Cleveland’s limited spring & summer months, we maximize the season by bringing indoor elements outside to create a harmonious blend of nature and outdoor living. Creativity & imagination have a way of taking ordinary found or inexpensively obtained objects and giving them a fun, fresh, and renewed sense of purpose. As people, places, and things lend themselves to inspiring us, we hope our space will offer you & your household a bit of inspiration, too. And as you set-out to enjoy this year’s GardenWalk, we hope you will make our garden and the wonderful gardens of our nearby neighbors on the Boulevard (1263 and 1379) a must-stop on your list of highlighted places to visit.

So please come by, say hello, and stay for a bit! We love spilling the tea with new guests. Plus, you never know who or what characters you might encounter while wandering around our tucked away hideaway at the corner of West & Baltic. We hope to see you! Peace & Blessings

Detroit Shoreway
Lee Griesbach
5702 Tillman Ave

I am Lee Griesbach, Garden Finder for Detroit Shoreway. My husband David and I moved to Gordon Square in March of 2020 and immediately started building our garden. We love a collection of plants that provide us with year-round color and interest. We keep finding new plants we like, so, when we run out of space we just start a new bed! Come see us on Tillman Ave this year on the garden walk.

Little Italy
Dante and Patricia Cornacchione
12014 Paul Ave

This garden is a tribute to the homeowner’s family and heritage. The terrace is bordered by a rock garden with various hardy cacti and succulents, along with yucca, hydrangea, false indigo and peony. A fountain built by the homeowner’s grandfather about 85 years ago anchors the middle of the yard. Legacy plants in the garden include purple and white lilacs, numerous roses, mock orange, rose of Sharon, and tulips in season. The showpiece of this garden is the sycamore, estimated to be 120+ years old and pollarded in the European style. A garden is always a work in progress.

West Park/Kamm’s
Virginia Nieves
15415 Montrose Ave

While walking in the vicinity of Impett Park in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, you have probably noticed the amazing garden of Virginia Nieves. Virginia, with the help of her resourceful son Reuben, has been gardening at her home on Montrose Avenue for sixteen years. She is a master at repurposing, modifying and creating beautiful vignettes in her garden. Many of her plants have been given to her by friends and family and as a result hold special meaning for her. Everything reminds her of a story! Virginia’s son Reuben dug her pond by hand and Virginia built the waterfall herself using cement and other materials that she had on hand. Anything can be accomplished with imagination and hard work. Virginia states that her garden is like therapy for her as it aids in relaxation and reduces stress. She has many suggestions for making gardening enjoyable and affordable. So stop by and visit her during Gardenwalk and prepare to be impressed!

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