Uncategorized Archives - Page 181 of 236 - Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

Kids bored? Take them to Botanical Gardens for outdoor garden, camps & more

by Connie Oswald Stofko In the outdoor children’s garden at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, kids are allowed– and encouraged– to touch the plants and experience the texture of fuzzy and glossy leaves. They can water the plants or just play with the hand pump. A big attraction is the sandbox, located comfortably in the shade of a tree. There’s a small pond where frogs and turtles have made an appearance. “There’s lots to explore,” said Kristy Blakely,…...

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Aug 5, 2014

Trellis can support vines & shade lettuce; see 3 examples from Lockwood’s community garden

You can provide support for vining vegetables such as squash or cucumbers, while at the same time providing shade for lettuce, which likes cooler temperatures, with a simple trellis. I saw three different examples built by clever gardeners earlier this summer at the community garden at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. Anyone can rent a parcel in the community garden, which is a wonderfully sunny area. Parcels are $85 for 4 feet by 50 feet (200 square feet) and…...

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Aug 5, 2014

Corpse flower to bloom soon at Botanical Gardens; may happen only once a decade

UPDATE: Morty the corpse flower is blooming now. Today, Saturday, Aug. 9, the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. The last admission ticket will be sold at 11 p.m. See a video of Morty in bloom here. by Connie Oswald Stofko In a rare event that might happen only once a decade, a corpse flower is likely to bloom within the next nine days at the Buffalo and Erie County…...

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Jul 29, 2014

A lot of garden is packed into small Buffalo yard– ponds, falls, hot tub & many plants

by Connie Oswald Stofko The description of this yard on the Garden Walk Buffalo map summed it up perfectly: A lot of garden crammed into a tiny space. Bruce and Renée Adams of 533 Auburn, Buffalo, have a backyard that is about 36 feet wide but only 20 feet deep, yet they manage to squeeze in two ponds, a stream, a patio table and chairs, a hot tub and lots and lots of plants. I visited their home during the…...

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Jul 29, 2014

Pool owners: Help save trees from the invasive Asian longhorned beetle

Pool owners can participate in the third annual Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) Swimming Pool Survey now through Aug. 29 to help detect these exotic, invasive beetles before they cause serious damage to our forests and street trees. The survey is held by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) at this time of year when ALBs are expected to become adults, emerge from the trees they are infesting and become active outside those trees. ALBs are originally from…...

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Jul 29, 2014

Slow-growing shrubs create low-maintenance garden; backyard is full of perennials

by Connie Oswald Stofko Barb Ciesla and her husband Henry had a front yard with a line of yew bushes straight across the front. She wanted something more interesting and decided to redo the entire front. “I’m 60 years old and I don’t want to do it all again,” Ciesla said. “I don’t want to have to redo it in five years because things got too big. I wanted things that grow very slowly.” She spent the entire winter researching…...

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Jul 22, 2014

Lighting adds ambiance to Moroccan-themed garden in Tonawanda

by Connie Oswald Stofko Great lighting set the mood for a Moroccan-themed garden during the nighttime garden walk of the Ken-Ton Garden Tour held this past weekend. The event also included a daytime garden walk. Richard Levy of 122 Pickford Ave., Tonawanda, chose a Morrocan theme because his father’s family is from that part of the world. His grandparents were born in Istanbul. At left, a gazebo was draped with rich-looking colorful fabrics. He looked at 100 or 200 photos…...

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Jul 22, 2014

Help a reader: Can you prolong the bloom of a spiderwort?

by Connie Oswald Stofko I received this question from a reader: I have several spiderwort (transcandentia) in a variety of colors. I love the plants, however, their bloom only lasts until late afternoon, then they close up. Is there anything I can do to extend their bloom time or is this just typical of the plant? Also, can they be cut back to bring another full blooming young plant at a certain time during the summer? Thanks, Dawn Brennan I…...

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Jul 22, 2014

Get 45 gardening tips in 45 minutes at Elderwood in West Seneca

by Connie Oswald Stofko I will present “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at 7 p.m. Thursday July 24 at Elderwood Assisted Living at West Seneca, 580 Orchard Park Rd., West Seneca. Like all the events we list on Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, this event is open to the public. There is limited seating, so please RSVP to 677-4242. I’ll share some of the best tips I discovered as I interviewed home gardeners and gardening experts for the online gardening magazine for Western…...

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Jul 22, 2014

South Buffalo gardener uses simple fence to keep peace with her puppy

by Connie Oswald Stofko Shiloh, not quite two years old, is still a puppy. She’s well behaved, but she has one puppy behavior that could be maddening to a gardener. She likes to dig holes and bury bones– in the garden! Her owner, Justine Tutuska, came up with a creative way to keep her garden beds intact. She made simple fences by tying together bamboo sticks. She sets these across the garden beds to keep Shiloh out. You can see…...

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Jul 15, 2014