Category: Uncategorized

path in backyard near trellis in Parkside area Buffalo NY

Make it look like a garden & not just a collection of plants, plus how to avoid digging new beds

by Connie Oswald Stofko “Before, it just looked like a collection of plants,” said Elaine Clutterbuck of 728 Crescent Ave., Buffalo. “Now it looks like a garden.” What did the trick? Pathways. “I think the pathways are what made the garden,” she said, looking around her attractive backyard. “Before, it didn’t look like it had any unity.” I visited the gardens of Elaine and her husband Don during the Parkside Garden Tour on June 29 and learned so much. You…...

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Jul 1, 2014
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gate looking into garden and house in Buffalo NY

Reach new heights with inspiration from this Buffalo yard on Open Gardens

by Connie Oswald Stofko The most interesting thing about the landscape of Gordon Ballard and Brian Olinski– and trust me, there are many interesting things packed into this space– is that you can’t see straight through from the front to the back. When you step inside the gate, you follow a path lined with tall plants. There are are bushes, tall perennials and ornamental grasses; vining plants climbing up trellis and arbors, and flowers of all kinds displayed in large…...

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Jun 24, 2014
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terrace made with broken sidewalk in Hamburg NY

Garden walk preview: See how these Hamburg gardeners reuse scrap materials

by Connie Oswald Stofko “We never throw anything out,” said Ken Haberman of 39 West Ave., Hamburg. He and his wife Shirley have found ways to use scrap material in their gardens. When a driveway was put in, the extra topsoil became raised beds at the front of the house. Broken concrete was used to hold the soil in place and create a lovely terraced effect. When a chimney had to be torn down, they used the flues as tall…...

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Jun 24, 2014
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Beat the heat with this ingenious cooling neckwear from Lockwood’s Greenhouses

Summer is here and so is the hot weather. Even though this is what we’ve been waiting for all winter, sometimes we need a break from the heat. Teresa Buchanan, garden center manager at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg, recommends the Neckbandoo. It’s made by Blubandoo and contains non-toxic polymer crystals that quickly expand to a gel when immersed in water. According to the company, Blubandoo products quickly dry to the touch, but stay hydrated, keeping the wearer cool…...

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Jun 24, 2014
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Having trouble getting our emails? Here’s what to do– especially if you use Gmail

by Connie Oswald Stofko I’ve been hearing from subscribers who are puzzled because they signed up for Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, but don’t seem to be receiving it. I was puzzled, too, because from my end, I could see that the emails were delivered with no problem. Then I noticed a pattern: These folks had Gmail addresses. You may not be aware of it, but Gmail now sorts all your incoming email into categories: primary, social and promotions. You may be looking at…...

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Jun 24, 2014
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Mushroom decoration for your garden– Get more craft ideas at Lewiston GardenFest

by Connie Oswald Stofko I’m excited to be part of a new feature this year at the ninth annual Lewiston GardenFest: Garden Talk demonstrations. The Lewiston GardenFest is held by the Lewiston Garden Club and kicks off the garden walks of the National Garden Festival. I’ll be giving a new presentation, “Get Crafty in Your Garden,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 21 in the Community Tent located in the center of the festival on Center Street in Lewiston. (Part of…...

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Jun 17, 2014
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garlic scapes in Western New York

It’s time to harvest garlic scapes in Western New York

by Connie Oswald Stofko When you grow garlic plants in Western New York, you don’t harvest the bulbs until late summer, but you can harvest the scapes right now. Your hard neck garlic plants have probably developed curlicue stems called scapes, which are the flower stalks. While they look great in your garden, if you leave them in place they will divert the plant’s energy from the underground bulb. If you want a nice large head of garlic, cut off…...

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Jun 17, 2014
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New! Hosta show at Botanical Gardens to display & judge leaves

A new hosta show called Buffalo: The City of Light will be held by the Western New York Hosta Society from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 22 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. In this unique show, hundreds of single hosta leaves (not the flowers) will be displayed in vases and grouped by size and color. Judges will analyze each leaf for awards. Anyone may enter. Entries will be accepted from 8:30…...

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Jun 17, 2014
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Help a reader: Is there a trick to using soaker hoses?

by Connie Oswald Stofko I received this question from a reader: Is there some trick to using soaking hoses? The round black ones that are slightly smaller around than a regular hose are the ones I bought and they are made by Swan so that’s usually a good brand. I have a 100-foot perennial bed that I have been nagged about literally for years to put in hoses so I don’t have to spend so much time watering. I bought…...

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Jun 17, 2014
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Coleus can add color & height to shady gardens; see spectacular displays at Botanical Gardens

  by Connie Oswald Stofko “The colors are breathtaking,” said Jeff Thompson, director of horticulture at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, talking about the coleus ‘Chocolate Covered Cherry’. “It will visually will stun you.” The colors in ‘Chocolate Covered Cherry’, which you can see in the first photo, are indeed mouth watering. A center the color of cherry candy is surrounded by a chocolatey brown. A thin border of  minty green traces around the edges. “The color combination is…...

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Jun 10, 2014
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