Occasionally we post questions from our readers. This reader has asked around and hasn’t been able to find anyone who knows what’s wrong with her trees. If you can help, please leave a comment below. “These are my pine trees that have turned yellow. This is the third year they’ve been yellow. I’d hate to have to cut them down but they have become rather unsightly. No one seems to know what is wrong with them. The needles are holding…...
The flower for September birthdays is the aster. When so many other perennials have passed their peak and you might start to think that our gardening season is ending, the aster opens its petals and reminds us there can still be a lot going on in our gardens. My aster just started blooming about two weeks ago and is a welcome sight. I expect it will continue to bloom for several more weeks. “Asters add a nice, bright pop of…...
Every so often, I get questions from readers that I can’t answer. That’s no surprise; when it comes to gardening, I am just a hobbyist. I’m able to bring you great information each week because I can interview people who know more than I do. So when I get questions I can’t answer, I turn to my readers for help. If you can offer advice on any of the questions below, please leave a comment below. And if you’re interested…...
“It’s like an extension of your house, an outdoor room,” Russ Polvino said of his fabric gazebo. “I love to sit out here and listen to music.” I visited during the Saturday Night Lights portion of the Ken-Ton Garden Tour held July 21 and 22, and visitors could see his gardens during the day as well. Polvino shares the home at 1237 Tonawanda St., Tonawanda, with Doug Dedman. The gazebo at the back of the house really does feel like an…...
“You can put anything in containers and you can put containers anywhere,” said Walter Kozlowski, who grows even apple and peach trees in pots– and harvests fruit! Kozlowski shared his unusual container plantings, vegetable gardens and flower beds during the Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens on August 4. The event also featured a Starry Night Garden Tour in the evening. Kozlowski grows colonnade apple trees, a type that grows straight up and stays short. You can see them…...
Kathy and Ed Burke moved to their home on Argyle Park in Buffalo about eight years ago. “We moved from a home with a huge garden, but it had become more of a chore than a joy,” Kathy said. Their current backyard is small, but flowering perennials in the sunny beds and colorful foliage in the shady beds make it feel joyful. The Burkes shared their gardens during Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden walk in the nation, on July…...
The awards in the National Garden Festival’s Front Yard Contest were announced Wednesday in Riverside Park. From July 9 to July 13, 15 front yards along Crowley Avenue in Buffalo (bordering the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Riverside Park) were transformed by professional landscapers, Master Gardeners of the Cornell Cooperative Extension and teams from the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, who donated their time and materials and competed to create the most impressive yards. From July 14 to July 20, the public had…...
The first thing you notice about the yard of Brian and Linda Blyth is how beautiful it is.The next thing that surprises visitors is how large it is. “It goes back and back and back,” Linda said. The Blyths showed their yard at 939 Delaware Road, Tonawanda, during the Ken-Ton Garden Tour on July 21 and 22. You can also see their garden from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, July 26 during the Open Gardens of the National Garden Festival…....
Carl and Doris Swan bought a house with three acres of land on Center Road in West Seneca as an investment property. After 43 years, they’re still there. “I figured we weren’t going to stay long,” Carl said, “but we did.” Over the last 10 or 15 years, areas that formerly were used by the children and grandchildren for playing ball are becoming gardens, and the Swans have developed different gardening styles. The Swans showed their gardens during the first…...
When Jim Hachick bought the house at 112 Autumnwood in Amherst 12 years ago, the yard was overgrown. But little by little, it has been transformed into a tranquil space that can also be used to entertain friends. Hachick showed visitors around during the Amherst Garden Walk on July 21. “The pool was already here,” Hachick said. “That is probably the only thing that hasn’t changed.” He even planted the trees, including a tall columnar oak near the pool. At…...
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