If you live in the City of Buffalo, keep your front yard mowed and weeded during July and you might be rewarded through Buffalo in Bloom. And whether you live in the city or suburbs, you can help by becoming a volunteer scout and choosing yards that deserve an award. Here’s how it works. Volunteer scouts, working in a team of two to four people, are assigned a several-block section of the City of Buffalo. They scout their area between…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Patience. That’s what you need if you want a yard and gardens like those at 84 Woodward, Buffalo, the home of Melissa and Bill Maldovan. The Maldovans’ gardens were decades in the making. The couple shared their lovely landscape with visitors during the 14th annual Parkside Garden Tour on Sunday, June 26. Both husband and wife have gardening backgrounds. Melissa has taken horticulture classes and Bill did landscaping in high school and college. When their three…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Right now there’s not a lot of color with the perennials,” said Marlene Craft. She remedies that situation by making great use of clever container plantings. “I can move things around and get color where I need it,” she explained. Above, the large watering can is filled with licorice (light green) and coleus (red). The yellow plant in the small can is creeping jenny or goldilocks. Marlene also uses bird cages, carpenters’ tool boxes and other…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Marilyn Dempsey told her husband that she wanted to build a pond in their backyard. “I already bought you this,” Dennis told his wife, pointing to Glen Falls, located just behind their yard. The natural beauty of the majestic falls certainly would have eclipsed any man-made water feature they might have created. The Dempseys shared their view of the falls as well as their lovely gardens during the eighth annual Village of Willamsville Garden Walk on…...
Suncatcher’s Garden Club, Genesee County, has many fun events planned, which are open to members and potential members. For more information, call Mrs. LaWall at (585) 345-1640. * Soil, Toil & Thyme Garden Club, Orleans County, has summer events planned, which are open to members or potential members. For more information, call Mrs. Stangland at (585) 589-1640. * The Lancaster Garden Club and the Town of Lancaster dedicated a National Garden Clubs Blue Star Memorial By-way Marker in the Memorial Garden in…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Kerry Ann Mendez, garden designer, author and consultant, will kick off the festivities for the National Garden Festival on Friday, June 24 with a talk on “Tips for Low-maintenance, High-impact Perennial Gardens.” You can also join her that day for a tour of the perennials and shrubs at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. (See details of the opening day activities at the end of this article.) Mendez has written two books. The Ultimate Flower…...
Plants that turn the tables on the animal kingdom and get their nutrients from insects are fascinating. If you are a fan, or if you would just like to learn more, check out the Western New York Carnivorous Plant Club that is being formed. The new organization is for amateurs as well as professionals. Kenny Coogan, one of the founders, said the group’s mission is “to function as an educational organization interested in all phases of cultivating carnivorous plants and…...
Tours of some of the best gardens in the Buffalo area– led by an expert guide– will be available starting in June, and now is the time to register. The day-long bus tours have been organized by the Automobile Association in partnership with Horizon Club Tours as part of the National Garden Festival in Buffalo. The tours will not only give you the opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at some great Western New York gardens, but your…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Showing off the beautiful brickwork of the house was one of the goals in the makeover at 2 North Parade St. during last year’s Front Yard Contest, part of the National Garden in Festival in Buffalo. Check out this article to get ideas for your own yard, and make a note to visit this year’s Front Yard Contest, which will be held on Newman Place in South Buffalo. Work will take place from Monday, July 11,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Singing in the Rain” was an appropriate name for the Holland Garden Club’s standard flower show, held during soggy weather Friday evening and Saturday. But what a delight to step inside! The show included a horticulture division, and the smell of so many spring blossoms was wonderful. At left is one of the entries in the design category called “A Stormy Weather Getaway.” Entrants were asked to create an expressive design in an Oriental manner, staged…...
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