by Connie Oswald Stofko Growing roses in the Buffalo area isn’t as hard as some people think. In the video below, David Clark, professional horticulturist, gives quick tips on selecting roses, caring for roses and managing pests. Want more in-depth information? Clark will give a class on the topic at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 14, 2011 at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. The cost for the class is $12. For reservations, call 649-4684 or visit the shop…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko “People are so afraid of growing herbs, but herbs are easy to grow,” said Sue Duecker, past president of the Western New York Herb Study Group at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Duecker will present a free class called “All About Herbs” at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 14 at Zittel’s Country Market, Route 20 between South Park Ave. (Route 62) and McKinley Parkway in Hamburg. Although the event is free, please register at the…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Coleus is “probably one of the easiest plants to grow in your garden,” said Doug O’Reilly, horticulturist and head gardener at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. “That’s why I grow them.” A Coleus Show will be held from this Saturday, May 7 to Sunday, May 29 at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Hours for the show are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I saw some amazingly beautiful compost a couple weeks ago in an Earth Day demonstration at Buffalo ReUse. The compost was dark brown and crumbly and pure, with almost no soil mixed in. The secret to this compost is red wriggler worms. They eat garbage and turn it into compost. “They eat their weight in garbage every day,” explained Kevin Hayes, executive director at Buffalo ReUse. “They’re voracious.” The earth worms that you find in your…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I was going to plant Queen Anne’s lace in my garden. I used to love picking these pretty wildflowers in the fields when I was growing up in Cheektowaga. And hey, planting native species is good for the environment, right? One problem: Queen Anne’s lace grows wild, but it’s not a native species. “We’re at the point where the most common stuff is non-native,” said Paul Fuhrmann of Ecology & Environment and the New York State…...
The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site tallied your votes and announced the winners in its annual Victorian Christmas Visitors’ Choice voting. Each year, the stately Wilcox Mansion, 641 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office, is decorated for the holidays by members in the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Eighth District. Different areas of the mansion are decorated by different garden clubs, and visitors are invited to vote for their favorites. The winners were announced…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo is looking for volunteers to help break ground on new community gardens and open established gardens for the season. The work will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, April 17. While Grassroots Gardens now works with a total of 72 community gardens all over the City of Buffalo, just 11 gardens are on the list for extra help this weekend. “All of the gardens are completely different,” explained Linda…...
New and fresh designs await visitors at the annual Spring Flower Show at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. In the photo above, Shannon Delorme and her daughter, Brynn Jenkins, 11 months, enjoy the rustic fountain. Flowers take center stage in that panorama, but you can see swaths of long green grass behind Shannon and Brynn. That fresh grass makes you feel as if you have been transported to a tranquil meadow. What’s most…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko In the early 1900s, Margaret Wooster’s family farmed land in the Genesee Valley, south of Rochester. When salt deposits were discovered underground, the family sold their land to a mining company. A mine shaft was sunk and family members went to work as salt miners for the company. Eventually the mine was sold to what became Azko Nobel and the mine became the largest salt mine in North America. Unfortunately, disaster struck in 1994. Residents of…...
by Ruth Syron Daffodils (also known as jonquils or narcissus) are the March birthday flower. In the Victorian era, daffodils meant, “You are an angel.” In the modern language of flowers, daffodils are a symbol of domestic happiness and friendship. Both meanings hold very nice sentiments. The daffodil is considered the national flower of Wales. On St. David’s Day, March 1, many folks wear the national flower on hats or lapels. The daffodil competes with the leek as the Welsh…...
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