Plantasia to give us a taste of spring in Western New York

Get a taste of spring at Plantasia: Backyard Oasis. This is Western New York’s premier garden and landscape show and is presented by the Western New York State Nursery & Landscape Association.

The show will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 21 to 23, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 24 at the the Fairgrounds Event Center and Expo Hall, 5820 South Park Avenue, Hamburg. Tickets are $9 general admission or $8 with the coupon.

A preview night sponsored by Buffalo Spree and Lockwood’s Greenhouses will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20. Tickets are $15 pre-sale, $20 the day of event, and free for children under 10.

Features of Plantasia include:

• Acres of innovative garden and landscape spaces filled with blooming flowers, trees and shrubs created inside the center
• Dozens of vendors offering garden decor, tools, gifts and refreshments
• Children’s Discovery Garden
• Master Gardeners available to answer your gardening questions
• Live music each evening and other events during the day
• Presentations and demonstrations (see schedule below)

I’ll be there at the Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com booth, so stop by to say hello. Something new I’ll be doing this year is offering a few original artworks for sale. You can see an example below.

I’ll also give a presentation on  “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at 2 p.m. Friday, March 22. There’s so much to see and do that you might want to plan out your visit.

Here’s the entire presentation schedule:

Thursday, March 21

11 a.m.: “Edible Wild Plants for Landscape Use” with Ken Parker, Joint Venture with Nature Consulting

Noon: “Landscape Design Made Easy” with Mike Frank of Chevalier Outdoor Living

1 p.m.: “Plant Projects for Children” with Julie McDonald, grower at Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens

2 p.m.: “Think Green! It’s Spring” with Dorothy Julius of Along Gardens Path

3 p.m.: “Summer Bulbs” with Elizabeth Licata, editor of Buffalo Spree and horticulture speaker

4 p.m.: “Small Fruit Growing”with Vicki Jancef of Orleans County Cooperative Extension

 

Friday, March 22

11 a.m.: “Insects in the Landscape and Their Control” with Tom Mitchell of Niagara County Community College

Noon: “Gardens of the Garden Walk” with  Jim Charlier of JCharlier Communication Design

1 p.m.: “How to Prevent Deer and Other Critter Damage” with Lynn Chimera of Lessons from Nature

2 p.m.: “45 Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” with Connie Oswald Stofko, publisher of Buffalo-Niagara Gardening.com

3 p.m.: “Basic Floral Design” by  Judy Tucholski, 8th District Garden Clubs judge

4 p.m.: “How and Why to Light Up Your Landscape” with  Phil Colarusso of Luminated Landscapes

5 p.m.: “What You Always Wanted to Know About Soils” with Mike Gallo, CNLP  of Buffalo State College

6 p.m.: “The Right Plant for the Right Place” with Dan Robillard of McKinley High School Horticulture Department

 

Saturday, March 23

11 a.m.: “What Hosta Where” with Mike Shadrack, British horticulture speaker and author (Books available for purchase and signed.)

Noon: “Pruning 101″ with Sally Cunningham, CNLP, who is an  author and works with Lockwood’s Greenhouses

1 p.m.: “Sustainability: What Does it Mean to the Home Gardener?” with Lynn Chimera of Lessons from Nature

2 p.m.: “Things Gardeners Should Know but Don’t” with Ken Brown, host of WBEN Radio (930 AM dial)

3 p.m.: “All you Wanted to Know About Plant Parenthood” with Terry Ettinger, greenhouse manager for SUNY Department of Environmental & Forest Biology and YNN TV garden expert

4 p.m.: “Hydroponically Speaking” with David Clark, horticulture speaker and instructor at Buffalo Erie County Botanical Gardens

5 p.m.: “Ornamental Grasses” with Sharon Webber, CNLP, of Niagara County Community College & Earth Lines

6 p.m.: “Raised Beds and Container Gardens… Beyond the Box” with David Clark,  horticulture speaker and instructor at Buffalo Erie County Botanical Gardens

 

Sunday, March 24

11 a.m.: “Vegetable Gardening” with Tom Mitchell of Niagara County Community College

Noon: “The Dirt on your Lawn” with Terry Ettinger, greenhouse manager for SUNY Department of Environmental & Forest Biology and YNN TV garden expert

1 p.m.: “WNY’s Fabulous Gardens (and What They Teach Us) Featuring the Best of the 2012 National Garden Festival Season” with Sally Cunningham, CNLP, who is an  author and works with Lockwood’s Greenhouses

2 p.m.: “Landscape Maintenance” with Mike Frank of Chevalier Outdoor Living

3 p.m.: “Well-Designed Container Gardens: Annuals, Perennials and Tropicals” with Carolyn Stanko, CNLP, who is an educator at Niagara County Community College