Garden tips for the Buffalo area.
by Connie Oswald Stofko by Connie Oswald Stofko “Let me tell you a story,” said Kelly McDonald, executive director and Master Gardener at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Cattaraugus County. “Last year my husband and I planted tomato seeds in the house with grow lights. The plants were getting bigger, so we moved them into gallon buckets. The weather got warmer and we moved the plants in and out of the garage (to protect them from cool nights). “Then we got…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko On June 29, it will be legal for adults, age 21 and older, to grow cannabis at home in New York State. Right now, only medical cannabis can be grown by private individuals in New York State. The patient must get authorization from a certified health care provider to grow cannabis. The rules that are in place now for growing medical cannabis will be the rules for home cultivation of cannabis starting June 29. A person…...
Burning for Biochar, a hands-on workshop on making biochar, will be held Saturday, April 27 at Henry’s Gardens, 7884 Sisson Hwy., Eden. Discover the benefits biochar can bring to your garden with John Maher, a founding member of the BioChar Coalition. Maher has degrees in both chemistry and biology, and has been producing biochar for over 10 years. Biochar has a number of benefits for your garden, from increasing microbial activity to increasing cation exchange capacity to help the soil…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko Hummingbirds generally arrive in Western New York at the end of April or early May. I’ve seen some mentions online saying that hummingbirds have already been spotted in Chautauqua County, but according to this map, they haven’t arrived yet (as of Tuesday morning, April 16). Perhaps people are seeing male hummingbirds. The males arrive a week or so before females, according to “When to Expect Hummingbirds in Your Yard This Spring” from Audubon.org. It’s possible that…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Come to the party! Life is a feast,” said an enthusiastic Jack Edson, expressing his outlook on his gardens and his life. I visited his landscape last year on the Buzz Around Hamburg Garden Walk. He touched on many topics, including nature, art and philosophy. As he discussed the mulberry trees in his yard, Edson noted that they have a painterly quality. He pointed out the light and dark of the mulberry leaves, and compared that…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Does it seem that your crocuses, daffodils or other plants are budding—even blooming—early this year? “There’s no question about it,” said John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County. “We are ahead of where we would normally be. It looks like April instead of March.” The Southern Tier has also seen warmer temperatures than usual, said said Kelly McDonald, executive director and Master Gardener at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Cattaraugus County. While it’s…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Gardeners in Western New York have the opportunity to address the problem of lesser celandine. That’s because lesser celandine is right in our own backyards. Or front yards. Or the lawns and gardens of our neighbors. If you don’t know what lesser celandine is, read on. And if you are already familiar with this invasive plant, please tell others. Tip: Our weather has been warm, and lesser celandine may be coming up sooner than it has…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko You don’t want to be that person—the person whose tree branch knocked out the electricity for the whole neighborhood. And you don’t want to plant a tree or shrub in a spot where the utility companies will do the pruning for you. The result isn’t pretty and it’s not good for the tree. That’s why you need to make sure you choose the right tree or shrub for your landscape before you buy one from the…...
What looks like a huge, lush garden is really extreme container gardening. “Everything is in pots,” said Scott Dunlap. His husband, Joe Hopkins, does the gardening and together they share their Buffalo Cottage District landscape on Open Gardens and Garden Walk Buffalo. You can get a glimpse of their gardens in this video, created by Jay Jinge Hu, who also shares his Williamsville landscape on Open Gardens. Other interesting tidbits from Hopkins and Dunlap’s landscape: See more videos here…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko Majestic trees rise high above the huge backyard of Kim and Seth Kaiser. “I retired a couple years ago,” Kim said, “but when I was working, this was my respite.” The size of the backyard itself, 200 feet deep, is remarkable. “Who would ever think this is back here?” a visitor wondered. Kim replied: “It’s a surprise!” When the Kaisers moved into their East Aurora home 33 years ago, “There were no flowers here,” Kim said…....
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