Category: Garden tips

Garden tips for the Buffalo area.

red lily leaf beetle

How are gardeners dealing with red lily leaf beetle?

by Connie Oswald Stofko Here’s a question from a reader: “My Asiatic lilies were attacked by the lily beetles last year. “This year they (the red lily leaf beetles) are back in my garden. I literally pulled about 6-8 of my lilies and just tossed them out because they were so bad and distressing me– I even tossed out the soil around them. I still have some beetles and twice daily, I go out and look for them and catch…...

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Jul 19, 2016
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gardens along fence in City of Tonawanda

Gardener brings plants from her family to husband’s fourth-generation home

by Connie Oswald Stofko Peter Kurtzworth is the fourth generation of his family to live in the home at 491 Morgan St., City of Tonawanda. When he married Judy four years ago, she brought pieces of her heritage to his homestead: plants from her former home, from her aunt’s cottage and from her mother’s garden. The Kurtzworths shared their gardens on the City of Tonawanda Garden Walk, which featured a nighttime tour on Friday, July 15 and a daytime tour…

Jul 19, 2016
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garden on Amherst Garden Walk

Phlox and oriental lilies add fragrance, color, height & drama to garden

by Connie Oswald Stofko “My favorite flowers are phlox and oriental lilies because they’re fragrant,” said Ed Dinki, “and I love the color. Asiatic lilies are nice, but they’re not too fragrant.” You can get tips like that and see some amazing gardens when you dare to stray from the clusters of gardens at the center of a garden walk map and take a few minutes to visit some of the outliers. The Amherst Garden Walk, which took place July…...

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Jul 12, 2016
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outdoor living room with Afro-Caribbean theme

Peaceful gardens make visitors feel happy on Snyder-Clevehill Garden Tour

by Connie Oswald Stofko “It looks pretty peaceful out here,” Joyce Heath said, surveying her yard on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View on July 10. With so much happening in the world, especially in recent weeks, it’s a feeling she tries to convey in her gardens. Rocks in a side garden were inscribed with “Tranquility” and “Peace Love Joy.” A flag emblazoned with “Peace: Back by popular demand” found a prominent spot elsewhere in her yard. “It’s a happy place,” exclaimed…...

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Jul 12, 2016
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small waterfall in front yard in Buffalo NY

Eclectic garden changes throughout the seasons

by Connie Oswald Stofko “It’s not meant to look perfect or manicured,” Dr. Kenton Bruce Anderson said of his front yard at 44 Montrose Ave., Buffalo. “It’s meant to be carefree, but look as if somebody takes care of it.” You can see this fun garden on the Samuel P. Capen Garden Walk from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, July 16. The walk will also feature a night tour called Capen by Night from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m…....

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Jul 12, 2016
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Garden mum 'Antica Bronze'

Trick to get mums to come back every year: Plant them now

by Connie Oswald Stofko Can you get garden mums to come back year after year? Yes, you can, said Ethan Waterman, manager of Waterman’s Greenhouse, 12316 Vaughn St. (Route 240), East Concord (Springville.) “Planting them now is the trick,” Waterman said. “You can’t take a mum out of the pot in October and shove it in the ground and think it will come next year. You have to plant them now to get them established so they make it through…...

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Jul 5, 2016
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organic garden in Cambria NY

Tour acres of gardens, get organic gardening tips during Lockport in Bloom

by Connie Oswald Stofko When some people go on a garden walk, they want to visit only the gardens that are clustered closely together. If you do that on Lockport in Bloom, you’ll miss this treasure. Jan and Craig Powley have seven acres of land– Three acres are horse pasture, and the horses provide a ready supply of manure for the organic flower gardens and vegetable gardens and the remaining acreage. You can see these gardens in person on the…...

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Jul 5, 2016
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gardens along fence in Hamburg Garden Walk

Double lot is filled with gardens; see it on Hamburg Garden Walk

by Connie Oswald Stofko When Julie Anderhalt was looking for a house in 1989, it was a seller’s market. A house would go on the market and it would be bought in an hour. So when she found a house she liked and realized someone else was interested in it, she quickly put in an offer. It was a whirlwind, she said, but her offer was accepted. Later she asked the owner of the house who owned the lot next…...

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Jul 5, 2016
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hose slowly watering plant

If you want to keep your plants healthy, water them properly now

by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s been a dry spring in Western New York, and now that summer is officially here, well, it’s still dry. Gardeners I’ve talked to all say the same thing. Thunderstorms that were predicted passed right by. Even when we got rain, there wasn’t enough to help our gardens. While the beach-goers are loving this weather, what we as gardeners should be hoping for is a good, all-day soaking rain, said Teresa Buchanan, general manager at Lockwood’s…...

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Jun 28, 2016
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panorama of garden on Parkside Garden Walk in Buffalo

Create an illusion of depth in a narrow yard

by Connie Oswald Stofko In a narrow yard, you can create an illusion of more depth in your gardens. Instead of planting flowers right up against a fence, pull your gardens away from the fence and add shrubs in the back. The darkness at the back of the garden makes the gardens appear deeper. That was a tip from Robert Then of 25 Greenfield St., Buffalo, who shared his gardens during the Parkside Garden Tour on June 26. His yard…...

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Jun 28, 2016
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