Category: Garden tips

Garden tips for the Buffalo area.

Dangerous plant: Do not touch giant hogweed! It can cause severe burns and blindness

by Connie Oswald Stofko I saw giant hogweed in Niagara County several years ago. It was about four feet tall and I thought it was an overgrown Queen Anne’s lace. Boy, am I glad I didn’t go near it! Its sap, in combination with moisture and sunlight, can cause severe skin and eye irritation, painful blistering, permanent scarring and blindness. This is a seriously dangerous plant. The plant has been identified in every county in Western New York. See a…...

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Jun 3, 2014
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How to protect seedlings & sprouts when applying mulch

by Connie Oswald Stofko Usually I share tips that I hear from another gardener, but I’m proud to say I came up with this tip myself. My sister, Maxine Osiewicz of Clarence, was telling me about her big project for the weekend. She and her husband Bob were going to spread mulch on their garden beds. The problem, she said, was that there were some tiny lupine plants coming up and she didn’t want to cover them up with the…...

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Jun 3, 2014
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uperbells Lemon Slice from Proven Winners

There’s still time to plant annuals; new varieties available for Western New York

by Connie Oswald Stofko There’s still plenty of time to plant annual flowers in your garden or in containers. As I’ve said many times before, gardening doesn’t start and stop on Memorial Day weekend. If you like, you can choose the same annuals you use every year (with the possible exception of impatiens— not many garden centers will be carrying them this year.) But some people want something different. They like odd flowers that you won’t see in other gardens,…...

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May 27, 2014
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tulips in Cleve-Hill Cheektowaga NY

Get spectacular spring color without sacrificing summer splendor

by Connie Oswald Stofko So many of us are looking forward to the start of the 2014 gardening season, but Claudia Kolbe-Hawthorne of the Cleve-Hill section of Cheektowaga is already enjoying the third wave of color in her flower beds. First there were the hyacinths, which were followed by daffodils. When I visited her last week, there were masses of colorful tulips. But even after the tulips are gone, there won’t be a lack of color. The perennials, such as…...

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May 20, 2014
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Tomato Old German courtesy Terra Organic

Heirloom tomatoes aren’t pretty, but can be fun to grow

by Connie Oswald Stofko Heirloom tomatoes may look weird to you. They’re purple or creamy yellow or even striped. And that’s why some people like them. “From that angle, they’re really fun,” said Jen Weber, retail manager at Mike Weber Greenhouses, 42 French Rd., West Seneca. You can buy heirloom tomatoes now at Mike Weber Greenhouses, and if you want to plant them now, go for it, Weber said. She has checked with Western New York  farmers and they are…...

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May 13, 2014
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How to find a garden center that has the plant you’re looking for

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately from readers who want to know where they can buy certain plants. Whenever you want to know what garden centers have a particular plant in stock, it’s best to contact them directly. While some common plants might be carried by all garden centers, you’d be surprised at how widely the stock varies from shop to shop. In addition, garden centers will try out new plants each year and stop carrying other plants…...

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May 13, 2014
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el at Pelion Garden in Buffalo NY

Grow tunnel and herb garden under leaves: Did the plants survive this cold winter?

by Connie Oswald Stofko In November, Caesandra Seawell, garden manager, showed us how she extends the growing season in the Pelion Community Garden at City Honors School in Buffalo. She insulated the herb bed by adding a thick blanket of leaves and, after two frosts this fall, the parsley was still green. On another raised bed with a grow tunnel, the broccoli, kale and cabbage were still doing well even though the temperature had dipped to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. But…...

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May 13, 2014
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Find a good home for your extra plants by donating them to nonprofit gardens

When you’re thinning out your perennials, you probably feel sad when you have to throw those extra plants on the compost pile. Two Western New York organizations that would be delighted to find a good home for those plants are the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford and Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo. Genesee Country Village & Museum The Genesee Country Village & Museum recreates a 19th-century country village with costumed interpreters in restored historic buildings. This season the gardeners…...

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May 13, 2014
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Impatiens courtesy Margery Daughtrey

Update: Impatiens might do okay in WNY this year, or they might not

by Connie Oswald Stofko If this summer is like last summer in Western New York, you might be able to plant impatiens and have them perform well, perhaps into August, anyway. But there are still a lot of ifs involved, and there are certainly no guarantees. Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with Cornell University who co-wrote a fact sheet on how downy mildew affects impatiens, gives us an update on what Western New York gardeners might expect from impatiens this…...

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May 6, 2014
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Things you can do in your garden now & tips to push the season

by Connie Oswald Stofko The weather will be warmer this week and it will be great to get outside and work in your garden. There are many things you can do in your garden right now, and, if you’re an impatient gardener, we have a few tips on how you might try to push the season from Teresa Buchanan, garden center manager at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. Now is a great time to plant trees and shrubs, Buchanan…...

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May 6, 2014
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