by Connie Oswald Stofko We had a bit of warm sunshine this weekend and it was wonderful to do some outside chores. My husband raked the autumn leaves off the front lawn and I yanked a few early weeds from garden beds near a sidewalk. But there still isn’t a lot you can do in your garden yet, said Teresa Buchanan, general manager at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. “I would tell people to use care in their gardens…...
Category: Garden tips
Garden tips for the Buffalo area.
Flowers for outside right now? Pansies. More cool-weather flowers available next week
by Connie Oswald Stofko In other years you might have been able to work the soil and plant some cool-weather annuals in your flower beds at the beginning of April, but not this year, said Mark Yadon, vice president of Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. “It’s crazy,” he said.”It’s been too cold. “My advice for this year is to do your early plantings in containers.” Even if this past weekend’s snow has melted from your yard,…...
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Got clay or rocks in your soil? Use pallets to create a raised bed– It’s simple!
by Connie Oswald Stofko You may be reluctant to start a new garden bed if you have a site that’s less than ideal. Maybe it’s full of stones that you would have to sift out or pick out by hand. Or maybe the soil is compacted or riddled with clay, so you face the prospect of having to work in lots and lots of compost to break it up. An easier solution is to create raised beds using pallets. This idea…...
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Miniature gardens tell a story with plants– Make them as gifts!
by Connie Oswald Stofko A cat is curled up in one of the Adirondack chairs at the koi pond. On the table rests a goblet filled with Merlot, and the glass dome has been removed from a plate of cheese. “It’s a miniature fantasy,” said Dan Meyer, greenhouse associate at Mischler’sFlorist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. “It’s a comfortable setting that makes you feel good. And you’re telling a story with plants.” The miniature garden above has many…...
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Get a sneak peek of ‘Innuendo: The Secret Sex Life of Plants,’ then see it live!
by Connie Oswald Stofko Birds do it. Bees do it. And birds and bees help plants do it. In the video below, we bring you a sneak peek of “Innuendo: The Secret Sex Life of Plants,” the kick-off presentation of Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens’ 2014 Science Café Series. In this entertaining video, David Clark, horticulture instructor at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, shows us some of the strange ways plants create more of themselves. Clark is…...
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It’s time to start seeds for cool weather veggies in Western New York
by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s time to start seeds inside for cool weather vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, said Julie Emerling, a grower at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. Wait until the end of March to start lettuce and spinach, she said. They’re cold tolerant, but they can’t take frost the way that vegetables like cabbage can. Find out more about when to plant cool weather vegetable plants outside in this article from last year. It’s still…...
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Winter has been bitter, but all that snow should help WNY gardens
by Connie Oswald Stofko This has been one bitterly cold winter. On the plus side, it has been snowy. You may think the cold and snow combine to create a double whammy, but when it comes to our gardens in Western New York, it would have been worse without the snow. “If you see snow, you should be happy,” said Carol Ann Harlos, Master Gardener coordinator for the Erie County Cornell Cooperative Extension. The air temperature and soil temperature can…...
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Make food a permanent part of your Western New York yard with edible landscapes
by Connie Oswald Stofko When we want to grow food, we generally think of smallish plants that we would categorize as “vegetables” or “herbs,” such as tomatoes or zucchini or parsley. Today we’re going to challenge you to think bigger. When you think of food, think of trees and shrubs. The concept is called edible landscapes, said Fred Safford, who is in charge of trees and shrubs at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg. It’s a way to work with…...
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Find Western New York businesses right here on Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com
by Connie Oswald Stofko People often ask me how I can offer weekly subscriptions to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com for free. The answer, of course, is that this great online magazine is supported by local businesses and organizations who want to connect with gardeners. That means that when you’re looking for gardening products and services, this website is a great place to start. Not only can you find wonderful merchandise and services, but these folks are right here in Western New York! Start…...
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Mystery of the empty bird feeder solved, plus a tip on woodchucks
by Connie Oswald Stofko When I was at the recent meeting of the Garden Friends of Clarence, Linda Klimczak, one of the members, told me about the mystery of her empty bird feeder and sent me the video that you can see below. Klimczak had gotten a squirrel-proof bird feeder and set it out on her back patio. Although the bird feeder holds quite a lot of seed, the next day it was empty. The mystery of the empty bird…...
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