Hummingbirds will be arriving soon in Western New York. Get ready for them by hanging your hummingbird feeder now. “It may still be a bit early, but you really want the feeder up ahead of their arrival so that they find a food source as they are coming through,” said Penny Durnin of North Tonawanda, moderator of the Hummingbird Forum. “There will be very few natural resources available to them for a while.” If you want to track the hummingbirds’…...
Category: Garden tips
Garden tips for the Buffalo area.
Warm weather! What you can– & can’t– do in your garden now
Clean up your yard, but leave the mulch in place When the forsythia is in bloom, that’s a good time to cut back your rose bushes and take the mulch off your garden beds, said Dawn Trippie-Thompson, owner, with her husband Ken Thompson, of Thompson Brothers Greenhouses, 8850 Clarence Center Rd., Clarence Center. That’s a rule of thumb she learned in horticulture coursework at Niagara County Community College. Forsythias usually bloom in late April or early May, so even the…...
Impatiens are dying; choose alternative shade plants instead
by Connie Oswald Stofko For decades, impatiens has been the go-to flower for the shade. But now that a blight is wiping out these wonderful flowers, you’ll have to rethink your plant choices for shady gardens. Some garden centers won’t sell impatiens at all this year, while others will grow a limited supply but will sell them without guarantees. Don’t expect to find impatiens at all next year. What should you plant instead? A couple of local events can help…...
Use trash to make vertical garden, plant tags– even furniture!
Items that normally might have been thrown away found new uses in a student exhibit in March at Plantasia, Western New York’s premier garden and landscape show. Aluminum cans became plant tags, coat hangers helped support vining plants and pallets became an A-frame vertical planter and an entire suite of patio furniture! The exhibit was created by students in the horticulture programs at Niagara County Community College (NCCC) and the adult education program at McKinley High School as well as…...
It’s almost time to plant cool-weather veggies in Buffalo area
You’ll be able to plant cool-weather vegetables soon, said Julie Emerling, who is in charge of herbs and vegetables at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. People know the rule of thumb is that you wait until Memorial Day to do most of your planting. That’s because for many of our plants, we need to wait until the danger of frost has passed and we have warm weather. The vegetables that we’re talking about today should be planted earlier because…...
Front Yard Contest evolves into LEAF a Legacy; trees planted now
Snow covered the ground, temperatures were in the 20’s and there was a biting wind in South Buffalo on Thursday, but it was actually a good day to plant trees, said Ed Dore, vice president of Western New York State Nursery and Landscape Association (WNYSNLA). (2017 UPDATE: WNYSNLA is now PLANT WNY.) Volunteers planted about 115 trees for LEAF a Legacy, part of the National Garden Festival and organized by WNYSNLA. Above, Neil Stern of Gernatt Gravel and Bob Smith of…
7 great plants to create a tropical feeling in your backyard oasis
Want to add a tropical feeling to your yard? Here are seven plant suggestions from the folks at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Road, Williamsville. You can see some of these plants when you visit Mischler’s next week at Plantasia, which has a theme of “Backyard Oasis.” (See the related article for details on Plantasia.) Check out these plants to add a tropical feeling to your backyard. #1, 2 and 3: Anthurium, peace lilies and other indoor plants…...
Easter egg hunt at Spring Flower Show, & more great items
Sign up early for Easter egg hunt, one of many events in Spring Flower Show The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens will hold its Spring Flower Show from Saturday, March 16 to Sunday, April 7. One of the popular features is always the Easter egg hunt, which this year will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 30. The hunt sells out every year, so you should register early, said Erin Grajek, director of marketing at the Botanical Gardens…....
Grow celery from the stump!
I saw this idea in several places on Pinterest and I just had to try it. When you’re done with a bunch of celery, you’re left with a stump. I used to toss that stump into the compost pile. Then on Pinterest I saw that you can use it to start a new celery plant. It’s really simple. Just set the stump into a small jar or bowl. Add just a little bit of water– about a quarter inch is…...
Free plant material available from Plantasia, & more great news
Get free plant material by volunteering at Plantasia; sign up now The Western New York State Nursery & Landscape Association (WNYSNLA) is seeking not-for-profit organizations to participate in a green exchange program. Plant material, such as annuals, trees, shrubs and mulch that is left over from Plantasia will be given to not-for-profit organizations in exchange for a donation of volunteer time at Plantasia, its annual landscape and garden show, which takes place March 21-24 at the Fairgrounds Event Center and…...


