by Connie Oswald Stofko Whether you treat your maladies with an herbal tea or a pill from the drugstore, your medicine probably got its start in the garden. At the kick-off event for the medicinal gardens at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Wednesday, a proponent of herbal medicine and pharmacists from D’Youville College gave their views on healing plants. Yolanda Smith, left, a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, is a medicine gatherer and talked about the…...
A 20-foot blue spruce, along with a birch, crab apple, dogwood and Japanese maple, are part of what is essentially a giant container garden built on top of a narrow asphalt driveway in Buffalo. Ellie Dorritie of 415 Summer St. shared her gardens during Garden Walk Buffalo on July 30 and 31. More than 350 gardens were on display during the event, which is the largest garden tour in the nation. Dorritie’s back garden includes brick pathways, which you can…...
Many gardeners feel they must get their garden planted by Memorial Day weekend or they’ve missed some sort of deadline. They think that if they go to a garden center now, they’ll see nothing but shriveled-up specimens on a discount table. Surprise! It’s still planting season in Buffalo and Western New York, and garden centers are full of fresh, new perennials and trees that you can plant right now. Plus, you get instant color and instant flowers because these fully…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
by Penny Durnin If you haven’t already hung your hummingbird feeder in your garden, do it now. The spring migration of hummingbirds is in full swing right now and there have been several reports of hummingbirds in gardens in and around Buffalo. My first male showed up Wednesday, May 4 at 7:11 in the evening. He must have been in need of some instant energy as he made about six visits to my feeder before dark. Ruby throated hummingbirds (the…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
by Connie Oswald Stofko I was going to plant Queen Anne’s lace in my garden. I used to love picking these pretty wildflowers in the fields when I was growing up in Cheektowaga. And hey, planting native species is good for the environment, right? One problem: Queen Anne’s lace grows wild, but it’s not a native species. “We’re at the point where the most common stuff is non-native,” said Paul Fuhrmann of Ecology & Environment and the New York State…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
by Connie Oswald Stofko In the early 1900s, Margaret Wooster’s family farmed land in the Genesee Valley, south of Rochester. When salt deposits were discovered underground, the family sold their land to a mining company. A mine shaft was sunk and family members went to work as salt miners for the company. Eventually the mine was sold to what became Azko Nobel and the mine became the largest salt mine in North America. Unfortunately, disaster struck in 1994. Residents of…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
by Connie Oswald Stofko Native plants and flowers are strongly recommended for your rain garden because these plants have the greatest chance of growth and survival in Western New York. Using native plants also means low maintenance– you won’t need to water. Last week, we discussed building a rain garden and how rain gardens help keep our water clean. We showed you the rain garden at the Crane Branch Library in Buffalo, and we promised more information on plants for…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
by Connie Oswald Stofko Whether you’re striving to protect our natural resources, or you just want to create a low-maintenance garden, a rain garden may be what you’re looking for. Pictured here is a rain garden that was created in June at the Crane Branch Library, 633 Elmwood at the corner of Highland, in Buffalo. As we explained in an article on rain barrels last week, the biggest pollution threat to Lake Erie and the Niagara River is sewage runoff…....
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
A sale of native plants and mums is being held to benefit the Western New York Land Conservancy. You must order by Sept. 4. Pickup is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at Orchard Glen Retirement Community, 6055 Armor Duells Rd., Orchard Park. Native plants are vigorous and hardy and, once established, require no irrigation or fertilization. They provide a habitat for butterflies, insects, hummingbirds and other small birds and animals we know and need. These native…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
by Connie Oswald Stofko This Snyder house was once so overgrown that ivy had infiltrated through a window and was growing into the gold shag carpeting inside the house. But now the home boasts a tidy formal garden in front and lush English cottage gardens in back. The home of Craig Coyne and Gary DiNezza at 31 Darwin Dr. was part of the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View in Amherst on Sunday, July 11. Though the property had been sorely neglected (there…...
You must be a Monthly Subscription member to access this content.
© 2011 Buffalo-Niagara Gardening. All rights reserved.