Perennials Archives - Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

Comeback kids: perennials we love

By Lauren Newkirk Maynard In my shade-loving, woodland-ish city yard, perennials rule. The plants popping up every year, and sometimes every other if biennial, delight me with their determination and consistency. Perennials can be workhorses in the garden, battling climate change, drought, soggy rain and certain pests (deer and rabbits, we see you). They can be grown in all levels of sun and shade, and provide blooms for cut arrangements or interesting foliage in shady spots. They can also help…...

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bumble bee on Joe Pye weed in Amherst New York

This month in the garden: June

On checking temptation, hitting thugs where they hurt, and above all, enjoying your patch of heaven. By Peggy Koppmann I saw a quote recently that said, “I garden, therefore I am.” With apologies to Descartes, I believe that to be true for gardeners. As June arrives, acts of gardening are part of our very existence. We plan and plant to feed our families, to support pollinators, to sustain our environment, and to create beauty. We are the face of resistance…

Jun 2, 2026

Coming up roses

Show your own roses, and see more than 100 others, at the 75th Annual WNY Rose Society Rose Show Story and photos by guest writer Eileen Koteras Elibol It’s time to fall in love with roses all over again. Do you remember the beauties that your grandma used to grow in her garden? Or the lingering old rose scent of a gorgeous rose that captivated you? “Whether it’s a rose with a spectacular color, or exquisite fragrance, come experience and…

Jun 2, 2026

How to stake a drooping flower, plus 2 more great gardening tips

by Connie Oswald Stofko Do you have a tall flower, such as a delphinium, that is drooping? Find out what you should do. Jen Weber, vice president and manager of Mike Weber Greenhouses, 42 French Rd., West Seneca, explains how to properly stake flowers in a previous article. She also discusses how to choose plants that are healthy (yes, there is still lots of time to buy new plants!) and provides a tip on watering that will help you avoid flattening your…...

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Jul 8, 2025

Flowers in a frame & more at WNY Rose Society’s show

by Connie Oswald Stofko When you see a hundred roses on display, you may fall in love with a rose that has a spectacular color, or a rose with an enticing fragrance, said Eileen Koteras Elibol, chairman of the Rose Show being hosted by the the Western New York Rose Society. You may even decide to grow roses in your own yard. “It’s not as hard to grow roses as you might think it is,” she said. “Hybridizers are developing…...

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Jun 10, 2025

Groundcover & colorful flowers at Mischler’s 69-cent perennial sale

by Connie Oswald Stofko Five varieties of astilbe, one new groundcover and one new true blue flower. That’s what you’ll see in this article, but there will be many more varieties in the 69-cent perennial sale at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. Mark your calendar: The sale will start at 8 a.m. Friday, April 25 and continue while supplies last. Sale hours are: Plants are sold in packs of 4 for $2.76. A list of plant…...

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Apr 15, 2025

Morning glories didn’t flower until fall? Give them poor soil

Did your morning glories wait until autumn to bloom? The Master Gardeners in Erie County received calls from people wondering why their morning glories didn’t bloom earlier, said Carol Ann Harlos in “Lessons from the Hotline” in WNY Gardening Matters. One reason the morning glories didn’t bloom earlier might be the soil. The plant likes poor soil. If the soil is rich in nutrients, the plant tends to put energy into leaf growth instead of making flowers. This article also…...

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Nov 19, 2024

pergola in grassless backyard in South Buffalo NY

White stones instead of lawn: see it on South Buffalo Garden Walk

by Connie Oswald Stofko “I hated mowing,” said Peter Nightengale, “and I wanted my yard to look like nobody else’s.” That’s why he got rid of all the lawn in his South Buffalo property. In the front yard, white stones cover an area that used to be grass. There isn’t any lawn in the backyard, either. Even the hellstrip (the area between the sidewalk and street) has no grass—it’s all flowers. You can see this landscape and many others on…...

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Jun 25, 2024

Nothing like an outdoor wedding to jumpstart a backyard makeover

by Connie Oswald Stofko Jen and Joe Weber moved their family into their new home three years ago. When they got there, they found that the previous owners had planted bishop’s weed (also called goutweed), a nasty, very aggressive plant that spreads easily and is hard to get rid of. The bishop’s weed is still there, stretching 66 feet along one side of the house. Other projects, such as fixing “the path to nowhere,” haven’t been started yet, either, and…...

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Jun 4, 2024

Flowering lawns: easy, pretty, helpful

by Connie Oswald Stofko “It’s nice to add these flowers you can walk on,” said Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager of Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market. “These flowers are great for us; they’re not just for pollinators.” Urban Roots now carries flower seeds that you can add to your lawn: creeping thyme, self-heal, Dutch white clover and white yarrow. You can use them to create a “flawn” or flowering lawn. This is one way to add biodiversity to our landscapes; that is,…...

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May 14, 2024