I spotted my first robin last week. My crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths are blooming. The weather has been amazingly mild– bordering on hot! And the calendar says that today is the vernal equinox. Any way you look at it, spring has arrived in Buffalo, and we gardeners are raring to go. Here are six great gardening tips you can use right now: Spring gardening tip #1 Try new Cool Wave pansies, a frost tolerant plant that trails and spreads. It…...
Fairy gardens have such a wide appeal, it’s easy to see why they’ve become such a hot new trend in the Buffalo area. Fairy gardens are great for people with limited space, for people who want to share gardening with a child, or for people who just like being creative. “Basically, a fairy garden is a miniature garden planted in a container or in the landscape,” explained Mark Yadon, vice president at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd.,…...
Did you know that the beautiful amaryllis you have been enjoying indoors this winter can rebloom next year and the year after that, too? “I’ve been using the same bulbs through the years,” said Doug O’Reilly, horticulturist and head gardener at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. He has to make sure he has amaryllis flowers– and lots of them– blooming every year for the annual Amaryllis and Cymbidium Exhibit. The exhibit continues through Feb. 20 at the Botanical…...
Here’s an over-the-top decorating idea for the holidays: Make your yard feel more Christmasy by planting holly bushes in the Buffalo area right now! “It’s been such a mild December,” said Teresa Buchanan, general manager of Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark St., Hamburg. “That’s the only reason you can get away with planting holly now. Normally, it would be too cold by now.” This is the time of year when holly bushes look their most splendid, adorned with their red berries, often…
Here are three helpful tips for autumn, courtesy of the free newsletter from Heimiller Greenhouses. Tip #1: How to deal with tar spot When it comes to tar spot, there’s bad news and good news and more bad news. The bad news is that tar spot is an ugly black fungus that seems to infect Norway maples, to a greater or lesser degree, every year, according to Lisa Heimiller of Heimiller Greenhouses. The good news is that while tar spot…...
The chrysanthemum has been enjoyed for thousands of years. It was cultivated as a flowering herb in China as far back as the 15th Century B.C., according to the National Chrysanthemum Society. The City of Buffalo is a mere upstart compared to ancient China, but we have enjoyed chrysantheums throughout our history, too. For more than 100 years, the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens has held its annual Chrysanthemum Show, which is the longest running tradition at the Botanical…...
“We like to have our coffee out there,” said Ann M. Bednarek, referring to her beautiful garden that you can see in her photo at left. She named the photo, “Have a Seat in Paradise.” Ann and her husband Jack have lived in the duplex at 136 Fairgreen Dr., Amherst, since 2004. They have been adding to the backyard garden there every year. Many of their plants are perennials, which are still blooming. Ann enjoys the zinnias because they come…...
It’s officially autumn in Buffalo. Whether you’re a beginner and want to start a garden for the first time or you’re an experienced gardener and want to start new beds, now is the time to do it. Mark Van Buren, owner of Zehr’s on the Lake, offers four big reasons why it’s actually better to start a garden in the fall rather than in the spring. Fall is a great time to buy perennials. “You get the biggest plant, at…...
Print this page and take the coupon to Perry’s Nurseries, 5203 Seneca St., West Seneca, to receive half off trees and shrubs. The coupon is valid from Sept. 23 through Nov. 10, 2011. This is a special coupon for readers of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com! (If you’d like to print the coupon by itself, here’s how you get to that view: Click on the coupon and you’ll be taken to another page. Click on the coupon yet again, and you’ll be taken to…
You need to do a little planning when choosing a tree for your garden or yard. Unlike a smaller plant, you can’t move a tree each year trying to find the perfect location. You need to pick the right tree for your yard, and the right spot for your tree. We talked to Curt Leising, plant technician at Russell’s Tree and Shrub Farm, 9800 Transit Rd., East Amherst. While there are many factors to take into consideration when choosing a…...
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