You can find information on invasive species through the 2014 New York State Invasive Species Speaker Series organized by Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM). Selected recordings can be found at the NY Invasives You Tube Channel. People who don’t feel tech savvy may feel most comfortable accessing the information there. If you’re a little more confident when it comes to technology, you may want to sit in on one of the monthly teleconferences. You’ll find information on how…...
Category: Pests & Weeds
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…...
How are your impatiens doing? Please let Cornell expert know
by Connie Oswald Stofko Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with Cornell University who co-wrote a fact sheet on how downy mildew affects impatiens, would like to know how your impatiens are doing. “I saw a photo last week of an impatiens in the Buffalo area with the distinctive white sporulation on the under-surface of the leaves– definitely downy mildew,” Daughtrey said. Daughtrey provided us last year with a photo showing the disease, which you can see below. “Have any of…...
Help save trees when you clean your pool filter– look for invasive beetles
While you’re cleaning your pool filter, look for Asian longhorned beetles, an invasive species that can cause serious damage to our trees including the sugar maple. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking help from pool owners during its second annual Asian longhorned beetle Swimming Pool Survey taking place now through Aug. 30. Even if you don’t have a pool, you can submit photos of suspected Asian longhorned beetles to foresthealth@gw.dec.state.ny.us. This is the time of…...
Vignettes by gardener are backdrop to Lancaster mini-walks
Karen Deutschlander of 36 Stephens Ct., Lancaster, thinks that gardening is less about growing plants and more about decorating. That makes her gardens a welcoming backdrop to Art in the Gardens, the first of three mini-walks to be held by the Lancaster Garden Walk in conjunction with Lancaster’s Old Home Days. Art in the Gardens will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 30. Six artists will display their work in six gardens. Works of Conrad Borucki, a…...
Peaceful backyard will join 30 other yards on Hamburg garden walk
“My favorite time is the morning and night,” said Marg Rust as she surveyed the garden beds in her backyard at 71 Rosedale, Hamburg. “That’s when you get the filtered sun reflected off the pond. It’s so peaceful. “It’s good for the psyche and the soul to surround yourself with things that are beautiful.” She pointed out a pond plant, which you can see in the first photo. The plant at the bottom left with a spikey ball at the…...
With rainy weather, watch for slugs, plant diseases in Western New York
With all this rain in Western New York, it looks more like April than June. John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, said some gardeners have water ponding in their yards, and yesterday he saw someone’s riding lawn mower stuck in the mud. We had a dry spring in Western New York, but so far this month we’ve had about twice the average amount of rain we would get during that period. This weather poses some…...
Question on spotty mint, plus more gardening news
What’s the problem with this mint– and oregano, too? Jackie Fialkowski Gatas contacted me with this question: Does anyone happen to know what is happening with my mint? It’s also starting to show on my oregano. Don’t know if it’s a bug or a fungus. Thanks guys. Readers, can you help Jackie? If so, please leave a comment below. Background Sometimes readers contact me with questions that I can’t answer. I’m not a gardening expert– I’m a writer by profession…....
Cheektowaga gardener stays organized with careful notes
Chet Okonczak can tell you the name of every plant in his garden, and if he’s not sure of a name, he can easily look it up. Organized in a three-ring photo album are hand-drawn maps of each plant in the six beds in his backyard at 38 Brentwood, Cheektowaga. On the same page are photos of that bed at various times of the year. In the pocket on the back of the page he keeps the plant tags so…...
Two questions from readers: million bells get brown, bleach on roses
Question #1: What should you do about million bells that get brown? Here’s a question from reader Jim Barbati: “Every year in mid-August my million bells begin to brown out on the underside of the plant. I think the cause may be white flies. Any ideas about how to control this? Thank you.”Question #2: Can you save a rose that was damaged by bleach? Here’s a question from Charlotte Luksic: “I sprayed my roses with water and bleach. Is there…...

