by Connie Oswald Stofko Hire professionals for the overall design of your garden, then have fun adding to it. That’s the advice of Chuck and Nancy LaChiusa, whose gardens at 140 Fernwood in Grand Island were on the Grand Island Garden Tour July 17. They gave us a preview the day before the walk. The LaChiusas started off about six years ago with an annual garden, but turned to perennials to decrease the amount of maintenance. Sculptures also play a…
by Connie Oswald Stofko More than 30 private gardens were open to the public during the Buzz Around Hamburg Garden Walk and Fair on Saturday and Sunday, July 10 and 11. Paul and Chrisanne Gaughan shared their gardens at 241 Union St. The front garden is an extension of the front porch. Notice though, that the garden doesn’t follow the rectangular shape of the porch, but is designed with a curve, free-flowing line. The garden is full and lush, using…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The pool is the focal point of the landscape in the backyard of Mark and Meghan Vavalle, whose home at 323 Lincoln Ave. was part of the Lockport in Bloom citywide garden tour on July 10 and 11. Mark estimates that they have 70 varieties of perennials in their garden. They’ve been working on their landscape for four years now. “It’s definitely a work in progress,” Meghan said. “There’s always something new to add.” At one…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The garden of Geri and Dominic Mitro of 701 Orchard Parkway, featured on the third annual Orchard Parkway Garden Walk in Niagara Falls, expresses their gratitude to God. “After praying for three years to find our new home in 2004, we felt so blessed we wanted to glorify the Lord with our landscape,” they wrote in the garden walk brochure. LED lights are strung around the cross in the garden surrounding their front porch, which you…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Professional landscapers are donating their time and materials to transform 19 front yards in Buffalo as part of the Front Yard Competition, the first event of its kind in the country. The event was kicked off with a press conference this morning. Work will continue until Saturday, July 10– then comes the best part! You get to vote for your favorite yard from July 11 to July 18. Physical ballots will be available outside each home…
by Connie Oswald Stofko You can visit all of Cherie St. Pierre’s gardens in Eggertsville as part of the Open Gardens program of the National Garden Festival, but one is so different than the others that we had to give it an article of its own. While St. Pierre’s home and an adjoining property have traditional yards, her rental property across the street at 3887 Bailey has no grass in its front or backyard! She loves gardening, but the retired…
by Connie Oswald Stofko One garden in front of Cherie St. Pierre’s home at 3881 Bailey Ave., Eggertsville, is positioned near a large tree and used to be in deep shade. “I couldn’t grow a thing in this area,” she said. “The good thing about that terrible storm is that it took out a branch.” Without her saying anything more, those of us who experienced that storm know immediately that she is referring the October Storm of 2006. Thursday, Oct….
by Connie Oswald Stofko Clouds and drizzle couldn’t dampen the spirits of visitors in the opening hours of the 2010 Lewiston GardenFest, which was held Saturday and Sunday, June 26 and 27. BuffaloNiagaraGardening.com visited the garden of Dominic and Susan Hofert at 400 Plain St. The new homeowners are working toward a formal garden that’s still friendly and has lots of curb appeal. The gardens that wrap around the large front porch are beautiful and well planned, with shrubs and…
by Connie Oswald Stofko “Not everything is hardy. The definition of a perennial is something that lives three or more years– if you don’t kill it.” Stephanie Cohen, known as the “perennial diva,” gave tips on summer gardening in the sometimes irreverent and often funny keynote address of the National Garden Festival in Buffalo (now Gardens Buffalo Niagara). The event was held Saturday, June 19 in the Nichols School in Buffalo. After the talk, Cohen signed copies of her books,…
Among the gardeners enjoying the festivities to kick off the National Garden Festival in Buffalo on Thursday, June 17 were, from left, Steve Bellus; Craig Coyne, chair of the Snyder-CleveHill garden walk; Candy Clark; Bard Basswood, who is doing an impression of an oak, and Gary DiNezza. The event was held at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The National Garden Festival takes all of the garden walks in our area, throws in amazing extra events, and comes up…
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