“I’ve always had the best flowers and best hanging baskets on the street,” said Melissa, the tenant at 75 Crowley St., Buffalo. But after the staff from Lockwood’s Greenhouses finished the makeover of the front yard, she was happy to see that they had outdone her. The Front Yard Contest is part of the National Garden Festival in Buffalo. A block facing the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Riverside Park was chosen, and professional landscapers, Master Gardeners and teams from the Buffalo…...
Greg and JoAnne Hudecki of 108 University Ave., Buffalo, have a grassless front yard that started with a burst pipe. After the repair work was done in their yard, they could never get grass to grow. “So my husband kept saying, ‘I’ll just put a plant there, and I’ll just put a plant there,’” JoAnne said. By the time the trouble spots were covered, the front yard was one large garden bed. The Hudeckis shared their gardens during the Samuel…...
Catherine Hetzler chooses plants that spread in order to keep her gardens full and to supply plants for the gardens at the Sisters of Mercy Convent and Mt. Mercy Academy. Hetzler, of Lorraine Avenue, shared her gardens during the South Buffalo Alive Annual Tour of Gardens on July 15. After becoming a Master Gardener, Hetzler began volunteering at the Sisters of Mercy Convent. Over the course of 11 years, she has developed 11 foundation beds. For two years she has…...
Suzi Redino estimates that only 5 to 10 percent of the furniture and decorations in her yard were purchased. The rest were picked out of the garbage. Literally. Suzi specializes in trash to treasure in her interior design business, Cherry Tree Design. Her husband Rick’s family business is a junk yard, R & R Salvage. Almost every day he brings something home to her, and many of the items find their way into her yard. “That’s from the junkyard,” she…...
The National Garden Festival’s neighborhood-transforming Front Yard Contest kicked off yesterday on Crowley Avenue in Buffalo, bordering the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Riverside Park. Professional landscapers, Master Gardeners and teams from the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy are donating their time and materials to give 15 homeowners free garden makeovers. This Front Yard Contest is part of third annual National Garden Festival. Organizers believe it is the only such civic-minded garden competition in the country. You can view the landscaping work in…...
Container plantings add color to the garden surrounding the backyard patio of Mary Murrett, who shared her gardens at 178 Hirschfield, Williamsville, during the Village of Williamsville Garden Walk on June 30. She has fun designing her containers as she goes along. “I go nuts at the nursery,” Murrett said. “I take one of these, and one of these and one of these.” When she gets all her plants home, she sets a piece of plywood across a carpenter’s trestle…...
Tomorrow is Independence Day, the day when Americans mark the independence they won after the Revolutionary War. But just a few years after that, the young nation fought another war with Great Britain, the War of 1812. Because Canada was a colony of Great Britain, it was swept into the fighting. The War of 1812 was the last time the United States and Canada fought one another. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, and…...
Sweet corn and bus tours have nothing to do with each other except that you should hurry to take advantage of both while they’re available! Get sweet corn now Sweet corn is already available at Goodman’s Farm Market, 2227 Cayuga Dr. Ext., Niagara Falls, NY. Normally, the market wouldn’t have any sweet corn until between July 4 and 10, said Ray Crawley, manager at Goodman’s, and that would be just one or two growers. It’s not even Independence Day yet…...
Native Plants Day set at Lockwood’s Native Plants Day, part of the National Garden Festival, will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 7 at Lockwood’s Greenhouses, 4484 Clark Street, Hamburg. Topics include the significance of native plants, revitalizing neighborhoods by creating beautiful livable growing places, and the impact of individual decision-making on the quality of life in Western New York. Speakers include: Sally Cunningham, author, consultant and director of the National Garden Festival sees an opportunity…...
Summer begins and so do the garden walks! What an exciting week: Tomorrow is officially the first day of summer, and garden walks start this weekend! (If you’re going to show your garden on a garden walk this summer and would be willing to spread the word about Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, I will gratefully send you handouts. Call Connie Oswald Stofko at (716) 833-5187 or email me at Connie@Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com.) Kicking off the garden walk season is the free 7th annual Lewiston GardenFest,…...
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