outdoor living room with Afro-Caribbean theme

Peaceful gardens make visitors feel happy on Snyder-Clevehill Garden Tour

by Connie Oswald Stofko “It looks pretty peaceful out here,” Joyce Heath said, surveying her yard on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View on July 10. With so much happening in the world, especially in recent weeks, it’s a feeling she tries to convey in her gardens. Rocks in a side garden were inscribed with “Tranquility” and “Peace Love Joy.” A flag emblazoned with “Peace: Back by popular demand” found a prominent spot elsewhere in her yard. “It’s a happy place,” exclaimed…...

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small waterfall in front yard in Buffalo NY

Eclectic garden changes throughout the seasons

by Connie Oswald Stofko “It’s not meant to look perfect or manicured,” Dr. Kenton Bruce Anderson said of his front yard at 44 Montrose Ave., Buffalo. “It’s meant to be carefree, but look as if somebody takes care of it.” You can see this fun garden on the Samuel P. Capen Garden Walk from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, July 16. The walk will also feature a night tour called Capen by Night from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m…....

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Beyond Flowers Tour in Buffalo

See another side of gardening; sign up now for local bus tours

by Connie Oswald Stofko “The response we always get is, ‘I had no idea these things were happening,’” said Mary Van Vorst. That’s the reaction from people who went on the Beyond Flowers Tour and the East Side Momentum Tour. Van Vorst is one of the volunteers who helped organize these bus tours, which are part of Gardens Buffalo Niagara, the group that organizes the garden walks and Open Gardens. The Beyond Flowers Tour will show you eight sites in…...

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ceremony with Chinese at Botanical Gardens

Magnolia tree to symbolize friendship between Buffalo & its Chinese sister city

by Connie Oswald Stofko A magnolia tree will be a symbol of the friendship between Buffalo and its sister city in China, Changzhou. A ceremony was held yesterday at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens to mark the gift. The event was attended by a 40-person delegation from China consisting of Changzhou’s government officials, performers, businesspeople and a Chinese television crew. The crew is shooting a documentary called “A Tale of Two Cities,” highlighting the cultural and arts exchanges…...

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Garden mum 'Antica Bronze'

Trick to get mums to come back every year: Plant them now

by Connie Oswald Stofko Can you get garden mums to come back year after year? Yes, you can, said Ethan Waterman, manager of Waterman’s Greenhouse, 12316 Vaughn St. (Route 240), East Concord (Springville.) “Planting them now is the trick,” Waterman said. “You can’t take a mum out of the pot in October and shove it in the ground and think it will come next year. You have to plant them now to get them established so they make it through…...

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organic garden in Cambria NY

Tour acres of gardens, get organic gardening tips during Lockport in Bloom

by Connie Oswald Stofko When some people go on a garden walk, they want to visit only the gardens that are clustered closely together. If you do that on Lockport in Bloom, you’ll miss this treasure. Jan and Craig Powley have seven acres of land– Three acres are horse pasture, and the horses provide a ready supply of manure for the organic flower gardens and vegetable gardens and the remaining acreage. You can see these gardens in person on the…...

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gardens along fence in Hamburg Garden Walk

Double lot is filled with gardens; see it on Hamburg Garden Walk

by Connie Oswald Stofko When Julie Anderhalt was looking for a house in 1989, it was a seller’s market. A house would go on the market and it would be bought in an hour. So when she found a house she liked and realized someone else was interested in it, she quickly put in an offer. It was a whirlwind, she said, but her offer was accepted. Later she asked the owner of the house who owned the lot next…...

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Lockwoods Garden Center 4484 Clark Street Hamburg

Open Gardens start this week

Although they’ve been around for years, a lot of people still aren’t aware of Open Gardens, a great activity that’s special to Western New York. During Open Gardens, more than 70 great gardens in 12 groups throughout our area are open for you to visit on Thursdays or Fridays for four weeks in July, starting this week. It’s organized so that gardens in a certain geographic area are open on the same day and times. Some gardens, such as those…...

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Plein Air Day at Mischler's Florist

Artists: Work outdoors during Plein Air Day at Mischler’s

You can paint, draw, photograph or just observe artists as they interpret the beauty of flowers through art during Plein Air Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 9 at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 South Forest Rd., Williamsville. The event is free and no registration is necessary. “En plein air”  is a French expression that means “in the open air” and is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. Artists can set up their easels and…...

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hose slowly watering plant

If you want to keep your plants healthy, water them properly now

by Connie Oswald Stofko It’s been a dry spring in Western New York, and now that summer is officially here, well, it’s still dry. Gardeners I’ve talked to all say the same thing. Thunderstorms that were predicted passed right by. Even when we got rain, there wasn’t enough to help our gardens. While the beach-goers are loving this weather, what we as gardeners should be hoping for is a good, all-day soaking rain, said Teresa Buchanan, general manager at Lockwood’s…...

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