by Connie Oswald Stofko Here is what I like most about the new book Buffalo-Style Gardens: Not only does it inspire you with photos of beautiful gardens, it also offers you great guidelines on how to use those ideas in your own landscape. If you have ever wondered how to make your yard look like those you see on garden walks, this book is for you! Buffalo-Style Gardens was written by Sally Cunningham, CNLP, a gardening celebrity who is a…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Our great prize drawing is back again! To enter, just subscribe to Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York. It’s free to subscribe! If you are already subscribed, you are already entered! Hey, I appreciate the support of my longtime readers! Three winners will be selected at random from our list of subscribers. Each will win a prize package worth more than $200! The deadline to enter is Tuesday, March 26. If you are one of the three…...
“I have so many houseplants,” said Rachel Gottlieb of North Buffalo. “When I would divide and repot them, every year I had a bunch of plants without homes.” Gottlieb would try to give them to people she knew, but she wasn’t always successful. She wanted to find people who would be excited to get her leftover houseplants, so she went online to find a group. “That kind of group should have already existed, but it didn’t, so I made a…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko The WNY Seed Library–the first free seed library of its kind in Western New York– has opened in Amherst. “There was no place in Western New York where you can get seeds for free,” said Brenda Snyder, who started working on the WNY Seed Library in June 2018. Food security is one of her goals. She feels that no one should go without food because they can’t afford it. The seed library aims to provide heirloom…...
If you have a wet area in your landscape, you may look at it as a problem area — but that’s because you’re trying to plant the wrong plants there. Learn about native plant choices that are so interesting they will make your neighbors wish they had wet areas in their landscapes, too. “Natives for Those Wet Places” by Lyn Chimera is one of the three articles in this month’s edition of WNY Gardening Matters. The publication is produced by…...
You can place an order for tree and shrub seedlings in sales being held now by counties and by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC). In addition, tree seedlings are available to schools for free. New York State DEC The Spring Seedling Sale of the NYS DEC provides more than 40 native tree and shrub species for low prices. They offer various mixed species packets including streamside habitat builders and pollinator-popular flowering species. See details here. The deadline…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko In the Great Plant Sale, “We want to offer things you’re not going to see everywhere,” said Sharon Reader, volunteer at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens and a member of the committee that chose the plants for the sale. The deadline to pre-order is Friday, April 5, but if you want one of the really spectacular Hot Picks, you better order now — They often sell out quick. UPDATE: The deadline to order plants…...
The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County Master Gardener Program will host the 2019 Education Day from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at Classics V Banquet & Conference Center, 2425 Niagara Falls Blvd, Amherst. The cost for Education Day is $35 for Erie County Master Gardeners, $45 for Master Gardeners from outside Erie County and associates, and $55 for the general public. Advance registration is required; register here. Registration is not complete until payment has been received. Registration fees…...
Applications are now available for Marvin Lunenfeld Beautification Grants, named for Garden Walk Buffalo’s founder. Completed applications are due Feb. 28. The grants, named for Garden Walk Buffalo’s founder, have been working to beautify Buffalo since 2005. The initiative has funded over 100 garden beautification projects across the West Side of Buffalo totaling more than $100,000. Find eligibility requirements and applications online or call 716-247-5004 and they will mail you an application. One objective of Garden Walk Buffalo, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko and Stephen Vermette We’ve had some wild weather in the past week: lots of snow, wind, an official blizzard, and dangerously cold wind chills. But yesterday it felt like spring, with strong sun and temperatures around 60. Now some areas have flooding, and more flooding is possible. Tomorrow we might get freezing rain. Later in the week the forecast is for rain, then snow. Find out what you can do in your landscape in these changing conditions, and remember…...