Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com

illustration for Meet the Authors in Buffalo

Are coffee grounds good for roses, plus why you should attend Meet the Authors

by Connie Oswald Stofko Does sprinkling coffee grounds around roses really help the plants grow? Yes, it’s true that roses like coffee grounds, but they also like banana peels and egg shells, said C.L. Fornari, author of the book Coffee for Roses: …and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening. In fact, roses like any kind of organic matter. “People have been throwing their breakfast leavings around roses for years,” she said, but if you don’t want your roses to…...

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Aug 1, 2017

info to hang on door with lawn tips from Erie County

Keep your lawn green & weed-free without pesticides

Tips on how to keep your lawn healthy without pesticides are being distributed through the Erie County Environmental Management Council, an advisory board to Erie County Department of Environment & Planning. They’ve printed it as something you can hang on your door. Get a full-size pdf of the doorhanger: Here’s the front and here’s the back. Here are the tips you will find on the doorhanger: Don’t cut the grass too short! Taller 3-inch grass outcompetes weeds, better withstands drought…...

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Aug 1, 2017

Watch for Asian longhorned beetle in your pool, look for damage to trees in August

Check your pool filter during August for the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), an invasive beetle that could cause serious damage to New York State’s street trees and forests. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is holding its annual Swimming Pool Survey. People without pools can help by learning how to recognize the beetle, as well as the signs it leaves behind. See more below. The DEC and partners will also be hanging tags on host trees to…...

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Aug 1, 2017

Good news: Invasive water chestnut almost eradicated at Jamestown Audubon— you can help

When it comes to invasive species, it’s great to hear some good news for a change. The Audubon Community Nature Center (ACNC) is nearing the finish line in eradicating the European water chestnut that first appeared in 2013. It took hundreds of volunteers over five summers to get to this point, with a major pull by volunteers on June 24. Soon after that, staff from Western New York PRISM (Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) dressed in waders and moved…...

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Aug 1, 2017

Tip on planting in tiny yard; get more tips at Garden Walk Buffalo this weekend

by Connie Oswald Stofko Rosemary Lyons has an ingenious way to squeeze plants into the flagstone patio that takes up all of her tiny yard. One place where there aren’t any pavers is where the wrought iron fence is set into the ground. Lyons set some bricks on each side of the fence, then filled the area around the fence with fresh soil and lots of compost. There was enough room to plant purple pole beans, and the fence was…...

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Jul 25, 2017

impatiens with white coating of downy mildew

If you see downy mildew on impatiens, please contact researcher

by Connie Oswald Stofko Downy mildew on impatiens has been found in Lockport, and if you find it on your impatiens plants, too, a Cornell researcher wants your help. Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University, has been providing us with information on this disease that will kill impatiens since my first article on impatiens in 2012. Daughtrey works in the the Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center, directed…...

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Jul 25, 2017

hands of a docent and child at Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens

Docent training at Botanical Gardens to be held on Saturdays; starts Aug. 5

by Connie Oswald Stofko If you like to talk to people and have an interest in gardening and plants, consider becoming a docent at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. And if you’re available on weekends, “that’s a big plus, said Kristy Schmitt, director of education. “We really need docents on weekends.” To cater to those who are available on weekends, this round of docent training will be held on Saturdays. Sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to…...

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Jul 25, 2017

Local Master Gardeners, volunteers can sign up for GWA conference at member rate!

by Connie Oswald Stofko I just received an email letting me know that Master Gardeners and volunteers in horticulture here in Western New York can sign up for the annual conference and expo of GWA: The Association of Garden Communicators at the member rate. That’s a $150 discount! To get the member rate, register using the discount code GWA2017-JoinGWA. There are 31 educational sessions on a variety of topics focusing on horticulture, writing, technology, business, publishing and more. You’ll have…...

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Jul 25, 2017

It’s a slug fest out there: dealing with slugs in Western New York

by Connie Oswald Stofko Everybody got some rain this past week, and some folks got a lot! Kathy Guest Shadrack lives with her husband Mike on a hilly property in Hamburg. She edits the newsletters of the Western New Hosta Society and the Buffalo Area Daylily Society and included this in a recent hosta message: “We had a waterfall down our terraces and we have new mini-streams etched under our deck. Furthermore, our road was flooded—wait for it— at the…...

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Jul 18, 2017

rooftop gardens at Broadway Market in Buffalo

Garden bus tours to show ‘green’ developments, cultural changes in Buffalo; register now

Two upcoming bus tours will show a different side of gardening. The Buffalo Beyond Flowers: Sustainability in Action bus tour on Aug. 5 will show what Buffalo is doing to be “green.” The East Side Momentum Tour on Aug. 12 will show you some of Buffalo’s distinct and evolving neighborhoods. These are public places that you could visit on your own, but what’s great about these tours is that you get to speak to people involved in the projects so…...

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Jul 18, 2017