by Connie Oswald Stofko Last month, we talked about a project most home gardeners can do, building a garden wall, and we discussed the advantages of using natural stone instead of concrete. A reader asked if we would do something about building flat areas. To recap: In the previous article, we talked about building a garden wall that’s 6 to 12 inches high. It’s a little easier using natural stone than concrete because you can skip some of the preparation…...
The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County Master Gardener Program will hold a series of three gardening classes to be held in late September and early October. The classes will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Dard Hunter Hall (upstairs meeting room) at the Print Shop on the Roycroft Campus at 21 South Grove St., East Aurora. (On the day of the class, check the Cooperative Extension website; the location of the class may be moved to a…...
Build your own scarecrow during Oktoberfest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 at Mischler’s Florist and Greenhouses, 118 S. Forest Rd., Williamsville. You supply an old shirt and pants and they will provide the rest of the materials– a burlap head, straw, twine and sticks. Mischler’s Greenhouse associates will be on hand to help. Take your child or grandchild to share in this unique Oktoberfest experience. While you’re at Mischler’s, check out all the items for fall…...
If you have grown some vegetables that you’re proud of, you can make sure they get the recognition that they deserve by entering them in the flower show to be held by the Kenmore Garden Club next weekend. Anyone can enter; you don’t have to be a member of the club. The vegetable that you want to enter must have been grown by you. You can enter any vegetable. If the vegetable is large, such as regular tomatoes, you will…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I will present “45 More Gardening Tips in 45 Minutes” at the meeting of the Youngstown Garden Club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14 in the First Presbyterian Church, 100 Church St., Youngstown. Like all the events we list on Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, this event is open to the public. In a follow-up to my previous talk, I will share 45 new tips that I came across while writing for Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Dave Mischler, president of the Western New York Gas & Steam Engine Association, and his wife, Nancy, were among the last people to ride on the SS Canadiana, the boat that ferried passengers between Buffalo and the Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Ontario. The couple was in high school when they took a moonlight cruise in 1956, the last year of the Canadiana’s operation here. The huge steam engine that once powered the boat will be…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko “We want people to come back downtown,” said Ruth Cooper of 12th St., Niagara Falls. “It’s safe here.” That was the message of the Black Squirrel Garden Walk, held July 23 as part of Garden Walk of Niagara Falls, USA. (The Black Squirrel Garden Walk is named that for the black squirrels that you can see in Niagara Falls but aren’t common elsewhere in other parts of Western New York.) The event included a garden walk…...
Two new series of classes, Horticulture V and VI, are being added to the existing series of horticulture classes at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Art classes are scheduled, too. For more information, call 827-1584, ext. 292. Horticulture classes You don’t have to take the classes in order, so you can take these new classes even if you haven’t completed Horticulture I-IV. You can sign up for just a single class, too. The…...
Genesee County Master Gardeners will hold their annual Fall Garden Gala from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, 420 East Main St., Batavia. The event includes a plant sale, chance basket auction, free soil pH testing, a flower-arranging demonstration and advice from Master Gardeners. The sale features hardy perennials, house plants and local field-grown mums. The Master Gardeners say that fall is a good time to plant many perennials, since they’ll…
by Connie Oswald Stofko When it comes to hydrangeas, there’s something for everyone: large plants and small plants, early bloomers and late bloomers, tree shapes and shrub shapes. For those of you who got tired of watering this summer, there are drought-tolerant varieties. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the many hydrangea cultivars that are available, and you can find out more at the Fall Festival to be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at…...