by Connie Oswald Stofko Three-quarters of the space in Sue Tronolone’s small backyard is taken up by the garage, driveway and above-ground pool, but you should see what she does with the space she has left. Tronolone shared her landscape on the Black Rock & Riverside Tour of Gardens during both the daytime tour and the Starry Night Garden Tour. Both events were held on Aug. 6. It was the last garden walk of the season. The focal point of…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko As of last week, Western New York is under a drought warning. Residents are asked to conserve water. A warning is the second of four levels of state drought advisories: watch, warning, emergency and disaster, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). While the Southern Tier got some rain the weekend of July 30 and some scattered areas of Western New York may have gotten a bit of rain since then, it…...
Here’s a clever idea for a container garden: an old shopping cart. It’s part of Grow on the Go, a mobile garden project through Cornell Cooperative Extension based in Niagara Falls. The idea is to help Niagara Falls residents grow fruits and vegetables in an urban environment where they may be living in an apartment with no greenspace. They may lack sunlight and gardening equipment, and they may not know how to garden. Using shopping carts allows the garden to…...
by Jana Eisenberg Does this sound like you? You love gardening or plants, you enjoy learning, you like talking with the public and you want to be involved in a rewarding volunteer experience. If so, the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens wants you. The Botanical Gardens is recruiting for its 2016 Docent Training Class, said Kristy Schmitt, the director of education at the renowned gardens-within-a-park. The only prerequisites are interest, enthusiasm, commitment and availability. With the training offered by…...
You can take college horticulture classes without being a full-time student or earning a degree, and the tuition is less. Niagara County Community College (NCCC) is opening a limited number of seats in horticulture classes through its community education department. “We were constantly getting requests from folks who want to be able to take our classes, but don’t want to earn a degree,” said Carolyn A. Stanko, an NCCC assistant professor who coordinates the college’s horticulture program. She is also a…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Valerie and Anthony Hotchkiss of 42 15th St., Buffalo, have shared their gardens on Garden Walk Buffalo for eight years, but if you haven’t seen them in awhile, it’s worth going back. The couple got help from a landscaper, and what you see is all new in the last three years. Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden walk in the country, took place July 30 and 31. It featured more than 400 gardens. It was the…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko John Jankowski of Batavia sent me a photo that he wanted me to identify, then asked, “Is it a weed or a plant?” Now, usually I’m no help when people want a plant identified. I’m not a gardening expert, so I almost always have to tell people to contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in their county. However, I happened to know this one because I have it in my yard. It’s mullein (pronounced mull-en). Is…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com has been judged the best gardening e-newsletter by GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators. The online gardening magazine for Western New York, Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com received a Silver Medal of Achievement, the top award in the category of E-newsletter Overall, in GWA’s 2016 Media Awards. The award will be presented in September at the GWA 68th Annual Conference & Expo in Atlanta, GA. Recipients of the Silver Medal in the various categories will now compete for best…...
It’s again time for pool owners to check their filters and skimmers for the Asian longhorned beetle. If you find one, please report it during the annual Citizen Pool Survey being held through Aug. 30 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). If you don’t have a pool, you can still help. DEC expanded its survey to include photo submissions from anyone who spots a suspect beetle, even if the beetle isn’t found in a pool. You…...
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County will offer Master Gardener training in the fall. This training is the first requirement to becoming a Genesee County Master Gardener. A Master Gardener volunteer should have a willingness to give back to the community and help put into practice what they learned at training. Enthusiasm for sharing their skills and knowledge is a must. If you want to become a Master Gardener in a different county, contact your home county first to see…...