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…...
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…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko In a narrow yard, you can create an illusion of more depth in your gardens. Instead of planting flowers right up against a fence, pull your gardens away from the fence and add shrubs in the back. The darkness at the back of the garden makes the gardens appear deeper. That was a tip from Robert Then of 25 Greenfield St., Buffalo, who shared his gardens during the Parkside Garden Tour on June 26. His yard…...
The first Gold Star Memorial Marker in New York State and the second in the country will be dedicated by the members of the Bowmansville Garden Club at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 9 in Russell Salvatore’s Patriots and Heroes Park, 6675 Transit Rd., Lancaster. The dedication will be held rain or shine. If you would like to attend, please RSVP so that the organizers can make sure there is enough seating. Contact Adrienne Pasquariello at (716) 681-1047 or apasquarie@roadrunner.com. The…...
After taking a break for a couple years, the Orleans County Master Gardeners will again hold their Garden Path Tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16. It will feature six private gardens in the Medina and Albion area. Tickets are $10. To get tickets, call (585) 798-4265, email mgorleanscce@cornell.edu, stop into the Extension office at 12690 State Route 31, Albion, or buy them from a Master Gardener. After you make your payment, you will be given the ticket…...
Darcie and Tom Homme, Jr. are having an “open house” in their garden as they have done for several years, opening up their gardens to anyone who wants to stop by, but they are hoping that next year it will be part of a larger event– a garden walk for the Town of Pendleton. This year you can visit their gardens from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 16 and 17 at their home, 6670 Bear Ridge Rd.,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko It was well into June when I finally turned my attention to the window boxes on my front porch, which is the main point of interest in my plain front yard. It seemed like every other gardener in Western New York had their pots of annuals out already, and I felt like I was running behind. But what I learned was that waiting until June to go to your local garden center can work to your…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko There’s something you wouldn’t guess when you look at the garden island in the backyard of Ron and Kathleen Krebs on South Irwinwood, Lancaster. All of those shrubs and trees, including the large arborvitae on one end and the red twig dogwood on the other, were picked out of the trash. And they’re not the only plants in the Krebs’ yards that were rescued. About 50 “orphaned” shrubs and trees that had been tossed to the…...
This year the Buffalo-style Garden Art Sale has a new location– the lawn at Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 South Park Ave., Buffalo. Also new is that the event will be held on two days rather than one– Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The sale is free and will be held rain or shine. It is hosted by Gardens Buffalo Niagara (formerly the National Garden Festival). Gardeners can find handcrafted…...
In other parts of the country, if a city has a garden walk at all, it probably includes just a few gardens. It’s so different here in Western New York! With the addition of new garden walks in Grand Island and Springville, there are 18 garden walks this year. Several garden walks have both daytime tours and nighttime tours. And we have the largest garden walk in the entire nation, Garden Walk Buffalo, with about 400 gardens open to the…...