Plant sales and other activities will be held by the Cornell Cooperative Extension programs in Chautauqua, Genesee, Niagara and Erie Counties. See more events on our Events page as well as on the websites of Cooperative Extension in the various counties. Chautauqua County, May 14 The Chautauqua County Master Gardeners will hold a sale of plants and yard art as well as gently used gardening tools, clothing and books from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 14 at the Frank…...
Historically, we have landscaped to add beauty to our yards, without much thought to the role that plants provide in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The way we think about our yards needs to shift, according to award-winning author Doug Tallamy. In an event organized by the Western New York Land Conservancy, Tallamy will present “Rebuilding Nature’s Relationships at Home” on Tuesday, May 10 at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts on the North Campus, Maple Rd. and Flint, Amherst…....
by Connie Oswald Stofko You may have heard that using bark as mulch is good because it provides nutrition for your plants, or that it’s bad because it eats up nitrogen making the nitrogen unavailable to your plants. The article Woof! No, Bark! clears up the confusion on using bark as mulch. This article is in WNY Gardening Matters, produced by the Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners in Erie County….
by Connie Oswald Stofko Here are some updates from 2016 Plantasia, Western New York’s premier garden and landscape show. It’s organized by PLANT WNY, a not-for-profit corporation of green industry professionals. Mark your calendar for Plantasia 2017: Thursday -Sunday, March 23 – 26 with Preview Night on Wednesday, March 22 at the Fairgrounds Event Center and Artisan Hall in Hamburg. $16,000 backyard makeover The first thing gardeners probably want to know is whether anyone won the $16,000 backyard makeover. Nope, no…...
Stunning blankets of wildflowers coating the forest floor are one of the surest signs of spring, but wildflower season is a moving target that changes with the weather. This year, the Jamestown Audubon Nature Center is offering a wildflower walk with a date to be determined. The Wildflower Wander will be held from 1-3 p.m. on a Saturday in May, depending on the when the flowers peak. The location is still to be determined, too. Jeff Tome, a senior naturalist…
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) awarded $70,000 in two separate grants to the Western New York Land Conservancy. A transaction grant will support the Land Conservancy’s work in creating the Stella Niagara Preserve on the Niagara River in Lewiston—the most important and highest profile project in the Land Conservancy’s quarter-century history. The Land Conservancy hired the nationally renowned landscape design team of Darrel Morrison and Nancy Aten to lead the way in restoring and enhancing wildlife…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com has been named an All Star for 2015 by Constant Contact, and you helped make it possible. Constant Contact is the company I use to send out the emailed version of Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com, the online gardening magazine for Western New York. In selecting its All Stars, Constant Contact rates small businesses and nonprofits on a number of criteria, including how many subscribers open the magazine and click through to read the full articles. Through their statistics,…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko Just in time for Earth Day, a sale of rain barrels and compost bins is being held by Erie County and the Western New York Stormwater Coalition. This year, a kitchen compost container and a compost turning tool will also be offered. Orders must be placed by May 20. You don’t have to live in Erie County to purchase the items, but you have to pick them up in Erie County. There will be two locations…...
by Connie Oswald Stofko I’ve been noticing the pretty yellow blooms of lesser celandine all over my neighborhood. It’s pretty, but it can take over your lawn. Here’s an email I recently got from a reader: I have this weed and it is now covering my entire back yard and is headed into the front. I literally have one-eighth of my back lawn left. I have been digging it out for years and years and it just keeps multiplying. There…...
A new category has been added to the Audubon Nature Center’s Nature Photography Contest: photos taken in the building or on the grounds that exemplify the nature center experience. The contest is open to everyone from beginners to professionals. The deadline to enter is June 30. “Part of our mission is to connect people with nature,” said Jennifer Schlick, nature center program director and contest coordinator. “The photo contest helps us fulfill that mission in two ways: The photographer connects with…...